Cayman Islands?

March 29, 2009 10:02 AM

I need a reliable off-shore savings account.

Some place where I can easily and safely deposit less than $500 and where creditors or the IRS can not touch it.

Thank you for your recommendations.

posted by DieHipsterDie to work & money (20 comments total)

Get a waterproof safe, put $500 in it, and dump it in the nearest ocean?

Seriously, the safest and most hidden place for $500 you want to hide is just USD cash, like 25 pictures of Andrew Jackson, in a box. This is assuming you have a safe place to hide the box, of course.
posted by mrt at 10:11 AM on March 29 [1 favorite has favorites]

Don't you usually have to fly to the island / country to set up an off-shore savings account?* You'd spend more on airfare than you'd be putting in the bank account.


*Disclaimer: My knowledge is only based upon movies. Tom Cruise in The Firm would never lie to me, right?
posted by sharkfu at 10:24 AM on March 29

since 9/11 it's quite difficult, pretty much everyone reports everything now. Isle of Man used to be the simple one tho if you want to look into their reporting these days.

Mostly tho, cash and your matress is the best bet.
posted by legotech at 10:44 AM on March 29

Did you perhaps mean $500k? Otherwise, I'm not sure I understand the question. Give it to a friend to hold?
posted by meta_eli at 10:44 AM on March 29

The IRS is going to go after you for $500? I would also do the cash+cash-holding receptacle approach.
posted by fructose at 11:00 AM on March 29

I'm guessing $500k. You can open them online these days without having to travel anywhere. However, you will leave a paper trail and you will have to answer the mandatory questions to rule out money laundering; at least that's my experience with the channel islands. I'm sure there's means to make your money untraceable/unreachable, but I don't earn anywhere near that scale of magnitude to worry about that.

Tim Ferris just wrote on his blog about this. Anything is possible if you're willing to invest the time and money.
posted by arcticseal at 11:08 AM on March 29

You have little to no recourse for a paltry $500. Even if it was 500k, the days of Swedish secrecy are quickly coming to a close. Please don't solicit illegal advice on transparent web forums.
posted by stratastar at 11:35 AM on March 29

Some place where I can easily and safely deposit less than $500 and where creditors or the IRS can not touch it.

If this is $500 in cash, put it under a floorboard in a fireproof safe in your house.

If this is $500K in cash, you're a little more stuck. You cannot wire transfer it out without tripping Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) reporting. I'd look into safe deposit boxes at a bank other than your primary bank that will allow you to pay your annual fees with a cashiers cheque.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:41 AM on March 29

@stratastar - I think you're confusing Sweden and Switzerland, and there's nothing illegal in putting money where it's hard for others to get to it.
posted by meta_eli at 12:09 PM on March 29

there's nothing illegal in putting money where it's hard for others to get to it.

Of course there can be. If it is taxable money and you are trying to avoid paying taxes, for example.

OP: You really need to clarify if you do, indeed, mean $500. For a paltry sum like that just keep it in cash in a hidden place.
posted by Justinian at 12:36 PM on March 29

OK, as an American citizen I can not remotely open a savings account with say the Bank of England?

And yes, creditors will go after your bank accounts for $500. The IRS cleaned out my ING savings account that had $200 in it.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 1:22 PM on March 29

I can not remotely open a savings account with say the Bank of England?

1. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank, like the Federal Reserve in the US. They don't offer consumer savings accounts.

2. As to opening an account at a normal UK bank, see here. It might be difficult.
posted by Mike1024 at 2:50 PM on March 29

Here's the problem with protecting your $500: Bank fees.

Most offshore banks will be charging a monthly account maintenance fee. I'd guess your money would be gone within 2 years.

You could buy 0.5 oz of gold (there must be a coin of that weight, it would cost about $500 at the moment). And keep it in your pocket.
posted by Xhris at 3:04 PM on March 29

DieHipsterDie: OK, as an American citizen I can not remotely open a savings account with say the Bank of England?

You are seriously overthinking this plate of beans. It's $500, and there is no way to "protect" it that does not either cost more than $500 or seriously depreciate it. Just keep the $500 in cash somewhere - in a drawer, under a floorboard, buried in the backyard in a cashbox.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:14 PM on March 29

I second buying gold or otherwise keeping the cash stored safely if it's only $500. Small fireproof safes are $75 or less at a home improvement store.
posted by mtphoto at 3:16 PM on March 29

I reckon y'all have a good point. I just wanted a place I could electronically transfer a bit of my paycheck every two weeks and not have to worry about it being taken. Like happened to my ING account.

Thanks
posted by DieHipsterDie at 3:26 PM on March 29

DieHipsterDie: "I just wanted a place I could electronically transfer a bit of my paycheck every two weeks and not have to worry about it being taken."

A couple of points. First of all, the electronically transfer part means your plan is flawed. Electronic transactions leave a trail, so the IRS will know you're squirrling away money. And they will want it, regardless of where it is.

Second, if the IRS has started seizing your assets, you may have bigger issues than $200 in your ING account. If you owe money for back taxes, or your students loans are in default, the IRS may garnish your wages - directly from your paycheck, if you're employed.

If you're strugging with debt or back taxes, I would strongly urge you to go over to CreditBoards, do some reading, and spill your full financials in the appropriate forum. There are many, many people in the same boat you are (regardless of what it actually is) and the advice there is experienced and good.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:50 PM on March 29 [2 favorites has favorites]

Your $500/paycheck would be mighty safe in an American FDIC insured bank account if you didn't owe the IRS money. You could work out a payment plan for whatever you owe and not have to worry about it.

I only say this because they will notice if large chunks of your income start going missing and they really want that income. Whether they care enough to notice depends on how much you owe, how much you make normally, and how big of a dick you are the agent who is working your case.

This is not legal advice, etc.
posted by ohio at 3:54 PM on March 29

You might consider putting that money into a Roth IRA. I think the IRS may still be able to go after it, but many states have laws that prevent other creditors from going after it, so it does provide you with some protection against seizure.
posted by willnot at 4:37 PM on March 29

arcticseal's link (five flags) is a great read. But you don't have to go off-shore: from this week's Economist: Haven hypocrisy. Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming are even better:

“In practice OECD countries have much laxer regulation on shell corporations than classic tax havens,” Mr Sharman concludes. “And the US is the worst on this score, worse than Liechtenstein and worse than Somalia.”

Figures.
posted by psyche7 at 7:49 PM on March 29 [1 favorite has favorites]