# Is it legal to save/ put a deposit in N. Ireland?



## blueflower (10 May 2010)

My husband is from the North, we both live in the Republic. He has savings accounts from years ago based in the North.
Can we deposit money in one of these accounts? I was told it may not be legal. The reason for doing so would be to potentially protect against a weakening Euro.
If we can deposit, could we also regularly save?

thanks for your time.


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## Lightning (10 May 2010)

You can open a NI account legally. 

Most NI banks will accept a ROI address.


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## Happy Girl (16 May 2010)

Is it possible to do this in any country e.g. Switzerland, Canada, etc.


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## Lightning (16 May 2010)

Yes, you can open a deposit account in any country that you want, if the bank accepts non resident deposits. 

You must declare the deposit interest income with the Revenue.


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## RMCF (17 May 2010)

This sort of applies to me.

I am from NI, but moved to RoI 10yrs ago. I still work in NI, and still hold my current account there. My wages still go into the NI account.

I did consider telling the Revenue about the account the time they were hunting people down for dodgy accounts a few years ago, but my logic was that I was small fry and it was only the big hitters they were trying to unearth.

The amount of interest I get on my current account is something like 0.1%, so if they chase me for it then fair play to them


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## blueflower (17 May 2010)

_*Yes, you can open a deposit account in any country that you want, if the bank accepts non resident deposits. *_​ 
_*You must declare the deposit interest income with the Revenue.*_​ 
Why is this, considering I have already paid income tax in Republic of Ireland on the money I am depositing?​ 
Thanks again.​


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## damson (17 May 2010)

Because the _*interest*_ on your deposit is considered to be additional money that you are receiving.


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## Lightning (17 May 2010)

Exactly, bank interest is earnings.


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## frankmac (31 May 2010)

Am I right in saying that you cannot claim a credit for the foreign tax deducted from the interest. In other words you will be taxed twice on it?


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## Lightning (31 May 2010)

No. You will not be taxed twice on it if you complete the right forms. 

Deposit interest comes under the "exemption" method under double taxation agreements. If the foreign bank deducts interest then they should refund it to you as you are non resident.


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## Savvy Row (17 Jun 2010)

Does anyone have the actual name of a foreign bank that will accept an Irish client with only an Irish address (ie, no address in the bank's country)?


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## ardmacha (17 Jun 2010)

> Does anyone have the actual name of a foreign bank that will accept an  Irish client with only an Irish address (ie, no address in the bank's  country)?



Have you actually read this thread? 




> Deposit interest comes under the "exemption" method under double  taxation agreements.



So deposit interest in a NI bank should be paid gross to a ROI resident who will then be liable for their full marginal rate of tax on the interest. There aren't any EU arrangements for this?


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## Savvy Row (18 Jun 2010)

Look, the word on the street is that if you open a deposit account in a foreign bank with a branch in Ireland, then for the purpose of protecting yourself against a return to the Punt, you may as well have your money in AIB. It's counted as an Irish bank.

What you need to do is take your cash, put it in a paper bag and take it to Germany. Then open an account in Germany and shove your paper bag across the counter.

But to do this, you need a German address! Don't you?


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## tenchi-fan (18 Jun 2010)

blueflower said:


> Why is this, considering I have already paid income tax in Republic of Ireland on the money I am depositing?​



You pay tax on the interest on your savings in Ireland too! You just never see it because it's taken at source (DIRT)

If you are opening a non-resident bank account abroad in the EU, the foreign bank may also charge you dirt and you will have no further liability. However, in the next few years the dirt rate will be rising, so you may be better off not paying dirt and submitting the interest on your own tax return.

There's no law against opening account in another country. Just make sure you complete the appropriate declarations when you are opening the account. The big issue a few years ago was people were using offshore bank accounts to stash money they didn't pay tax on. At the time, revenue did not have access to details of these accounts but they do now!


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## ardmacha (18 Jun 2010)

> But to do this, you need a German address! Don't you?


This is a thread about opening a bank account in NI, where the address is not a problem. The issue is the tax treatment of interest. 

If the address requirement of German banks are an issue then perhaps you should open a new thread. 



> If you are opening a non-resident bank account abroad in the EU, the  foreign bank may also charge you dirt and you will have no further  liability


Is this in fact the case and where does it state this?


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