Getting paid from abroad comes down to handing the sender the right details and knowing what happens on the US side: the incoming fee, who converts the currency, how quickly your bank must release the money and what the IRS cares about. This guide takes each step for a US bank account, finishes with a worked example of a €10,000 gift and points to the full guides on each rule. For sending money the other way, start with our international money transfer guide.
What details do you give someone sending you money from abroad?
Give the sender the incoming-wire instructions your bank publishes, because they say exactly which codes and which intermediary bank to use.
| Detail | What to give | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Your name | Exactly as it appears on the account, with no nicknames or initials the bank doesn't use | Banks screen names and may hold or return a payment that doesn't match |
| Your address | Street, city, state, ZIP code and country | Banks often require it on cross-border payments and may query a payment without it |
| Account number | Your full US account number | Identifies your account; US accounts don't have IBANs |
| Bank's SWIFT/BIC code | 8 or 11 characters, from your bank's instructions | Routes the payment to your bank from another country |
| ABA routing number for wires | 9 digits, only if your bank's instructions include it | Identifies your bank inside the US; some banks use a separate number for wires |
| Intermediary bank | Its name and SWIFT code, if your bank takes foreign wires through a correspondent | Without it, the sender's bank may have no route to yours |
| For-further-credit line | Your name and account number, if your bank or credit union asks for it | Tells the correspondent which customer the money is for |
| Purpose of payment | A short description, such as family support or invoice 1042 | The sender's bank or country may require it before the money leaves |
Smaller banks and credit unions often receive foreign wires through a larger correspondent bank. The sender's bank then pays the correspondent, using the correspondent's SWIFT code, and the correspondent passes the money on, which is why the instructions add a for-further-credit line with your name and account number. Routing number vs SWIFT code explains when each code is used, and SWIFT codes explained shows how to read one.
Addresses are getting stricter. Swift, the network banks use for cross-border payment messages, has been moving to addresses with the town and country in their own fields; in August 2026 it deferred the November 2026 deadline for retiring free-text addresses and said it would announce new timing by December. Giving a full, clearly split address now avoids queries later.
Only share these details with people you know. A stranger who wants to send you money and have you pass part of it on is following a common scam script, covered in our guide to money transfer scams.
What fees come out of an incoming international wire?
An incoming wire can shrink in three places: intermediary bank fees, your bank's incoming wire fee and the markup on any currency conversion.
Your bank sets its incoming wire fee and lists it in its fee schedule. Some banks charge the same for every incoming international wire, some charge more than for a domestic one, and some waive the fee on certain accounts, so look it up before the money is sent, along with any charge for receiving foreign currency.
The sender's bank will also ask who pays the charges. If you need the exact amount, for a deposit or an invoice, ask the sender to choose the OUR option, under which they pay the charges up front, though your own bank may still take its incoming fee; with the SHA and BEN options, banks along the way can deduct their fees from the payment. International wire transfer fees explains the three options in full.
A wire isn't the only way in. Money sent through a transfer service often reaches your account as a domestic ACH credit or an instant payment from the provider's US account, which usually avoids an incoming wire fee; ACH vs wire transfers covers how the two arrive.
Should the money arrive in dollars or in foreign currency?
Which currency is sent matters less than who converts it, because the converting bank picks the exchange rate and keeps the markup.
A payment from Germany can reach a US dollar account in two ways:
- The sender's bank converts. The sender pays in euros, their bank turns them into dollars at its rate and sends dollars. You see a dollar amount, and the markup was taken before the payment left.
- Your side converts. The sender sends euros, and your bank or its correspondent converts them when they arrive, at its own rate, sometimes with a foreign currency handling fee. Most US checking accounts hold only dollars, so this happens automatically unless you have a foreign currency account.
Neither route is cheaper by default. Ask the sender what rate their bank quotes, ask your bank how it prices incoming foreign currency, and compare both with the mid-market rate on the EUR to USD converter. The gap is the markup; our guide to exchange rate markups shows how to measure it. This table shows what euro amounts are worth at the latest mid-market rate and at two common markups:
| You send | At the mid-market rate | With a 1% markup | With a 3% markup |
|---|---|---|---|
| €1,000 | $1,119 | $1,107 | $1,085 |
| €5,000 | $5,593 | $5,537 | $5,425 |
| €10,000 | $11,186 | $11,074 | $10,850 |
How long until incoming money shows in your account?
Once your bank has received a wire and can match it to your account, it must make the money available by the next business day.
That requirement comes from Regulation CC, which covers wires and ACH credits, and in practice many banks credit an incoming wire within hours of receiving it on a business day. The clock starts only when your bank has both the money and the information it needs to credit you, so a payment with a misspelled name or a missing account number can sit until the bank resolves it. Once credited, the money is an ordinary deposit, covered by FDIC insurance at an insured bank; if a large inheritance pushes your balance past the limit, see how to insure more than $250,000.
How long the money takes to reach your bank depends on the sender's side: their bank's cutoff, holidays in their country and any intermediary. Wires reach US banks only on US business days, since Fedwire is closed on weekends and Federal Reserve holidays. Our guide to how long international transfers take walks through the timeline, and money sent by a transfer service can arrive on any day if it comes as an instant payment; see FedNow and RTP compared.
Why might your bank ask where the money came from?
US banks must understand why customers receive the payments they do, so an unusual incoming wire can prompt questions before or after it posts.
Federal anti-money-laundering rules require banks to understand the nature and purpose of each customer relationship and to monitor accounts for suspicious activity. Payments that tend to draw questions include:
- a first international wire, or one far larger than your usual activity
- a sender you haven't received money from before
- business income arriving in a personal account
- a payment linked to a country under US sanctions
- details that don't match, such as a different name or a missing address
The bank may ask who sent the money, how you know them and what it is for, and it may want a document: a gift letter, an invoice, a sale contract or a will. Answer promptly and keep copies, since the same paperwork shows the IRS that a deposit was a gift if anyone asks later.
Every incoming wire is also screened against the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions lists. If a payment involves a sanctioned person or country, the bank may have to block or reject it and can't simply release the money to you. The recordkeeping rules help on the honest side of the ledger: wires of $3,000 or more must carry the sender's name, address and account number, so a complete payment tells your bank who sent it.
Is money you receive from abroad taxable?
It depends on what the money is for: a genuine gift isn't income to you, while payment for work, rent or investments is.
A gift from abroad doesn't go on your income tax return, but large gifts from people must be reported on Form 3520 under this test: More than $100,000 in a tax year from a nonresident alien individual or foreign estate (IRS, as of Nov 1, 2026). Our Form 3520 guide covers the rest, including gifts from foreign companies, the deadline and the penalties for filing late.
Money paid to you for work is income whether it arrives by wire, transfer app or check, and whether or not anyone sends you a Form 1099. If you're self-employed it goes on Schedule C, and you owe self-employment tax on Schedule SE once net earnings reach $400. US citizens and residents are taxed on worldwide income, so a fee from a client in Spain counts the same as one from a client in Ohio. Rent from a property abroad and interest or dividends from foreign accounts are income too. Moving your own savings from an account abroad, or being repaid a loan, is not.
Report foreign-currency income in dollars. The IRS says to translate each item at the exchange rate prevailing when you receive it, so keep the bank's credit advice showing the date, the amount and the rate.
Which rules don't apply to money you receive?
Several rules people worry about cover something else: foreign accounts, cash, or money sent out of the US.
- FBAR. It reports financial accounts you hold outside the US, not transfers into your US account. You file only if your foreign accounts cross this line: More than $10,000 in total across foreign financial accounts at any time in the year (IRS, as of Nov 1, 2026). See FBAR explained.
- Currency transaction reports. Banks file them for cash transactions of more than $10,000. An incoming wire isn't cash, so it doesn't trigger one.
- The federal remittance rule. Its disclosure, cancellation and error rights protect consumers in the US who send money abroad, so a wire you receive isn't covered; the remittance transfer rights guide explains who is.
- The 1% remittance transfer tax. It applies to cash-funded transfers sent from the US, not to money coming in; see the remittance transfer tax guide.
- Gift tax. When gift tax applies, the giver generally owes it, not the recipient, and on your side a gift from abroad is reported, not taxed. Gift tax on money sent abroad covers the giver's side for gifts from the US.
What happens when a €10,000 gift arrives?
A €10,000 gift from a parent in Germany is worth about $11,172 at the October 30, 2026, reference rate, and what lands depends on who converts it.
Worked example: A €10,000 gift from Germany to a US checking account
Assumptions: the European Central Bank's reference rate on October 30, 2026, of €1 = $1.1172; the sender pays all transfer charges; your bank takes a $15 incoming wire fee; a 2% markup if the sender's bank converts and 3% if your bank converts. Fees and markups vary, so check your own bank's.
- Mid-market value: €10,000 × 1.1172 = $11,172.00
- Sender's bank converts and sends dollars: 1.1172 × 0.98 = 1.094856 per euro, so $10,948.56 is sent. After your $15 fee, $10,933.56 lands, $238.44 less than the mid-market value.
- Your bank converts the euros on arrival: 1.1172 × 0.97 = 1.083684 per euro, so the euros become $10,836.84. After your $15 fee, $10,821.84 lands, $350.16 less than the mid-market value.
- Income tax: none, because a genuine gift isn't income.
- Form 3520: not needed for this gift alone. It is well under the $100,000 trigger for gifts from individuals, which counts gifts from related people together, so filing is required only if that parent and relatives give more than $100,000 in the same tax year.
- Records: keep the bank's credit advice and a short message from the parent saying the money is a gift.
The $112 gap between the two routes comes entirely from the exchange rate, which is why the conversion choice matters more than the fee. Had the same €10,000 been a fee for freelance work, it would be taxable income, reported in dollars at the rate on the day it arrived; ask a tax professional how to treat the conversion costs. If the gift is meant for a goal a few years away, our guide to where to park cash short term compares the options.
What if an international wire doesn't arrive?
Ask the sender for their bank's payment confirmation, which shows the amount, the date, the SWIFT codes used and the payment's UETR reference.
With that, your bank can search for the payment or query the bank holding it. The usual causes are a name or account number that doesn't match, a missing intermediary bank or further-credit line, a compliance review at one of the banks, or a currency your account can't take. A payment rejected for wrong details goes back to the sender, possibly less fees charged along the way, and they will need to send it again with the corrected instructions.