How do I send international wire transfers from my foreign LLC's U.S. bank account?

Mercury supports outgoing international wire transfers via the SWIFT network. To initiate a transfer, log into your Mercury dashboard, navigate to Payments, and select "International Wire."

You'll need the following information from your receiving bank in Poland:

1. Beneficiary name — your full legal name as it appears on the receiving bank account. 2. Beneficiary bank name — the name of your bank in Poland. 3. SWIFT/BIC code — an 8 or 11-character code identifying the receiving bank (e.g., BREXPLPWXXX for mBank). 4. Account number or IBAN — for European banks, this is your IBAN (International Bank Account Number). 5. Beneficiary address — your residential address associated with the receiving account. 6. Bank address — the address of the receiving bank branch.

Mercury charges $20 per outgoing international wire. The receiving bank may also charge an incoming wire fee (typically $0-20 depending on the bank). There may also be intermediary bank fees of $15-25 if the wire passes through a correspondent bank.

How you characterize the transfer matters for tax and bookkeeping purposes. When a single-member LLC (disregarded entity) sends money to its foreign owner, the transfer can be:

1. Owner's distribution — the most common characterization. As a disregarded entity, the LLC's income is your income. Transferring funds from the LLC to yourself is simply an owner's draw/distribution. This is not a taxable event in itself (the income was already taxed or reported when earned).

2. Loan repayment — if you previously lent money to the LLC (e.g., initial capital contribution treated as a loan), the transfer can be characterized as a loan repayment.

3. Expense reimbursement — if the LLC owes you for expenses you paid personally on behalf of the business.

For Form 5472 purposes, all transfers between the LLC and its foreign owner are "reportable transactions" that must be disclosed, regardless of how they're characterized. This includes distributions, loans, and reimbursements.

U.S. banks are subject to several reporting requirements for international wire transfers:

1. SWIFT reporting — all SWIFT wire transfers are automatically reported to the applicable regulatory authorities as part of standard banking operations.

2. Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) — if you conduct cash transactions (deposits, withdrawals) exceeding $10,000 in a single day, the bank must file a CTR with FinCEN. Wire transfers between bank accounts are not typically considered "cash transactions" for CTR purposes, but large domestic cash deposits are.

3. Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) — banks are required to file SARs for any transactions they deem suspicious, regardless of amount. This is an internal bank decision — you won't be notified if a SAR is filed.

4. FATCA reporting — under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, foreign banks receiving transfers from U.S. accounts may report the account information back to the IRS.

For a single-member LLC owned by a non-resident alien (treated as a disregarded entity):

1. If the LLC has no effectively connected income (ECI) — which is common for LLCs that only earn foreign-source income — then the transfer itself has no U.S. income tax consequence. The LLC reports its reportable transactions on Form 5472, but there's no income tax to pay on distributions.

2. If the LLC has ECI — income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business — then that income is subject to U.S. income tax (reported on Form 1040-NR). The transfer of after-tax earnings has no additional tax consequence.

3. Branch profits tax — in certain situations involving foreign corporations (not disregarded entities), a 30% branch profits tax may apply to earnings removed from the U.S. This generally does not apply to single-member LLCs owned by individuals, but consult a tax professional if your structure is complex.

The transfer itself does not create a taxable event. What matters is whether the underlying income was properly reported and taxed.

If you're sending money to Poland regularly (monthly or more often), international wire transfers through Mercury at $20 each may not be the most cost-effective option. Wise Business typically offers better rates for transfers to European countries.

A common approach: keep your operating funds in Mercury, and when you need to transfer money to yourself, initiate a free ACH transfer from Mercury to your Wise Business account, then use Wise to convert USD to PLN and send to your Polish bank account. Wise's fee for USD to PLN conversion is typically around 0.5-0.6%, and the transfer reaches your Polish account within 1-2 business days.

For a $3,000 monthly transfer, Mercury's wire costs $20 plus potential intermediary fees. Wise's total fee would be approximately $15-18 with a better exchange rate, saving you money on both the fee and the conversion.