FX transfer fees and markup: practical guide

What to prepare

• Find the relevant statement, payslip or transaction record rather than estimating from a bank balance.
• Identify the tax year, transaction date and whether each amount is gross, net, annual or monthly.
• Separate known facts from assumed rates and check eligibility against the linked official sources.

Understand the inputs

The calculation method

Deduct the source fee, apply the provider rate, deduct the destination fee, then compare with mid-market value.

Worked example

Illustrative inputs and their result.

Example inputs

Total source-currency amount

1000

Mid-market destination per source

0.85

Provider destination per source

0.83

Source-currency fee

5

Destination-currency fee

2

Calculated example result

Destination Received

823.85

Effective Fee Percent

3.0765%

How to interpret the result

Distinguish a tax saving, a tax bill, cash received and money remaining: they are not interchangeable. An estimate does not establish eligibility, filing compliance or when a refund will be paid.

Compare the same income or transaction under one changed assumption at a time. Keep a record of the year, date and assumptions so a change in the result can be explained.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Do not mix tax years or apply a newly announced measure to an earlier transaction.
• Avoid counting an allowance, credit, contribution or loss twice.
• Check exclusions and personal circumstances before relying on the headline result.

Assumptions and sources

Enter current quotes; no live FX fetch. Rates are destination currency units per source unit.

Related finance & irish taxes guides

• Salary & PAYE: practical guide
• Irish VAT: practical guide
• Capital gains tax: practical guide
• Gift & inheritance tax: practical guide
• Deposit interest & DIRT: practical guide
• Emergency payroll tax: practical guide