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    5 min read 5 stepsMay 9, 2026Verified May 2026

    Sending Money to Korea Safely: Wise, Remitly, Fees, and IRS Reporting

    Remitting money to family in Korea is common for Korean-American seniors. Here is how to do it cheaply, safely, and within US tax rules.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Tips & Tricks
    Difficulty
    Intermediate
    Read Time
    5 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    korean
    remittance
    wise
    remitly
    money-transfer
    irs
    korean-american

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Sign up for Wise or Remitly using your name as it appears on your ID
    2. 2.Add the recipient bank account in Korea with the exact bank code
    3. 3.Choose the standard delivery speed for the lowest fee
    4. 4.Keep a record of every transfer for taxes
    5. 5.Watch for romance scams and fake emergency requests
    1

    Sign up for Wise or Remitly using your name as it appears on your ID

    ~30s
    Both Wise and Remitly require a photo of your US driver license or passport when you sign up. Use your full legal name exactly as it appears on the ID, including any middle name. Korean-American seniors often have multiple name spellings used over the years (legal English name, Korean name in Romanization, and the official Korean name in Hangul). For US money services, use the legal English name on file with Social Security. Verification usually takes minutes for amounts under $10,000.
    2

    Add the recipient bank account in Korea with the exact bank code

    ~33s
    When you add a recipient, you will need their full Korean name, their Korean bank name (such as Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori, NongHyup), and the full account number with no dashes. Ask your family member in Korea to send a screenshot of their banking app showing the account number and the name on the account. The name on the account must match exactly what you enter, or the transfer will be returned.

    Quick Tip

    Quick Tip: Save the recipient as a favorite after the first successful transfer. Next time you only need to enter the amount.

    3

    Choose the standard delivery speed for the lowest fee

    ~25s
    Wise and Remitly both offer multiple speeds. Standard delivery (usually within hours, sometimes one business day) is often free or one or two dollars. Express delivery for an extra $3 to $5 is rarely needed for non-urgent family transfers. Always check the exchange rate shown before you confirm. Wise shows the real mid-market rate. Some competitors show a markup. The amount in won that your family receives is the number that matters.
    4

    Keep a record of every transfer for taxes

    ~38s
    Open a simple notebook or a folder in your email. Each time you send money, save the confirmation email and write down the date, amount in US dollars, amount in Korean won, recipient name, and reason (gift, support, wedding, etc.). At the end of the year, add up the total to one person. If any one person received more than $18,000 in 2026 across all transfers combined, you must file IRS Form 709 by April 15. Most tax preparers handle this for a small fee.

    Warning

    Filing Form 709 does not mean you owe tax. It is a record-keeping form. But skipping the filing when required is a penalty risk. Ask your tax preparer if you crossed the threshold.

    5

    Watch for romance scams and fake emergency requests

    ~26s
    If someone you do not know well asks you to send money to Korea urgently, stop and verify. Common scams include fake distant relatives in trouble, fake romantic partners, and impostors using the names of real Korean officials. Real family will give you a Korean phone number to call back. If a request feels off, call the senior center or a trusted family member before sending. Wise, Remitly, and the police can rarely recover funds once sent.

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    Sending money from the US to Korea is a regular part of life for many Korean-American seniors, especially for family birthdays, weddings, parental support, and chuseok and seollal holidays. The choice of service matters because the wrong one can cost 5 to 8 percent of every dollar you send. Modern services like Wise and Remitly can drop that to less than 1 percent, with funds arriving in a Korean bank account within minutes to a few hours.

    Wise (formerly TransferWise) is widely used by Korean-American seniors because it uses the real mid-market exchange rate and shows the fee up front, in dollars, before you confirm. A typical $1,000 transfer to a Shinhan Bank, KEB Hana Bank, KB Kookmin, or Woori account in Korea costs about $5 to $8 in fees and arrives the same day. The recipient sees the exact amount you intended in Korean won, with no hidden bank deduction.

    Remitly is another popular choice. It often runs promotions where the first transfer has zero fees, and the standard delivery option is cheaper than express. Both Wise and Remitly are licensed money transmitters regulated by the US Treasury Department and FinCEN.

    Avoid traditional wire transfers from US banks to Korean banks unless the amount is very large (over $5,000). Bank wires cost $25 to $45 on the US side, plus another $10 to $20 deducted in Korea, plus a poor exchange rate that quietly takes 2 to 3 percent more. Western Union and MoneyGram are convenient but expensive for routine family transfers.

    On the US tax side, you can send any amount of money to family in Korea without paying tax on it. The IRS does not tax outbound remittances. However, two reporting rules matter for seniors. First, if you make a single gift of more than $18,000 in 2026 to one person, you must file Form 709 (Gift Tax Return) the following spring. You will not owe tax unless your lifetime gifts exceed about $13 million, but the form is required. Second, if you have a Korean bank account in your own name with a balance over $10,000 at any point in the year, you must file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) by April 15.

    (Sources: IRS Form 709 Instructions; FinCEN FBAR Filing Requirements; Wise Pricing Disclosures; Remitly Korea Transfer Rates)

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    korean
    remittance
    wise
    remitly
    money-transfer
    irs
    korean-american

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