United States IRS adds 1% fee to cash remittances under One Big Beautiful Bill Act

How the remittance tax works

The IRS is collecting a 1% remittance tax on certain cash-funded international transfers sent from the U.S. under Section 4475 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The levy applies only when remittances of $15 or more are funded with cash, money orders, cashier’s checks or similar physical instruments and sent through providers such as Western Union or MoneyGram.

Electronic payments are outside the tax’s scope. The IRS says bank wires, ACH transfers, digital wallets and U.S. debit or credit card payments aren’t subject to the fee and transfers initiated outside the U.S. are excluded too.

Who sees the charge

The tax can affect U.S. expats, digital nomads, tourists, students and foreign workers if they use cash-funded remittance channels from the U.S. A $1,000 qualifying transfer would trigger a $10 fee collected at the point of transfer.

For most mobile workers, the impact should be limited. People sending money from U.S. bank accounts through digital methods won’t see the charge, which keeps the tax from hitting the payment habits many expats already use.

How to avoid it

Use bank accounts, cards or digital wallets instead of cash or money orders when sending money abroad from the U.S. Remittance providers must collect the tax, file it on Form 720 and send it to the IRS, while the agency’s proposed rules also include anti-abuse provisions for transactions structured to dodge the fee.

Preliminary guidance came through IRS Notice 2025-55 and proposed regulations were issued April 10, 2026. Read our full United States guide for the complete picture and see the latest nomad news.