Taxes on Currency Exchange Gains/Loss

I'm likely overthinking things, but it sounds a bit messy to me.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Assume I have relocated from the US to UK for a term period of 3 years.  I am paid in the Pound Sterling. Eventually, I find that it is insufficient to meet expenses for a month in the foreign country.  To compensate for this, I move money from the US to the UK at some exchange rate and pay my bills.  Perhaps, there is extra left over, and I leave it in a UK account.  Maybe I make a similar transfer multiple times for the duration regardless of need, and the exchange rate continues to fluctuate.  At the end of the 3 years my situation has improved, and I have some GBP savings. I move back to the US, and I exchange all GBP in the UK for USD.  How can I account for the currency exchange tax implications?  Given the money in the UK savings, how can you tell what is from the exchange versus from income?

Alternatively, what if I made the same relocation, only this time I paid for all expenses from exchanges of USD to GBP.  At the end of the term, all the exchanged money has been spent on rent and food.  All that remains is a bunch of income I collected in a separate account, and I transfer that to the US.  Are there tax implications on that exchange?

Let's make it even more complicated.  In the same relocation, I frequently move money back and forth between two accounts, receiving an income in one and making purchases from both.  What are the tax implications on all that shuffling?

Let's make it simpler.  I buy any foreign currency, spend $201 worth of that currency for fun, then I exchange the remainder back to USD at a better rate so that I end up with exactly the same amount in USD that I started with.  What's the tax implication? 


Thanks for taking the time!

Way too complicated imo.

For UK tax purposes, gains or losses on foreign bank accounts were removed from the charge to capital gains tax from 6 April 2012. Prior to that date, there was a more limited exemption for accounts relating to personal expenditure.

Is it too complicated, as in, I'm making it complicated, or as in, it just is complicated?

Do people just not move money in these ways?

Is it too complicated, as in, I'm making it complicated, or as in, it just is complicated?

Do people just not move money in these ways?

I've moved money like you suggest, but have not attempted to keep a detailed track of such movements as they are infrequent and any gains/losses due to forex are coincidental to when I've needed to move the money.  e.g. in 2011 we lived in the UK for in a rented house for 6 months  and moved chunks of money to the UK to cover the cost. We also received an inheritance that year so had more £ than we needed and moved some back to the USA.

So there was nothing to report for taxes, or you just didn't go through the trouble?

So there was nothing to report for taxes, or you just didn't go through the trouble?

I didn't go to the trouble.  Multiple smaller transfers, spent on living in the UK, then an inheritance ~£40k towards the end of the year.

I can understand that. 

Anybody else ever go to the trouble of recording currency exchange information?

Foreign currency gains in excess of $200 are taxable in the US. http://worldviewwealth.com/2013/12/us-taxation-of-foreign-currency-gains-or-losses/

Foreign currency gains in excess of $200 are taxable in the US. http://worldviewwealth.com/2013/12/us-taxation-of-foreign-currency-gains-or-losses/

Good read, thanks for posting.  The article does use travel as an example where one would exchange funds before the trip, and cash in the excess on return, and there is nothing to report if any gain is less than $200 per trip.  While I've done lots of foreign travel over the years, and still do, the vast majority of expenditure is done using credit cards although I still remember the days of buying a load of Travelers Checks before a trip and then cashing in the remainder on return.