From the book: Chapter 9: Banking, Currency & Bitcoin; Chapter 10: US Taxes Abroad

Money & Banking

Current limits, fees, and official links that go with Chapters 9 and 10. Checked October 2026.

In the book: Chapter 9

The chapter covers money from your last weeks in the US to your first year in El Salvador:

What to keep in the US, and the bank fees to ask about before you go
What a Salvadoran bank asks for, and why a non-Salvadoran spouse may need more than one visit (I did)
When to wire money and when to use a transfer app, with what our own transfers cost and how fast they arrived
How to pay by bank transfer without sending money to the wrong person
Where bitcoin fits after the 2025 changes, and the scams that target newcomers

The chapter explains your US taxes once you live abroad:

What you still file with the IRS, and the extra two months you get
Who the foreign earned income exclusion helps, and why most retirees get nothing from it
The two reports about your Salvadoran accounts, and the single wire that can trigger one
What to ask your state before you move
What El Salvador taxes since its 2024 reform, and what it doesn't

Deposit insurance: up to $12,054 per person at each member bank, January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027. Free and automatic. Instituto de Garantía de Depósitos: the 2026 limit (in Spanish)
Member banks (as listed by the IGD): Banco Agrícola, Banco Cuscatlán, Banco Davivienda, Banco Hipotecario, Banco Promérica, Banco de América Central (BAC), Banco Abank, Banco Industrial, Banco Atlántida, Banco Azul, Banco Apoyo Integral, and Citibank. The IGD also covers several cooperative banks and savings and loan companies: full member list (in Spanish).
Instituto de Garantía de Depósitos (IGD): Calle Padres Aguilar No. 525, between 85 and 87 Avenida Sur, Colonia Escalón, San Salvador. Tel. 2231-5700.
Banco Agrícola: personal account requirements (in Spanish)

Transfer365 (between banks in El Salvador): free from the banks' apps and websites, 24 hours a day, at 28 banks, cooperative banks, and savings and loan companies. Banco Central de Reserva: Transfer365 (in Spanish)
Transfer365 CA-RD (to Central America and the Dominican Republic): $1.00 plus IVA per transfer (Banco Central de Reserva).
Banco Central de Reserva: Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Avenida Norte, San Salvador. Tel. 2281-8000.
Money transfer services from the US: Remitly: send money to El Salvador. Fees vary by amount and payment method.

Foreign earned income exclusion for tax year 2026: $132,900 (IRS 2026 inflation adjustments)
FBAR: required when all your foreign accounts together top $10,000 at any time in the year. Due April 15, automatic extension to October 15.
Form 8938, if you live abroad: assets over $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time; married filing jointly, $400,000 and $600,000.
Filing deadline if you live abroad on April 15: automatic extension to June 15.

Official pages: