What does it cost to invest offshore and bring the money back?

Both conversions, not just the one you notice. On the worked example a 0.60% fee at each end is a round-trip cost of 1.196%, or $598.20 on $50,000.00. That is the fee cost alone, before any brokerage and before the exchange rate has moved at all, and most tools only model the entry half of it.

Is the round trip just double the entry fee?

Almost, and not exactly. Two 0.60% fees give 1.196% rather than 1.20%, because the second fee applies to an amount already reduced by the first. The difference is small at these rates and grows as the fees do. The calculation here compounds them properly rather than adding them.

How much does the investment need to gain to break even?

On the worked example, 1.211% before anything else. That is more than the 1.196% cost, because the gain has to be made on the reduced amount that actually reaches the market. It is a low hurdle over a long holding period and a meaningful one over a short one.

Does the holding period change the cost?

It changes what the cost is worth, which is what matters. The round trip is a one-off charge, so on the worked example 1.196% is 1.196% a year if you hold for one year, 0.239% a year over five, and 0.060% a year over twenty. The fee does not change; the number of years you spread it across does.

Why does the dollar cost grow with the holding period?

Because the exit fee is charged on a balance that has grown. On the worked example the round trip costs $640.07 against a fee-free trip after one year and $2,314.85 after twenty, even though the percentage cost is unchanged at 1.196%. The percentage is the honest measure; the rising dollar figure is just compounding applied to it.

Should I avoid offshore investing because of this?

Not on these numbers. A round-trip cost of 1.196% spread over a decade is 0.120% a year, which is small against the diversification of holding assets outside a market that is a fraction of a percent of global value. The argument this calculation genuinely supports is against moving in and out repeatedly, since each round trip pays the full cost again.

Does the exchange rate matter more than the fees?

Usually by a wide margin. A 1.196% round-trip fee is dwarfed by a currency that moves five or ten percent between your entry and exit, in either direction. Set the two rates apart on this page to see it. The difference is that the fee is certain and one-directional while the currency move is uncertain and can help as easily as hurt.

Is a New Zealand fund holding foreign shares cheaper?

On the conversion question, yes, because you buy and sell it in New Zealand dollars and never convert anything yourself. The fund does its own currency management inside, at institutional rates, and the cost of that sits in its fee. Whether that ends up cheaper overall depends on the fee and on your tax position, which is a comparison on total cost of ownership rather than on conversion charges alone.

Repatriation Cost Calculator NZ 2026/27

Quick answer: On the worked example below, converting $50,000.00 out at 0.60% and back at 0.60% costs 1.196%, or $598.20, before the exchange rate moves at all. The investment needs to gain 1.211% just to break even. Held for five years that is 0.239% a year; held for one year it is the full 1.196%.

Almost every tool that costs an offshore investment models the money going out and stops there. The money has to come back, and when it does it is converted a second time at a second fee, on a balance that has grown in the meantime. That second conversion is rarely advertised, frequently the same rate as the first, and completely absent from the comparison most people run before they invest. This page models the whole round trip. It converts out at your entry rate less the entry fee, applies whatever return you expect over however long you intend to hold, then converts back at your exit rate less the exit fee, with brokerage at each end if your platform charges it. It reports the round-trip cost as a percentage rather than as the sum of the two fees, because the second fee applies to an amount the first has already reduced, so two 0.60% charges do not make 1.20%. It also reports the gross gain the investment needs simply to leave you level, which is slightly higher again because the gain has to be earned on the reduced amount that actually reaches the market. The most useful output is the last one: the round trip is a one-off charge, so what it costs you depends almost entirely on how many years you spread it across. The same 1.196% is a serious cost over one year and a rounding error over twenty, which is an argument against moving in and out repeatedly rather than an argument against investing offshore.

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Updated Current 2026/27 rates applied.

The exchange rate matters more than the fees, and this page holds it still by default. Both rates start at the same value so the output isolates the cost of the conversions, which is the question being asked. Move them apart and the currency effect will dwarf the fee within a few percent, in either direction. The difference worth keeping in mind is that the fee is certain and always against you, while the currency move is uncertain and can help as easily as hurt.

Verification & Methodology

Out: amount × (1 − entry fee), less entry brokerage, converted at the entry rate.
Growth: the foreign balance compounds at your assumed return for the holding period.
Back: less exit brokerage, converted at the exit rate, then × (1 − exit fee).
Round-trip fee cost = 1 − (1 − entry fee) × (1 − exit fee). Compounded, not added, because the second fee applies to an amount the first already reduced. Two 0.60% fees give 1.196%, not 1.20%.
Break-even gain = 1 / [(1 − entry fee) × (1 − exit fee)] − 1. Higher than the cost, because the gain must be earned on the reduced amount that reaches the market.
Cost per year = round-trip cost / years held. The charge is one-off; the horizon decides what it is worth.
The dollar cost rises with the holding period even though the percentage does not, because the exit fee is charged on a larger balance. The percentage is the measure to compare on.
Both rates are set to the same value by default, which isolates the fee cost. Any difference between them is a currency effect rather than a cost.
Excluded: tax of any kind, including the foreign investment fund rules, which our total cost of owning a US ETF calculator covers; bid-ask spreads on the shares; and any mark-up buried in the exchange rate rather than charged as a fee.
Not financial advice. Last verified: .

The trip Amount converting out

Holding period

years

Return while invested

% p.a.

Going out Conversion fee

Exchange rate out

USD per NZD

Brokerage to buy

Coming home Conversion fee

Exchange rate back

USD per NZD

Brokerage to sell

The exit fee is the one platforms rarely advertise. Check it specifically.

1.196%

round trip, or $598.20 on the way in and out

Break-even gain

1.211%

just to get level

Per year held

0.239%

over 5 years

You end with

$69,288.58

from $50,000.00

Cost against no fees

$839.01

after 5 years

The round trip, step by step

You start with	$50,000.00
Less the 0.60% conversion fee	-$300.00
Less brokerage to buy	$0.00
Converted at 0.5850	US$29,074.50
After 5 years at 7.00%	US$40,778.49
Less brokerage to sell	$0.00
Converted back at 0.5850	$69,706.82
Less the 0.60% conversion fee	-$418.24
You end with	$69,288.58

The exit fee is larger than the entry fee in dollars, because it is charged on a balance that has grown for five years.

What the round trip costs

Fee going out	0.60%
Fee coming home	0.60%
Round trip, compounded	1.196%
Which is not the same as adding them	1.200%
Break-even gain needed	1.211%
On $50,000.00 that is	$598.20
Per year over 5 years	0.239%

The round trip is a one-off charge. Everything about whether it matters comes down to how many years you spread it across.

The same cost over different holding periods

Held for	You end with	With no fees	Cost	Cost a year
1 year	$52,859.93	$53,500.00	$640.07	1.196%
2 years	$56,560.12	$57,245.00	$684.88	0.598%
3 years	$60,519.33	$61,252.15	$732.82	0.399%
5 years	$69,288.58	$70,127.59	$839.01	0.239%
10 years	$97,180.82	$98,357.57	$1,176.75	0.120%
20 years	$191,169.38	$193,484.22	$2,314.85	0.060%

The dollar cost rises because the exit fee applies to a bigger balance. The percentage does not move at all, which is why it is the figure to compare on.

The Fee You Do Not See Coming

Platforms advertise the rate to convert into a foreign currency. The rate to convert back is rarely on the same page and is frequently the same charge again.

On the worked example the entry fee is $300.00 and the exit fee is $418.24, because the exit is charged on five years of growth. Together they are $598.20 measured against the starting amount, and $839.01 measured against a fee-free round trip at the end.

Worked Example: $50,000 Out And Back

$50,000.00 less 0.60% is $49,700.00, converted at 0.5850 to US$29,074.50.

Five years at 7.00% takes it to US$40,778.49.

Converted back at 0.5850 gives $69,706.82, less 0.60% leaves $69,288.58.

A fee-free round trip would have ended at $70,127.59, so the conversions cost $839.01.

Two Fees Do Not Simply Add

Two 0.60% charges give a round-trip cost of 1.196%, not 1.200%, because the second applies to an amount the first has already reduced.

The difference is trivial at these rates and grows as the fees do. At 1.50% each end the round trip is 2.978% rather than 3.000%.

The break-even is a third number again, at 1.211%. It is higher than the cost because the gain has to be earned on the reduced amount that actually reaches the market, which is a distinction worth getting right when the margins are this fine.

The Horizon Decides Whether It Matters

The round trip is one charge. Whether it is expensive depends entirely on how long the money stays offshore.

Held for a year, 1.196% is 1.196% a year, which is more than most funds charge in fees and would consume a meaningful share of a normal year's return.

Held for ten years it is 0.120% a year. Held for twenty it is 0.060%, which is smaller than the expense ratio of most funds.

So the argument this calculation supports is not against investing offshore. It is against moving in and out, because each round trip pays the full cost again and resets the amortisation to zero.

The Currency Move Is Larger Than The Fee

Both exchange rates start at the same value here so the output isolates the fees. That is not how a real round trip works.

A currency that moves five percent between your entry and exit swings the result by roughly four times the entire round-trip fee, and ten percent by eight times.

The distinction worth holding onto is that the fee is certain and always against you, while the currency move is uncertain and helps as often as it hurts. Our currency hedged vs unhedged calculator deals with that side properly, and our FX drip-feed vs lump sum calculator covers whether to convert all at once.

What This Page Deliberately Leaves Out

Tax, entirely. The foreign investment fund rules are usually a larger annual cost than the whole round trip, and our total cost of owning a US ETF calculator brings them together with the conversion charges into one figure.

Any mark-up buried in the exchange rate itself rather than shown as a fee. A platform quoting a poor rate with no fee can be dearer than one charging a visible fee at a fair rate, and our FX spread vs fee calculator separates the two.

And the alternative that avoids the question: a New Zealand domiciled fund holding the same foreign assets is bought and sold in New Zealand dollars, so you never convert anything. The fund manages the currency internally at institutional rates and the cost sits inside its fee.

Related NZ Offshore Investing Calculators

US Share FX Cost Calculator: the entry conversion in detail.
Total Cost Of Owning A US ETF Calculator: conversions plus tax plus fees.
FX Spread vs Fee Calculator: the cost hidden in the rate itself.
Currency Hedged vs Unhedged Calculator: the exchange rate risk.
FX Fee Tier Break-Even Calculator: whether a paid tier is worth it.

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NZ Salary vs Dividend Calculator 2026: The After-Tax Winner.
Savings To Investment Switch Calculator NZ 2026/27: free NZ calculator showing the horizon at which moving money from savi.

How to work out the round-trip cost of investing offshore

Enter what you are converting. The New Zealand dollar amount going out. Everything else scales from it, and the percentages hold at any size.
Enter both conversion fees. They are frequently the same rate and they are charged twice. Check the exit fee specifically, because platforms advertise the entry rate and rarely mention the other one.
Add brokerage at each end. Buying and selling are separate trades. Many platforms now charge nothing on United States shares, in which case leave these at zero.
Set both exchange rates. The rate you convert out at and the rate you expect to convert back at. Leaving them the same isolates the fee cost, which is the point of this page; changing them shows how much larger the currency move is than the fees.
Set the holding period. The round trip is a one-off cost, so the number of years you hold determines what it works out at per year. This is the single most important input on the page.
Read the break-even. This is the gross gain the investment needs before you are level, purely from the conversions. Anything below it and the round trip has cost you money regardless of what the market did.