All About FBAR Filing

FAS CPA & Consultants

If you are US citizen, Resident or Expat and you hold accounts in a foreign bank or foreign financial institution with a balance that exceeds $10,000 at any time of the year, you are obligated to file Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report (FBAR).

What Is A FBAR?

The FBAR is a requirement from the US Treasury. Is a file in required for every single US citizen and US Resident holding an account outside of the US in Bank, any bank account that is not in the US bank is subject to reporting to the US Treasury providing that the balance of the account is $10,000 or more in the year.

But if you have several accounts with a minimum balance that, they add up $10,000, all the accounts regarding of the needs to be reported. This is This is exclusively for bank accounts.

Five Elements of FBAR Filing

1. You must file if you are a citizen or US Person. U.S. Persons means:

⇒ U.S. Citizen.

⇒ U.S. Residents.

⇒ U.S. entities and any entity created or organized In U.S. or under U.S. law tax status disregarded.

2. You have a financial interest in or signature authority over an account

Financial Interest means:

⇒ If You are U.S. person and you hold title directly.

⇒ If You hold title for the benefit of a U.S. person.

⇒ If you hold title indirectly.

Signature Authority means:

⇒ You can control disposition of account assets.

⇒ It can be in conjunction with another.

⇒ By direct communication; Oral or written.

Signature authority does not mean:

⇒ Supervisory approvals.

3. That account is a Foreign Financial Account(s)

Foreign Account means: Outside the United States, which is:

⇒ States or foreign countries.

⇒ D.C. Territories and Possessions.

⇒ Indian lands.

⇒ Physical location of account governs.

Financial means:

⇒ Both monetary and non-monetary assets.

⇒ Bank, brokerage, and investment accounts; insurance and annuity policy cash values; and mutual funds are specifically named.

⇒ Generally not real and personal property.

4. The aggregate value of the account(s) exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year

Aggregate Value Exceeds $10,000 means:

⇒ Aggregate accounts with financial interest and those with signature authority.

⇒ Aggregate accounts owned directly and those owned indirectly.

Reportable Accounts

⇒ Bank accounts checking, savings, CDs.

⇒ Securities or brokerage accounts (buying, selling, holding or trading stocks, bonds, etc.).

⇒ Other financial accounts.

⇒ Other deposit accounts.

⇒ Cash value of insurance or annuities.

⇒ Commodity futures or options accounts.

⇒ Mutual funds, or similar pooled funds.

Mutual Fund is defined as:

⇒ Issues shares to the general public and shares have a regular net asset value determination and regular redemption.

5. Reportable Account Exceptions

⇒ U.S. military banking facility.

⇒ Accounts of U.S. governmental entities.

⇒ International financial institutions.

⇒ Correspondent or Nostro accounts.

⇒ Held in a U.S. IRA (if owner or beneficiary).

⇒ Held in a tax-qualified retirement plan if participant or beneficiary.

⇒ Consolidated filing.

Do I Need To File FBAR Is If My Balance Is Less Than $10,000?

If your balance is lower than $10,000, the answer is yes and no, it is easy because, if your balance is not $10,000 and you have one single account, you need not file, but if you have several accounts with a balance lower than 10,000, and all these accounts make up $10,000 in the year, then you do need to file.

The penalty for not file FBAR when you have several banks accounts is $10,000 per account per year.

Do We Need To Find FBAR Every Year?

Yes, you need to file it every year. Otherwise, the IRS is wanting to penalize you with $10,000 per account.

The IRS is going to know the number of your account and depend on this one is based on the number of accounts from the last return to the FBAR that you filed.

Do I Need To Report Life Insurance On FBAR?

The answer is no, you don’t have to report life insurance. For the simple reason that life insurance is not a bank related deposit not falling institution, the point for FBAR is only Bank deposits. These are any kind of Bank deposits, if you have an account with cash or bank accounts, with trading with notes with Securities, you do need to report that to the IRS.

Click Here To Chat Directly With Our CPA. Make Your Consultation

Can I File FBAR For Myself?

Yes, you can. You can file by yourself. But you must enter on IRS website and need to create a new user ID and a password, then look for the 1040 form. There is also a customer service line.

Be sure that if you want to find out yourself, the only thing that you need to have is all the documents have all the documents hand and reveal. All the information does not hide in all the Information. Even if it has Loan account Center, Trading account, reveal all the information to the app to the US Treasury. So, you don’t have any trouble doll or penalties in the future.

Exceptions to FBAR filings

⇒ Signature Authority Exceptions.

Officer or employee, no financial interest of:

⇒ Bank examined by U.S. federal regulators.

⇒ SEC or CFTC registered institution.

⇒ Authorized Service Provider (SEC registered).

⇒ U.S. listed entity (foreign or domestic).

⇒ A U.S. subsidiary of a U.S. listed entity.

⇒ Entity registered under 12(g) of SEC.

Trust Beneficiary Exceptions

⇒ Trust beneficiary does not need to file if trust, trustee, or agent is a U.S. person and files an FBAR disclosing the trust’s foreign financial accounts.

⇒ Reportable beneficial interest does not include remainder interest.

⇒ Discretionary beneficiary filing not required based on discretionary status.

How Can I Avoid FBAR Penalties?

The only way to avoid FBAR penalties is to file every year, and to file on time. You do not even if you want to leave these to last-minute, April 15 is your Easter day.

You make sure that you are filing this April, there’s an extension strongly that if you want to really avoid penalties, you find out that one second, you will need to rebuild every single holding in a bank account in a foreign institution either this account is for cash or this account is for trading stocks from a foreign institution.

It Is Formed 114 Extended FBAR?

Yes, but it’s only extended for the year, meaning that the due day is April 15 every year and the and they are automatic extension of 6 months, October 15.

We must remember that in the US October 15 is also the due date for the personal returns when you have filed an extension. So as a last resource, if you’re filing your return in October 15 use the same date before April 15 to file.

Now what happened if you didn’t file in previous years, the IRS has a program There is has created a program called the streamlined program exclusively for expat US citizens, and US residents who are living outside of the US for many years and they didn’t know what this party. An expert coming into account with the IRS, but you must file at least six years of FBAR at the same time.

If you have not filed Your tax return because you didn’t know you, that you must comply with this obligation of FBAR filing or US stock return filing, you must file. In addition, to the six years of FBAR under the streamlined program created by the IRS You also need to file three years of that return and pay taxes interest and penalties.

What Is The Difference Between Form 1140 (FBAR) And Form 8938 (FATCA)?

Those are the two the famous acronyms from the IRS. The objective of FBAR is reporting of foreign bank accounts, own bank account cash account trading accounts that you hold in the bank. If you have bank accounts that does even see these, even if you are a city in a bank account, you have to report the FBAR.

The form 8938, also known as the FATCA form, is used to report Specified Foreign Financial Assets and the income derived from them. There is some overlap with the FinCEN 114 Form (FBAR), but the filing thresholds are higher, and depend on the taxpayer’s residency and marriage status, with different thresholds for the highest value reached during the year and on the last day of the year. These thresholds range from $50,000 for US Residents and $200,000 for Expats for balances at the last day of the year. These thresholds double if you report as MFJ.

Check Our Service: Tax Planning For U.S. Expats

Getting Delinquent FBAR And FATCA

Delinquent by the there is a resource that you can use if you have the delinquent FBAR. If you have not filed a file for any reason is because you are, you will be able to use a streamlined program, but you will need to file 6 years of FBAR.

The problem for US expat is in the US residential all that car for holding accounts in other countries and they are hiding does holding is that you will get charged criminally. You will go Even a conviction because you are not fine. You are not coming to terms with the idea with a US Treasury. You need to file every year with your objective of coming to terms with their eyes.

This is the problem with the delinquency FBAR part will create $10K per year per account. So, if you are an expat and you can prove that you have reformed Many years in the in your country you can meet program is very good to use for you. You can use that program and take advantage of that providing that you are and a US Expat.

Have to be very, very aware of how many forms you file in the previous years? If you miss one year, you will get a penalty of $10,000. If you have not received a letter from the IRS, and you realize that, you have not filed FATCA form 8938, you can amend your tax return and the amendment would prevent will prevent you from getting penalized because you are proactively filing before, the IRS finds out, that is the key. If the IRS finds out that you didn’t file and receive a letter, there is no way to request to require a forgiving of the penalty unless you have reasonable cause this was reasonable cost and this applies to both penalty for FBAR and penalty for FATCA.

Readers should note that this article is only intended to convey general information on these issues and that FAS CPA & Consultants (FAS) in no way intends for the contents of this article to be construed as accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This article cannot serve as a substitute for such professional services or advice. Any decision or action that may affect the reader’s business should not rely solely on the contents of this article, but should rather be consulted on with a qualified professional adviser. FAS shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this presentation. This article is subject to change at any time and for any reason.

Join to our facebook group: US Expat Tax Intelligence

Check The Video Version Of This Article

We Are Just A Message Away From You. Get A Consultation

Accounting Firm providing Accounting Advisory, Tax Planning and Offshore Strategies to grow your business and protect your assets.

Clients Feedback

Our Clients Reviews

Fulton is a wonderful CPA who fully understands tax law and provides honest advice for his clients.

Al Kusner

President

Thanks to FAS & CPA Consultants and Fulton Abraham Sanchez, CPA, I was able to resolve a debt of $479,677.71 that I had with the IRS.

Gala Cedeño

Entrepreneur

My experience with FAS CPA & Consultants has been incredible, their professionalism is impeccable. I highly recommend them.

Carlos Lange

Manager

I highly recommend FAS CPA & Consultants, they are responsible, efficient and very dedicated.

David Barcelo