What is FBAR filing and who needs to report it?
You may have heard of FBAR filing yet still have a vague understanding of it and whether it’s something you need to do. FBAR means Foreign Bank Account Report and it refers to FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Account. Requirements of FBAR 2021 filing are quite simple. If you’re wondering “Do I need to file FBAR 2021” or looking for FBAR filing help, this article is for you.
Here are the applicability criteria:
- You are a U.S. person for tax purposes hence U.S. citizen, dual citizen, or Green Card holder living abroad;
- You have individually or jointly owned a foreign financial account or a signature or other authority over one or more accounts;
- And the aggregate value of those accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.
Besides the eligibility criteria mentioned above for who needs to file FBAR, it would be worthwhile to know at the outset that FBAR 2021 must be filed electronically.
How does a U.S. expat report FBAR on FinCEN Form 114?
On FinCEN Form 114 – the FBAR filing form – a taxpayer needs to report foreign financial assets according to the certain requirements. They include but not limited to bank, securities, and financial instruments accounts; mutual funds and you, as the account holder, have an equity interest in the fund; brokerage account, trust, and insurance policies or annuity contracts with a cash value etc.
Filing an FBAR 2021 is required if the total (aggregate) value of all of your financial assets is over $10,000 on any day in the tax year. It is can be a quite confusing situation for taxpayers who they aren’t the main holder of a financial account. Americans abroad mistakenly think they don’t need to disclose the foreign account on FBAR in this case. Well, you need to know that even the nominee must still file the form if the threshold was met.
Example – FBAR filing for US Expats: A U.S. person abroad has 2 different overseas financial accounts. He has $3,400 in one and $6,600 in another; he must report both accounts on Form 114.
What you do not need to claim on the FBAR 2021: domestic mutual funds that invest in foreign stocks and personal property held directly. Americans in Canada, check out this blog post about tax traps for you.
By when must an American overseas file an FBAR?
The deadline for FBAR 2021 is April 15th, 2021. Moreover May 17, 2021, the extension of the due dates for the filing of federal income tax and other taxes does not apply to the 2021 FBAR deadline. However if you’ve failed to fail an FBAR until now, don’t panic!
FinCEN has granted everyone an automatic extension to October 15th, 2021. So you don’t even have to make a request to be granted the extension. Hurry up and sort out your Foreign Bank Account Report before the last due date!
How to file an FBAR?
Important 2021 FBAR filing info – The FBAR 2021 is filed electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System and it’s filed separately from a federal tax return. Even if you’re filing FBAR for a previous year or an amended form, nevertheless it’s mandatory to use the official FinCEN website.
Should I file more than one FBAR or can I file it jointly with my spouse?
You are able to file a single FBAR:
- If you have joint accounts together with your spouse,
- And none of you or only one has a separate account.
Otherwise, each spouse must file their own FBAR.
A taxpayer who holds a foreign financial account can still meet the reporting obligation even when it doesn’t produce taxable income! It happens by answering questions on a tax return about foreign accounts (Schedule B Form 1040). And additionally, you need to file an FBAR too.
Are you a U.S. citizen living in the United Kingdom? Check out this article about tax obligations for Americans in the UK!
Are there any FBAR penalties for failing to report?
Penalties for failure to file an FBAR – Under the current FBAR rules, if you non-willfully fail to report FBAR, there is a penalty of up to $10,000. Willful violations lead to a penalty of up to $100,000, or 50% of account balances. Criminal penalties may also apply. Over the last decade after introducing the FBAR penalties, the filings have skyrocketed from 280,000 FBAR in 2005 to 1 million in 2015.
To catch up on late FBARs, you may use Delinquent FBAR. It applies in situations when you don’t need to use the IRS tax amnesty programs:
- Haven’t filed a required FBAR/FinCEN Form 114;
- Are not under a civil examination or a criminal investigation by the IRS
- The IRS hasn’t contacted you about the delinquent FBARs.
You will need to file the late FBAR on FinCEN website and include a statement of why you are filing the FBARs late.
What is Form 8938 and do I need to file it?
It’s a separate form, which doesn’t replace nor affect your U.S. expat’s obligation to file FinCEN Form 114. You need to check the requirements and relevant reporting thresholds of each form to determine if you need to file Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets.
A U.S. citizen, a GreenCard holder, or a dual citizen living abroad has to file Form 8938 if they meet the following requirements. If a single individual (or a married person who is filing separately):
- holds assets, with a total value of more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year
- OR assets exceed $300,000 at any time during the year
If a married person is filing jointly:
- the total value of their assets has to be more than $400,000 on the last day of the tax year
- OR assets exceed more than $600,000 at any time during the year.
You need to file and attach Form 8938 to your annual federal tax return and due on the date of the latter, including applicable extensions.
The penalty for Form 8938 is up to $10,000. And then an additional amount of $10,000 is required for every 30 days after an IRS notice/letter. The potential maximum penalty is $60,000 and criminal penalties may also apply.
What does FATCA have to do with FBAR?
FATCA, or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, is different from FBAR. Form 8938 is a part of FATCA laws and it’s filed with your federal tax return and submitted to the IRS. You file an FBAR with the US Treasury Department, and the threshold is much lower. Remember, it is $10,000 for FBAR filing vs. min $200,000 needed for Form 8938.
You are most likely not be affected by FATCA unless you have at least $200,000 as an interest in foreign financial assets.
According to the IRS, having an interest in an account or assets means “if any income, gains, losses, deductions, credits, gross proceeds, or distributions from holding or disposing of the account or asset are or would be required to be reported, included, or otherwise reflected on your income tax return”.
If you need help with your FBAR 2021 filing, contact us today and we will get back to you within 24 hours.
I live in California with my wife. We have jointly a maximum of $47,687 in two banks in Lebanon
We earned $1538.08 in interest in the year 2017. Do we have to file FBAR?
Hi George,
we replied your inquiry via personal email.
For everyone else wondering if they have to file FBAR in a similar case – everyone needs to file FBAR if they have foreign financial accounts with an aggregate value of $10,000 or more.
I live in Germany and have filed my FBAR every year (ca 20yrs) for 2 accounts we have. This year I´ve tried 3x to fill out the forms and am not able to enter the “Type of Account” or the Country. The forms want a State and there is no option for a foreign country.
I have printed my forms and entered the Type of Account and country manually. Now I would like to mail them in, but can´t find an address.
Can you help me ?
Hi Harriet,
The form must be electronically filed. Maybe the file you’re using is corrupted. Please, visit this page and download a new form from there or submit your FBAR online https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/NoRegFBARFiler.html
Thanks.
I am a US expat and live in Canada. I have filed my FBAR’s for a number of years. This year I filed on May 11th. After looking over my accounts I found that I had inadvertently added an extra zero on one of my accounts after I had already filed. I also see that I have filed late. I had assumed it was Jun 30th like last year. Should I refile and can I refile an amended report?
Hello, Christopher!
We responded you via email.
Thanks!
I am dual status tax resident from Oct/2017. Prior to that I was a non resident.
What portion of the income from 2017 do I need to report in FATCA and FBAR?
Please help me understand the requirement for filing FATCA F8938 for Dual resident taxpayers, as mentioned at below link.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/corporations/update-to-2014-instructions-to-form-8938-1
I come under below scenario as I am a resident since 10/2017, and wanted to know which portion of the year should I declare my foreign assets.
• Specified individual filing as a resident alien at the end of his or her taxable year
I didn’t include my foreign bank account in my tax report because I earned no interest. I now know I need to do this by FBAR. Should I also need to amend my tax report this year??
Hello,
We replied to you via email. Thanks!
I represent the estate of a US expat (born in US) who lived and earned as a self employed landscaper snow removal contractor in Canada all his life. He never filed US taxes or FBARs. Can the estate qualify for the streamlined amnesty program? The non-willful certification is obviously a major problem as he is deceased. As his friend of 40 years I know he had no idea of his responsibilities to file. He was also Canadian and paid his taxes to Canada. He was oblivious to the requirements and I’ll for the past 7 years.
Hi Stefan! Yes, the estate will be eligible to file under Streamlined.
FATCA refers to general no cash assets like primary home purchase or refers to money in the bank?
I am a US citizen living in the United Arab Emirates since September 2014. As of June 2018 I have the equivalent of one month’s salary in a savings account here. When my salary was then paid at the end of June, the value of my checking and savings account were equal to two month’s salary which crosses the FBAR threshold. However within a day or two of receiving my salary, after I pay rent and various other expenses, the value of these accounts drops to well below the FBAR limit. Will I still be required to file an FBAR for 2018 by April 15, 2019?
Hi there. I am in a panic. I moved to the UK at he end of 2016 and only started working full-time in 2017. I filed my 1040 recently ($31k AGI) for 2016 and I am just now learning about all these tax laws. I just turned 28 and I was married in 2015.
My spouse is not an US citizen or green card holder. However I have legal right to be in the UK (bonafide resident.)
I only earn about £24k and have like £600 to myself after bills every month. We don’t have our finances together aside from paying rent together at our small one bed apartment. I am scared I have made a grave mistake and will go to jail or something for not filing properly and I am scared to owe thousands of dollars I don’t have. I am terrified of being separated from my spouse. I have been losing sleep over this and have no idea where to turn!
Hi Richard,
We sent you an email. Thanks
Hi, I have a bank account in China which the amount is under USD10,000, and a retirement governmen funds which over usd10,000 before I moving to United States, Do I need to file FBAR? If yes, how about the procedure and the price? Thank for your help.
Hi there, I’m a US / Canadian dual citizen – I received $75,000 USD worth of foreign securities in December of 2017 – I plan on renouncing my US citizenship tomorrow and have all the requisite Dept. State and IRS forms filled out – question is – do I need to follow through with FBAR and FINCEN reporting or just list those securities on my expatriation form? Given that it’s July 2018, wouldn’t any securities I received be slated for April 2019 reporting and by then I’ll have long since renounced my US citizenship – hope that makes sense – it’s this kind of (tip of the iceberg) red tape that made me decide to take the steps to renounce in the first place…
Hello Jack,
We replied to you via email. Check your inbox. Thank you!
Hi, I am an Indian citizen and I live in US. From January 2018 I have been sending around $1000/month to my father account in India for family maintenance and also I have made some donations to foreign charities. The sum of amounts is now exceeds $10,000. My tax agent suggested me to file FBAR form. But in the online I found that, FBAR is for having more than $10,000 USD in the foreign banks. I don’t even have $100 also in my foreign bank account. So do I have to file FBAR form or Not.
Thank you very much In advance.
Hi Andy,
We replied to you via email. Check your inbox!
Thank you and have a great day.
I need to file FBAR under the amnesty program by Sept 30, 2018. Can you help me filing?
Hi Bomi,
Yes, we can help you with filing FBARs under the amnesty program.
We also replied to you via email. Please, check your inbox.
Thank you!
Hi Oliver. Thanks for breaking down the limits and the forms. My husband and I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to research and understand FATCA. We are both US Expats living in Australia and also spend about 4 months of the year living in South East Asia. I was interested to come across an article published by a British Economist here in Australia named Dan Hadley who exposed which countries are still not compliant with FATCA https://www.nestegg.com.au/investment-insights/11963-f-a-t-c-a-the-all-stick-and-no-carrot-approach-to-u-s-taxation-reporting
Do you think that if you have assets or earnings from such countries then there is no point in declaring them? I’m not looking to evade taxes so to speak but if we can minimize our liabilities it certainly helps our retirement funding.
Hi Sal,
We replied to you via email.
Thank you!
Hi
In respect to for 8938, if an account is a non interest bearing, no income/deduction account (so no implications to the tax return), but the value reaches the threshold, does this require reporting?
Hi Mridula,
We replied to you via email.
Thank you!
Hello Olivier,
My US-American mother had been living in Germany for the five years before her death. In those years she never had to do FBAR. She died last month and it so happens that she would normally have to do FBAR for 2018. (She exceeded $10K by only a little though, not much). Do I need to do a concluding tax return and FBAR for her? And/or, would the IRS really hound down the executrixes of deceased people for having digressed an FBAR for just a bit for one year?
Hi Curious person,
Yes, the executor of the estate would have to file an FBAR.
All the best,
Olivier.
My wife and I live in Switzerland since 1976, and are both U.S. citizens (and also Swiss since 2007). We have submitted our FBARs separately, indicating jointly owned accounts on my FBAR. Are we also required to indicate joint accounts on her FBAR?
Hi Jefferey!
It’s a very good question! Yes, your wife will have to report all her financial assets she has interest in and indicate which of her financial assets are joint if you file your FBARs separately.
I moved to Spain to do my phd and brought my savings ($15,000) to a Spanish bank in order to pay my living spenditures. I have never worked in Spain, and the money is essentially there, not gaining interests nor anything, just being used to pay housing, food and education.
1. Do I still need to file FBAR?
If so, I missed the dates as I didn’t knew. I keep reading the delinquent form, but I just find the normal form.
2. Is it the same form?
3. Do I write the statement in the form or is this a separate letter?
Thanks
Hello Alex,
You need to file since the total value exceeded the $10,000 during the tax year. You should just efile your FBAR even though its late. There is a part that asks for a reason to file if delinquent. One of it is not knowing you had to file.
Good luck.
sir,
i am green card holder working in Dubai in one private company as Manager and company have given me signature authority in bank. I am not a owner of the company and not owner of money in bank account.
Please let me know i will have to file FBAR or not ?
Hi Ram,
Yes, you will have to file an FBAR even though it’s just a signatory account.
Hello, Olivier,
I’m an American working in the UAE for an American company.
My pay is distributed to me with US taxes withheld (per my W-4 information provided to my employer). Do I still need to file a FBAR?
Doesn’t the IRS already know what $ amount I’m making here?
I will be filing my first year taxes next April…
Thank you,
Hi Lowell,
We replied to you via email.
Hi, I am a US citizen working in Germany for 3 months. My account does not reach $10,000.00 in a single day. My salary this year won’t be close to this amount. Next year I’ll have the full year salary. For the FBAR would I need to fill it out either this year or next year if none of the days my account is over $10k.
Hi Wendy,
You need to file FBAR if the value of your foreign bank account was higher than $10,000 at any day during the tax year.
Thank you.
For FBAR reporting I am a signatory ( US Citizen) and my husband the other signatory ( Canadian Citizen) so do I report the entire amount in the account as mine?
Hi Sandra,
You need to report this account even though you only have a signature authority. But you don’t report them as your accounts, but report them in part IV of FBAR designated for accounts with signature authority.
If you have troubles filing your FBAR, we can prepare it for $100.
Thank you.
I am an American living in France for more than 30 years (with French nationality as well) and my checking account has never exceeded 10 000 Dollars. I have a Livret A (which according to your info, I do not have to declare). My bank did send me a letter saying they were complying with US authorities and sharing my info with them, but I have understood that I do not need to declare since my account doesn’t exceed 10K$, neither in the past nor at the present time. Am I correct in my understanding? Many thanks.
Hi JFD,
Yes, you are correct. You do not have an FBAR filing obligation until the total value of your foreign financial assets is higher than $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.
In the FBAR, in the address it is required to fill in the field for “state”, whereby the menu only lists US states and does not have a choice like “other” or “not applicable”. The form does not go through without filling this in, even though it is nonsense. What to do?
Hi David,
If you are residing outside the US, you don’t have to report a state (as the ‘state’ box in form Fincen114 refers to US states only). You just have to report the country where you live, in the box that’s below. In that case, the state box remains blank.
I have a similar problem. With my country the STATE dropdown box is empty, but the form insists on my selecting something, or the validation fails. Second deadline is coming up. What to do?
Hi Shifra,
It depends on the software you are using. As we are not familiar with it, we can’t help here. Our software allows to report both, the country and the state. Maybe you are using software that was mainly designed for US residents and lack this function.
Hi! I am a US Citizen living in United States but I have a foreign bank account in Philippines but I just use it for sending money to my family back home. It never had an amount of more than $10,000 dollars. Do i still need to file a report to FBAR? Do I even have to report it to IRS?
Also I just open a broker account that is based in Philippines and started investing in Philippines stocks but the total investment i have there is only $2000 so far. Do I still have to report it to IRS?
Hoping for your response! thanks!
Hi Marianne,
You will need to file FBAR in cases when the total value of your foreign financial assets exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year.
Hello, I have accumulate 20 years of saving in my foreign accounts and haven’t filed any U.S. taxes (1040 nor fbar nor fatca). Will this be a problem because the amount in the accounts is quite large now because it was accumulated over 20 years. Will the amount in the accounts affect taxes. I plan to do a streamlined procedure. Can I ask for your service and consultation for a fee. Can I file more than 3 years of back taxes to better explain my large account balance? Can you give me a quote for your services
Thank you
Hi Chico,
We sent you an email.
Please, check your inbox. Thank you!
HI Olivier, do I have to file FBAR if the account was overdrawn (ie the overdraft exceeds $10,000)?
Hello Anna,
There is no need to file an FBAR. Accounts with a negative balance are deemed to have a zero dollar balance.
Hi again, does an executor have to make enquiries as to whether the deceased filed FBAR in prior years (and, if need be, file for the deceased)? Thanks
Hello Oliver,
My mother is a landed immigrant in Canada and after buying my fathers pension (greater than $10000)from ford motor company canada. She invested that money to reduce the impact of taxes. She files both US and Canadian Taxes each year including taxable income from the accounts. She’s never filed an fbar or a fatca. She also has not been audited nor contacted by the IRS. What course of action would you recommend to bring her fabric and fatca records up to date without imposing penalties.
Hi Henry,
We replied to you vie email.
Thanks
My accountant filed an fbar report for me about two weeks ago yet she says she received no notification so far. Did the government shutdown cause a slowdown in the process? How long should notification take
Hi Eric,
The FinCEN website was operating normally. FBARs are accepted a few seconds after being filed and they are acknowledged within 48 hours.
My question is:
I have my foreign bank account which has 6000$ whereas my wife has an individual account (it’s not a joint account, she is the sole owner) which has 5000$. Do I have to file FBAR in this case as I’m not the co-owner of my wife’s account?
Hi Babu,
According to info you have provided, you are not required to file FBAR.
I am an individual filer attempting to fill out the online FBAR form, but not certain what is meant by a “Prior report BAS Identifier”. Do I have to fill this in? If so what is it and where do I find that information? Actually there several numbers and identification requirements, for eks. US Taxpayer identification Number … is that Social Security?? Feeling a bit clueless here.
Hi Angela,
Replied to you via email.
Thank you!
Hello Olivier, can you also assist with form 1040 queries?
Hi Anna,
We can assist with Form 1040 queries. You can book a paid consultation with our U.S. tax expert: 100 USD for 30-mins or 200 USD for 1 hour.
Thanks
Hello Oliver, I’m a us person who married an Italian citizen 50 years ago and I’m living in Italy since then. I never received any payment just being a house wife. I do not have any US residence and a dual citizenship. I have no contact with any US bank. I have a bank account in Italy on money earned only by my husband and already taxed in Italy. I was informed, just few days ago, that I’m supposed to file tax report and FBAR. What we have in the bank is his earned money as the Italian tax Authority knows well. What are my duties with FATCA and AEOI? Thank you
Hi Lynn,
We replied to you via email.
Thanks
Hi,
I was wondering what the FBAR reporting obligations are for a year in which US citizenship was renounced.
Do accounts opened after the renunciation need to be reported and are they counted towards the threshold for the 8938 filing ? Are maximum account balances considered across the entire year or just until the date of renunciation ?
Thanks!
Regards, Ryan
Hi Ryan,
To answer your questions:
1) No, you don’t need to report accounts which you opened after the renunciation.
2) Until the date of renounciation.
Hi Olivier,
Are you aware of any official IRS guide/publication that supports these points?
Also do you happen to have any knowledge of the approach taken by others in the same situation and the response (if any) from the IRS.
Thanks & Regards
Hi Joseph,
here is the link to IRS’s official document
This year I still have not received the email acknowledgment after filing my FBAR two weeks ago. What should I do?
Hi Sandra,
You can log in to the BSA filing system and see the status of the FBAR filing.
Hi, It appears that the electronic form FinCen 114 has changed this year and we are required to use the new form for electronic submission. It looks like the new form asks for exactly the same data in exactly the same format as the old form. Is it possible to move data already entered in the old form to the new form? Any idea why the change? Could it be we really have to reenter all that data manually?
Hi Michael,
It looks like you will need to reenter all that data manually.
Hello Oliver. I’m a refugee on “asylum pending” C-8 category status in CA, should I file FBAR for my foreign accounts? If yes, how to avoid penalties as I didn’t file it in my first tax last year!
Thank you
Hi Astaf,
Under the substantial presence test, an individual is a resident alien if he/she is present in the United States for 1) at least 31 days in the current year and 2) at least 183 days in the three-year period that includes the current year (counting each day of presence in the current year, one-third of each such day in the preceding year, and one-sixth of each such day in the year before that). Thus, the FBAR filing obligations apply to a person who meets the substantial presence test.
If you want us to help with your FBAR filing, please, send an email to info@1040abroad.com and we will start the process. Thanks.
Hi Oliver,
1) Can I file my 1040 and get an automatic extension to file the FBAR until 10/15/19 without filing any sort of extension form? I think there were automatic ext last year but I haven’t seen anything for current tax filing.
2) I have 2 accts in Korea, opened 4/23/18 1 with 2 million Won ($1,799 at 12/31/18) and the other has $84,016 USD. I know nothing else: acct numbers, type of accts. My Korean mother opened them, refuses to give me stmts or info in fear of IRS taking some of it. Seems like I have 2 choices: A) file a best efforts FBAR now and see if you can amend next yr. B) if automatic extension granted. I am going to Korea this yr… doubt with the language barrier and my mother not wanting me access that’ll find out more info. But if I do, I could file a more accurate FBAR by 10/15/19.
3) I think the Korean accts would need to be included in my Form 3520 too even though I don’t actually have access to the funds. And if I’m able to wire out this yr… I wouldn’t report in 3520 twice for 2019 filing right? Would you use the 12/31/18 exchange conversion for the smaller Won acct, to be consistent with the FBAR, or exchange as of 4/23/18, when opened.
4) Mother also wired some funds to wife. If she’s individually under $100k in 2018 gifts, should I report on Form 3520 anyhow, since reporting for me, and do a joint 3520? I think the $100k rule is not aggregate between recipients since they are not for $15k domestic gifts (only by giver). But I think neither the foreign gifts or the foreign accts are taxable anyhow right?
Obviously this last min. finding has got us in a panic. Thanks in advance if you can provide any insight!
Hi Nick,
1) You get an automatic extension for FBAR filing until October 15th, 2019 and until June 17th, 2019 for 1040 Form. You will need to file for extension if you want to submit your 1040 Form in October.
2) If your name is on it, the IRS already has your information. Now, they are just waiting whether you will come forward and report it on your FBARs. The penalties for not reporting these vary from $10,000 to 50% of the account balance.
3) Is it a foreign trust? If yes, then you are required to file 3520.
4) If the money came from the trust, you need to supply your tax return with 3520-A. And in this case, I strongly recommend to file the 3520-A as soon as possible. We have seen the $10,000 penalties being assessed for late filings of the form.
I think I might also have to file a form 8938. While married and filing a joint 1040, my 2 Korean accounts are not jointly owned with spouse, and over the $50k limit for individuals/married filing single (for form 8938).
If yes, I wouldn’t be able to wait on the FBAR unless I also extended my 1040, since I think 8938 gets filed with 1040.
I’m confused on the qualifications for joint filing 8938, but I had assumed that married filing 1040 jointly made me eligible to not file 8938 since below $100k at any time in 2018.
Hi again Nick,
If your filing status is “married filing jointly”, then you do not need to file the 8938 form as it has different thresholds:
1) the total value of their assets has to be more than $400,000 on the last day of the tax year
2) OR assets exceed more than $600,000 at any time during the year.
Hi! I’m a US citizen with dual citizenship that’s lived outside the US for almost my entire life. I realized recently that I might need to file an FBAR since as far as I’m aware my parents might have savings in my name that exceed the threshold. Currently, I’m still a minor though (17). Do I need to file? Are there any hurdles or complications I should be aware of?
Thanks!
Hi Ice,
Yes, you still need to file FBAR even if you are a minor. If you need our help, we can file it for your for 100 USD per form. Thanks.
Hi,
My wife is American and lives in France with me (I am French and we just got married in the US and are doing the papers to make it legal in France).
Does she have to fill the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) even if she has less than 10k$ on her only account? I understand that she doesn’t have to… but shoulmd she do it just to avoid any problems in the future? Also, now that we are married, must she include my bank accounts on the FBAR or does it remain just her? What about the future joined account that we are planning to open? Is the bank supposed to do it for us here in France?
Second question, I understand she doesn’t have to fill the Form 8938 as she has (and we both) have less than 200k$ of assets. Correct?
Last question: we guess that the most important thing that she must fill is The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE, using IRS Form 2555). Is that correct? Can we do it online and must she include my gross revenues? or is just her? Anyway, we were not married in 2018 so I guess it should just be her.
Thanks so much for your help.
Best,
Yoan
Hi Yoan,
We replied to you via email. Please, check your inbox. Thanks
Hi,
My european bank doesn’t provide Information about the maximum account value during the year. For another account which is already closed it seems to be impossible to get detailed informations.
I do no want to tick “value unknown” box.
Can I state an approximated value which would be overassessed just to be on the save side? Are there panalties (or any other issues) for values that turn out to be to high?
Hi Johannes,
There are no penalties for overreposting. Hence, it is better you overestimate the values rather than underestimate them.
I am a person of Indian origin and naturalized US citizen. I have an non-resident account in Indian Rupees (total is less than USD 1000). I used this account for small charities and expenses whenever I visit India, As noted, the total amount has been no more than $ 1000 (one thousands). What are my reporting obligations? Note I have filed FATCA declaration with the Indian bank.
Hi Piyari,
You don’t have FBAR filing olbigation if you have less than 10,000 USD in bank accounts.
Hi Oliver,
My wife and I moved to France in 2018 and I’m trying to fill out the Adobe FBAR form.
Part 2 asks about financial accounts held separately. We only have one foreign account and that is held jointly.
Should I fill out the same bank info and account number for the separate and joint parts of the form? The form will not let me sign and submit the form without Part 2 being filled out.
Thank you.
Bonjour,
You would only complete the joint portion of the FBAR.
The form can be submitted if part 2 is completely blank, make sure that you erased all data. Alternatively, I can prepare your FBAR for $100.
Best,
Olivier
Hello
I am a Pending Asylee wit C08 and I have an account in a Middle east Country with Less than 10K dollars do I have to do the EBAR .and if not do I have to mention it on tax return filling
Thanks
Hi Markos,
You don’t have FBAR obligation if you have less than 10k USD in foreign financial accounts.
HOW TO FILL IN FIN BAR JANUARY 2019 TO DECEMBER 2019 WHEN A BANK ACCOUNT EXPIRES BUT SAME MONIES OPEN ANOTHER BANK ACCOUNT WITHIN THE SAME BANK THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS CHANGE IN ACCOUNT NO. DO YOU HAVE TO PUT DOWN BOTH ACCOUNTS ( ALTHOUGH ONE IS CLOSED) IF SO THAT LOOKS LIKE ONE HAS MORE MONEY WHEN IT IS NOT SO,AND MORE ACCOUNTS THAN ONE REALLY HAS. I F THE MATURED ACCOUNT WITHIN THE THE US TAX YEAR MATURED AND THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONIES OPENED AN ACCOUNT IN ANOTHER BANK DO YOU HAVE TO PUT DOWN THE TWO BANK ACCOUNTS(THE CLOSED ONE AND THE NEW ONE) OR JUST THE BANK ACCOUNT THAT IS CURRENT.
Hi Cynthia, yes! You are required to report both. FBAR is just an informational form.
Do I need to file FBAR or any other form if I earn under the required limit for filing taxes in the US? I just got divorced so have always filed jointly as married before. Now I only get a few hundred in spousal support a month so under the required limit to file at all. However I just sold my house so have over the $10,000 limit in savings in a foreign account for FBAR. I also have moved to the UK so do not have health insurance but know CA just brought back in the penalty for not having insurance. Should I file a tax return so I don’t get penalized for not having insurance?
Hi C! You have an obligation to file an FBAR. If your annual income was lower than $12,000, you don’t need to file a return.
In 2019 I was a green card holder, residing in the USA, and I moved USD 50,000 to a UK bank account for my imminent move back there. I’m moving back to the UK in March 2020 and ‘abandoning’ my green card at that time. I assume I also have to file an FBAR for that money, but which exchange rate should I use in assessing value as it fluctuated substantially since transferring the funds? I plan on filing all appropriate I-407 etc and finalize 2020 taxes once I’m done with the move, and I don’t want to get caught out later! It appears $50K is the threshold for single, filing 8983 with the IRS, so would I still file that as well, as it was above/below that depending on exchange rate/date? The UK account had a token GBP50 in there to open it, apart from USD50,000 transfer. Looks like I’m skimming the threshold…Thanks!!
Hi Muttley! The year-end exchange rate is used to convert the maximum values of foreign financial assets reported on FBAR.
I would like to share a FBAR filling out trick for those who will have the pleasure of filling them out for several years.
The US Treasury Department, in their infinite wisdom, gave us limited tools to fill in the FBARs, so you either type in all the information for each account every year online, or if you want to do it offline, they made it necessary to use Adobe Reader or Acrobat, which once you “sign” the form, will not let you save an editable copy.
So my trick is very simple. After you fill in all your FBARs (in my case, >15), and just before you “sign” and submit, save the file one more time. Then, duplicate the file just created, rename the duplicate to something like “FBAR_Boilerplate_2020.pdf, and put it some where safe. Now you can open your current FBAR file again, “sign” it, and submit it.
Next year, you start with the saved boilerplate, and make the necessary changes. Saves my hours of tedious form filling.
Hi Bob! Actually, you have to save the file before filling it… yes, we do that.
Hello Olivier,
This is my second year filing (we must file every year, correct?), but I don’t understand why it is the “maximum account balance during the year”. I have two accounts with the same bank: one where my paycheck comes in (current account), and a savings accounts where said paycheck feeds into through internal transfers. As the money internally transfers from one account to another (both accounts have a different IBAN), the sums change, but my value doesn’t change. If I have 1.000 in one account, and i move 900 into another account, it doesn’t mean I have 1.900, rather 100 and 900, but divided into two accounts, yet the max value in one back was 1.000 and the other was 900.
So, then, what exactly do they want me to file?
Thanks so much.
Hi Allison! You must report the maximum account value. Banks provide the IRS with the maximum value of each of your foreign bank accounts. They should match your FBAR.
Hi there, I’m a US / Canadian dual citizen – I received $20000USD worth of foreign securities in December of 2019 – I plan on renouncing my US citizenship this year and have all the requisite Dept. State and IRS forms filled out – question is – do I need to follow through with FBAR and FINCEN reporting or just list those securities on my expatriation form? Given that it’s July 2018, wouldn’t any securities I received be slated for April 2019 reporting and by then I’ll have long since renounced my US citizenship – hope that makes sense – it’s this kind of (tip of the iceberg) red tape that made me decide to take the steps to renounce in the first place…
Hi Ed! You would have to report all your foreign bank accounts/securities accounts on your FBAR for every applicable year (including years in which you were only a US citizen for part of the year).
Hi, My question is regarding Line 1 of FBAR (Calendar Year). If I’m filing in March 2020, should I put 2019 or 2020 in line # 1 (calendar year ended 12/31/????).
Please advise.
Hi Tony, you write the year you file the FBAR for. I guess you’re filing for 2019 tax year, hence you would put 2019
Filing of FBAR required: 2) And the aggregate value of those accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.
However, in the example, total deposit is only $10,000 or did not exceed $10,000 ($3,400 + $6,600) but still required to file an FBAR.
For clarification, please.
Hi Edgar! You’re right. $3,400+$6,600 is $10,000, not more than $10,000.
Hi Oliver,
I am a US citizen living outside the US (in the Netherlands). I’ve never lived a single day of my life in the US and I recently found out that I must file taxes and FBAR. Luckily I can make use of the streamlined procedure. I have one question. Together with my girlfriend (not my wife) I have a jointly owned bank account. She is not a US citizen. How should I declare this bank account on my FBAR?
Thanks!
Hi Paul! You must report this joint account and provide your girlfriend’s full name and address.
Hi Olivier, I’m curious if you have any insight into this question:
Assume that I am a German citizen/national and a US resident alien for tax purposes., and have under $10,000 of assets in Germany. What happens when I check box 7a (but not 7b)? Do I give the US government any implicit permissions by doing so (such as contact to my home government/ tax authorities)? Does it usually trigger them to place more scrutiny on me or my foreign income/accounts, now or in the future?
Thank you very much in advance!
Hi Jack, not sure what form you’re referring to. As a US person for tax purposes, you have the same tax obligations as US citizens.
Everytime I try to fill in the address portion of the FBAR, I am unable to, as the form asks for a usa address but I do not have one. Please help.
Hi Sabrina, you must have typed the address in the wrong format. The form itself is designed to report foreign bank accounts hence the name Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR).
Hi Olivier,
I’m a US Expat living in Europe/Hungary since 2011. I just heard about the FBAR and the FACTA requirements and they scared me since I haven’t filed either in the past.
I also haven’t filed US tax returns since I didn’t reach the minimum threshold of income. After my Mom passed away in 2015, my father gave me my Mom’s life insurance policy of 300,000 USD as a present and transferred the funds to my local account in Europe. I placed the funds into low-yield government securities.
Obviously I have to file FBAR for every missed year. Can I file them this late without penalties?
I probably also have to file FATCA. However, since I haven’t filed US tax returns how can I do that for the 2015-2019 period?
If I paid the local 15% interest taxes on the yield I earned, do I still have to pay taxes in the US?
Finally, there is a deal with the local government that if someone keeps funds for a minimum of 5 years in a long-term investment account, they don’t have to pay taxes on the earnings. Will the IRS respect that or do I still have to pay US taxes after this account? Many thanks!
Hi Attila! You probably won’t have tax owing, but yes, you had to file your tax return and FBAR.
It sounds like the Streamlined Foreign Offshore procedure would be the appropriate venue for you to get into compliance.
Hi Oliver,
My German bank allows two options for me to give someone signatory authority over my account. The first option is authority with immediate effect, while the second option is authority with effect upon my death. If I give a U.S. citizen signatory authority using the second option, does he or she have FBAR filing requirement while I am alive?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Yard! Yes, that’s correct, they wouldn’t report your bank account while you’re still alive.
I am a US citizen living as a permanent resident with my Canadian citizen spouse in Canada. We file married filing jointly in the USA to keep my Medicare payments reasonable. Does he have to report his accounts in Canada through FBAR?
Hi Margaret! Yes, since you made an election for your Canadian spouse to be treated as US person for tax purposes, he has the same filing obligation as a US citizen.
Hi ! Can I simply file an FBAR Only without filing Tax return , since my gross income is below 10000 us dollars , which is below filing threshhold. But my foreign accounts have more than 10000 so i know that I have to file FBAR.
My only question is — Can i file FBAR only and avoid filing the Tax return since income is below threshold?
Hi Pawan! Yes, you can.
Hi ! I am a US Expat , living in India. I didn’t made enough money to even cross the threshold of filing a Return to IRS. My gross income including interest earned from foreign bank accounts (my parents money by the way) all that interest income and my foreign earned income, total gross income was below 11000 us dollars. But my Foreign Account have more than 10000 usd.
My Question is , in this case, can i Simply file an FBAR but not file an Income Tax Return?
Hi RJ! Yes, you can.
My parents in India own a CD. I am a US resident and the nominee for that CD. Do I have to report the CD in my FBAR. I have other accounts in my name and am reqd to file FBAR.
Hi Purvi! I would burn it into an iso file and then convert it into an mp3 file. CDs are really becoming a thing of the past. Just kidding. Yes, as a nominee, you would have signatory authority over the account even if you don’t have a financial interest, and you would report it on the FBAR as such, this would be the third part of the FBAR [1) accounts with financial interest 2) joint bank account 3) accounts with signatory authority but no financial interest].
Hi Olivier! Thank you for this website! I own a joint account with my father containing more than USD$10,000 – 15 fixed deposits under same account. The fixed deposits have same number except for the last 2 digits. I am a US citizen and he is not. Q1: Do I have to report each fixed account separately or can I lump them together as “XXX-XXXX-CDS”? My accountant lumped them together but I read that you should file them separately. Q2: Do I have to list my father as an owner under “Financial Account owned Jointly” as “Principal Joint Owner Information”? Thank you!
Hi Stephanie! Ultimately, I see the merit for both methods, although listing accounts separately would be more accurate — but I don’t foresee any penalty or complications by adding them together. Yes, you would list your father as the joint account holder.
Hi Oliver. I’m an US expat living overseas. I need to file my FBAR for the 2019 FY. I heard that my company pension plan (DC plan) needs to be included in the report, but I’m not sure which info I am supposed to report as the monetary value. Would it be the estimated amount of pension that I could expect to receive (as of 1/2019-12/2019)? Also, I assume I need to report the highest estimated value out of the year like with a bank account, is this correct? (For example, if it was $500 from Jan-Oct, $501 in Nov., then $500 in Dec., I would report $501 as the maximum value?)
Hi Hope!
A defined contribution plan would have a balance, the same way as a 401(k) plan does. If it does not, and you have a promise for future benefits, it would be a defined benefit plan and it would not be reported on an FBAR.
I’m a new English teacher in Japan. I have a japanese bank account where my salary is directly deposited. The highest balance throughout the year is $4500. How do I report this??? I admit I never knew we still had to pay taxes let alone report bank accounts to the IRS!
Hi Cedric! You must file an FBAR if the total value of your foreign bank accounts exceeds $10,000. If you have only one account with $4,500 at the highest value, you don’t need to file the FBAR.
I am a US citizen. I have two bank accounts in India. I have been filing FBAR for the last 10+ years since my aggregate value exceeded $10000 on a particular day of the year.
However, For 2020, My first account had a max value of $2600 in the month of May, and the second account had a max value of $1900 that too in the month of May. Since the aggregate value for May didn’t cross $10000 so I shouldn’t be filing. But I am wondering since I have been filing every year for the last 10+ years should I be still filing or Is it okay not to file for 2020.
Hi Ramesh,
You don’t have an FBAR filing obligation for 2020. You don’t need to file the FBAR.
Warm regards,
Kasia