Report of Foreign Bank Accounts ('FBAR')

There is much ado surrounding the filing of the FinCEN Form 114 Report of Foreign Bank accounts or FBAR as it’s otherwise affectionately known.

Every year around June 30, a US person needs to assess their foreign bank account situation and determine their requirement to file an FBAR in relation to the previous tax year.

In very general terms, a US person who has:

1. a financial interest in one or more non-US bank accounts or;

2. signatory authority over one or more non-US bank accounts

will trigger a requirement to file an FBAR if the aggregate balance of those bank accounts is in excess of $10,000 at any point during the year.

The form is filed with the US Department of Treasury directly; and does not form part of your tax returns.

AS OF JULY 1, 2013 ALL REPORT OF FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNT FORMS NEED TO BE FILED ELECTRONICALLY. TO DO THIS YOU NEED TO ENTER THE INFORMATION ON THE ENCLOSED FORMS INTO THE FINCEN SYSTEM AND SUBMIT THEM YOURSELF. THIS WILL NEED TO BE COMPLETED FOR EACH YEAR SEPARATELY. WE WILL STILL FILE PAPER COPIES WITH YOUR RETURNS AS THEY ARE BEING SUBMITTED AS PART OF THE STREAMLINE DISCLOSURE PROCESS.

FINCEN WEB SITE 

The form is distinguished from the Statement of Foreign Financial Assets (Form 8938), which was required to be included for the first time with your 2011 US tax return.

If you would like any assistance with your US filing obligations please contact us by completing the form at the bottom of the page.

U.S. Treasury Circular 230 Disclosure: Any U.S. tax advice contained on this page was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law provisions.