Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (2024)

FAQs

What is a foreign bank and financial accounts report? ›

A United States person that has a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts must file an FBAR if the aggregate value of the foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. The full line item instructions are located at FBAR Line Item Instructions.

Per the Bank Secrecy Act, every year you must report certain foreign financial accounts, such as bank accounts, brokerage accounts and mutual funds, to the Treasury Department and keep certain records of those accounts.

31 U.S.C. § 5321(a)(5)(A). In cases where a person “willfully” fails to file the FBAR, the government may impose an increased maximum penalty, up to $100,000 or fifty percent of the balance in the account at the time of the violation. 31 U.S.C.

The filing of Form 8938 does not relieve you of the separate requirement to file the FBAR if you are otherwise required to do so, and vice-versa. Depending on your situation, you may be required to file Form 8938 or the FBAR or both forms, and certain foreign accounts may be required to be reported on both forms.

The FBAR is an annual filing and if you want to avoid penalties, make sure to file FinCEN Form 114 by the due date. The FBAR 2023 deadline is the same as your income tax return due date, usually April 15 (with an automatic extension to October).

Specifically, a person is not required to file an FBAR report with respect to a foreign financial account which is owned by the U.S. government, an Indian Tribe, a U.S. state, or a political subdivision of a state.

Any U.S. citizen with foreign bank accounts totaling more than $10,000 must declare them to the IRS and the U.S. Treasury, both on income tax returns and on FinCEN Form 114.

An FBAR might be necessary even if foreign accounts don't generate taxable income. The most significant FBAR audit trigger is failing to meet the deadline. Taxpayers must report financial accounts with a cumulative value exceeding $10,000 at any point in a year.

Is it illegal for a U.S. citizen to have a foreign bank account? No, it's not illegal for a U.S. citizen to have a foreign bank account. However, it is essential to ensure all IRS and compliance requirements are met, including the disclosure of such accounts.

Form 8938 is only required to be filed in any tax year in which the Taxpayers are required to file a tax return. Thus, when a Taxpayer is not required to file a tax return, then they are not required to file a Form 8938.

What is the penalty for failing to file form 8938? ›

Form 8938 Criminal Penalties

Under Internal Revenue Code Section 7203, the intentional (willful) failure to file a required Form 8938 can, if successfully prosecuted, result in a prison sentence of up to one year and a penalty (for individuals) of up to $25,000.

Failing to file because individual accounts are less than $10,000. Remember that the balance of all foreign accounts counts towards the $10,000 threshold. So if your client has two accounts with $6,000 each, they'll still need to file an FBAR since the accounts add up to more than $10,000.

To file the FBAR as an individual, you must personally and/or jointly own a reportable foreign financial account that requires the filing of an FBAR (FinCEN Report 114) for the reportable year. There is no need to register to file the FBAR as an individual.

Certified copies of FBAR documents must be formally requested, in writing, through FinCEN. You must have a valid reason for requesting a certified copy, such as for a trial. For criminal cases, the request should be made through the special agent.

The main difference between FATCA and FBAR filing is that the former is primarily filed by financial institutions whereas the FBAR report is filed by individuals. Ultimately, the plan would be that the IRS will have software in place to match these two reports over the long term.