The FBAR stands for foreign bank account report. The form that the foreign bank accounts are reported on is called the FinCEN 114 (formerly TDF 90-22.1). Note that this is only an informational filing and there will not be any tax due with the filing.

Who must file?

Any U.S. citizen, residency cardholder, or U.S. tax resident must file if their total foreign account balances are over $10,000 USD at any time during the year. In general, a U.S. Tax resident is defined as someone who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more during the calendar year.

How to file?

Your foreign bank account report must be electronically filed with the FinCEN department.

When to file?

The foreign bank account report needs to be filed each year that you meet the requirements of filing. The due date is April 15 (usually, unless there is a holiday or weekend) of the following year you have a filing requirement. The form is automatically extended to October 15 (usually, unless there is a holiday or weekend) and the FinCEN department must be in receipt of the filing by October 15.

What if I don’t file?

If you do not file each year by October 15, the FinCEN department could impose a $10,000 penalty per year that you are delinquent.

What if I should have filed? Do I have to pay the penalty?

If you had an FBAR filing requirement and did not file, there are amnesty programs currently available that allow taxpayers to submit delinquent filings without penalty.

Please reach out to us today for a free consultation to see if you qualify for one of these filing programs.