Foreign bank account reporting

Overview

As established by the Bank Secrecy Act, every year you must report your required foreign financial accounts, such as bank accounts, brokerage accounts and mutual funds, to the Treasury Department by filing a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) on FinCEN Form 114, and keep records of those accounts.

Many US Expats wonder how does the U.S. government will know if certain foreign financial assets aren’t being reported. The answer lies that in response to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the United States has entered into international information sharing agreements with 39 countries and is in the final stages of finalizing information sharing agreements with 62 more countries. Through these information sharing agreements, all the participating Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) are required to report details on accounts held by US Citizens in foreign countries to the U.S. government.

Participating FFIs share broad information about the foreign bank accounts held by U.S. persons to the United States, including:

• Name(s) on each bank account;
• Social Security Numbers or TINs (Tax Identification Numbers) of the account holders;
• account numbers;
• balances (both high balance and end of year balance);
• and any gross dividends, interest payments, or any other financial credits applied to each foreign financial account

How the filing process works:

FBARS are filed through FinCEN Form 114 and can only be filed online but if you want to paper-file your FBAR, Attorney Sabalier can provide you the legal guidance you need to request and being granted this exception. FBAR filing has nothing to do with your US expat tax return, FBARS are filed to the Treasury Department.

What is the due date?

FBARS are periodically due to file on April 15th every year, but you may automatically receive an extension to file them by October 15th. You may not request an extension for filing FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) after this date. Therefore, it is imperative for you to take action immediately to become compliant with this legal duty to file on a yearly basis by the due date.

You may be subject to civil monetary penalties and/or criminal penalties for FBAR reporting and/or record keeping violations. Assertion of penalties depends on facts and circumstances. But in all instances, the penalties for failing to file FBARS can become serious and severe.

Start your process towards becoming compliant today, and avoid getting into unwanted issues and trouble with the U.S. government, the IRS and the Treasury Department. Contact licensed and experienced Expat International Tax lawyer Alexandra Sabalier for a Legal Consultation.

Requirements

Who is legally required to file an FBAR

It is established that the persons who are legally required to file an FBAR are United States persons, including citizens, residents, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts and estates, who have:

1. A financial interest in or signature or other authority over at least one financial account located outside the United States if
2. The aggregate value of those foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported.
   *For purposes of definition, generally an account at a financial institution located outside the United States is a foreign financial account. Whether the account produced taxable income, this has no effect on whether the account is a “foreign financial account” for FBAR purposes.

You don’t need to file an FBAR for the calendar year if:

1. All your foreign financial accounts are reported on a consolidated FBAR
2. ALL your foreign financial accounts are jointly-owned with your spouse and you completed and signed FinCEN Form 114a authorizing your spouse to file on your behalf, and your spouse reports the jointly-owned accounts on a timely-filed, signed FBAR.

Documentation required

You must keep records for each account you must report on an FBAR that establishes:

• Name(s) on the account,
• Account(s) number,
• Name(s) and address of the foreign bank(s),
• Type of account(s), and
• Maximum value during the year
• The law doesn’t specify the type of document to keep with this information; it can be bank statements or a copy of a filed FBAR, for example, if they have all the information
• You must keep these records for five years from the due date of the FBAR

What's included

Attorney Alexandra Sabalier handles your entire FBAR process filing and submission in-house for a flat-fee with transparency and no secrets. The FBAR filing Service Package includes a total of 5 Accounts.

In addition, at Sabalier Law you get as part of the Foreign Bank Reporting (FBAR) Legal Service Package:

• Legal analysis of your situation and applicability for the filing
• Expert legal preparation and expedited submission of your FBARS (Up to 5 Accounts for the flat fee fixed price)
• Full-service protection post-submission as part of the flat-fee
• CONFIDENTIAL, expert legal representation and guidance throughout your entire filing process
• Legal review of your forms, to ensure that they are filled out completely and accurately
• Legal guidance in case there are there are any requests for additional information of your accounts and finances for clarification purposes
• Legal advocacy and representation in case an issue arises
• Constant updates on the status of your case
• Timely notification of changes in the tax code, laws and procedures that are relevant for you and your case
• Expert and attentive legal support and representation throughout your filing process from the moment you hire me. My work is not done until you have no more legal worries in mind
• And the best part is that at Sabalier Law, all legal services are offered online, using the latest in secure technology to ensure your safety and your comfort, so that you can get the legal representation, information, and communication you need every step of the way throughout your immigration process regardless of where you are located in the world