FBAR

Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

for detailed info please check the IRS Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

Who Must File an FBAR

United States persons (such as USA citizens, residents and green-card holders and USA companies) are required to file an FBAR if:

  1. The United States person had a financial interest in or signature authority over at least one financial account located outside of the United States including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, pension plan, education fund or other type of foreign financial account; and
  2. The aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year to be reported.

How to File the FBAR

Please file the FBAR (Foreign Bank Accounting Report) online: BSA E-Filing System – Enroll Now

You have to report the highest value of each account during the year, based on either monthly or quarterly statements (compare the last day of 12 months or 4 days or each quarter):

  • Report Information on Financial Account(s) Owned Separately on Part II
  • Report  Information on Financial Account(s) Owned Jointly (with spouse, partner, family and so on) on Part III:
  • Enter the number of joint owners for the account. Do not count the filer when determining the number of joint owners.
  • Use the identifying information of the principal joint owner (excluding the filer) to complete Items 25-33
  • If the filer’s spouse has an interest in a jointly owned account, the filer’s spouse is the principal joint owner. Enter “(spouse)” on line 26 after the last name of the joint spousal owner
If you are married:
The spouse of an individual who files an FBAR is not required to file a separate FBAR if the following conditions are met:
(1) all the financial accounts that the non-filing spouse is required to report are jointly owned with the filing spouse; (2) the filing spouse reports the jointly owned accounts on a timely filed FBAR; and (3) both spouses sign the FBAR in Item 44.
Otherwise, both spouses are required to file separate FBARs, and each spouse must report the entire value of the jointly owned accounts.

If you file FBAR as part of the Streamlined process:

For each of the most recent 6 years for which the FBAR due date has passed, file delinquent FBARs according to the FBAR instructions and include a statement explaining that the FBARs are being filed as part of the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures.  You are required to file these delinquent FBARs electronically at FinCen.  On the cover page of the electronic form, select “Other” as the reason for filing late.  An explanation box will appear.  In the explanation box, enter “Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures.

FBAR Help

• IRS.gov, keyword search “FBAR”
• Call FBAR hotline at 866-270-0733, toll free, or 313-234-6146 (toll for callers outside the U.S.), option 2
• E-mail FBARquestions@irs.gov
• Call the BSA E-Filing Help Desk at 866-346-9478 or e-mail BSAEFilingHelp@fincen.gov
• Contact FinCEN’s Regulatory Helpline at 800-949-2732 toll free, or 703-905-3975 (toll for callers outside the U.S.) for questions regarding BSA regulations, or to discuss acceptable alternatives to electronic filing