Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
A U.S. person must report annually certain foreign financial accounts, such as bank accounts, brokerage accounts and mutual funds, to the Treasury Department and keep certain records of those accounts. Those accounts are reported by filing a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) on FinCEN Form 114. This report is informational only and has no income tax ramifications.
Who must file
A United States person, including a citizen, resident, corporation, partnership and limited liability company, must file an FBAR to report its financial accounts located outside the United States if the aggregate value of those foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported.
Generally, an account at a financial institution located outside the United States is a foreign financial account. Whether the account produced taxable income has no effect on whether the account is a “foreign financial account” for FBAR purposes.
When to file
The FBAR is an annual report, due April 15 following the calendar year reported.
You’re allowed an automatic extension to October 15 if you fail to meet the FBAR annual due date of April 15. You don’t need to request an extension to file the FBAR.
Types of accounts to report
The accounts that have to be included are those that you have a financial interest in (you own them) or in which you have signature authority, even if they do not have a financial interest in the account. Financial accounts include, but are not limited to:
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Bank accounts
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Investment/Brokerage accounts
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Advanced Study Funds (as known as "Kranut Hishtalmut")
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Provident Funds (as known as "Kupot Kemel")
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Pension Funds
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Insurance with accumulated savings
How to file
You must file the FBAR electronically through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s BSA E-Filing System. You don’t file the FBAR with your federal tax return. We would love to offer you our services for FBAR filing.