Greenback Expat Tax Services Helps Expats File FBAR

US expats whose foreign bank accounts have an aggregate balance above $10,000 in any given year must file the FBAR form with the Department of Treasury each year by June 30th. Those who still need to file the FBAR for previous years can now take advantage of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program and a new service offered by Greenback Expat Tax Services to bring their filing current and minimize penalties.

Read the full press release, originally published on PR Web, below:

Greenback Expat Tax Services now offers a new service to assist US expats who need to file their Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). The FBAR is a yearly filing obligation for many US citizens with overseas bank and financial accounts, and failure to file can result in costly penalties.

The FBAR has been around since the Bank Secrecy Act was enacted in 1970. Many people are just now finding out about their obligation to file it, and according to Greenback Expat Tax Services president David McKeegan, this is because the IRS has begun to come down hard on noncompliance. “The IRS is very serious about the FBAR,” says Mr. McKeegan. “And they’ve taken recent initiatives like the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to prove to taxpayers just how serious they are.”

The FBAR is a report of an individual’s foreign-held income. It is filed on Form TD F 90-22.1 and must be sent to the US Department of the Treasury by June 30th each year. An individual will be obligated to file if he or she has overseas accounts with an aggregate balance of $10,000 or more at any point during the calendar year. This means that an individual could have three foreign bank accounts, and if the combined balance ever reaches or exceeds $10,000, he or she would be required to submit an FBAR and report each account. According to Mr. McKeegan, this seemingly simple reporting obligation turns into a many people’s worst nightmare. “Many expats fall behind with their FBAR obligations,” says Mr. McKeegan. “Whether it’s because they don’t know they need to file, don’t know how to file, or think they can get away with it – it doesn’t matter. Delinquency and late filing is becoming a real issue and late filers should get caught up as soon as possible. The penalties can be quite severe and are only getting higher.”

Recognizing that many expats did not realize they needed to file this form and are therefore are considered delinquent, the IRS and Treasury Department have an Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to allow expats to step forward, file their information, and receive greatly reduced penalties.

To help their clients catch up with their FBAR filing requirements and allow them to take advantage of the current Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, Greenback Expat Tax Services now offers a new FBAR filing service.