Greenback Reminds U.S. Expats : FBAR Filing Deadline Is June 30

FBAR rules require U.S. citizens, residents, and entities to file annual reports disclosing financial interests in — or signature authority over — foreign financial accounts with an aggregate value greater than $10,000.

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

The deadline for taxpayers to file the 2011 TDF 90-22.1 (FBAR) is June 30, 2012. The FBAR is filed separately from a regular tax return and mailed to the Department of Treasury in Detroit. In addition, unlike a regular tax return, June 30 is the date the FBAR must be received by the Department of Treasury, NOT the date the envelope is postmarked. And the FBAR due date is not extended to the next business day when the deadline falls over a weekend, as is the case this year.

So what exactly is the FBAR and who needs to file? It is a form used to collect basic information on financial accounts overseas where American citizens or residents have control over them. The definition of a financial account includes a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, unit trust, or other types of monetary accounts.

Under the rules, each U.S, person with an interest in, signature or other authority over, one or more financial accounts in any foreign country must file an FBAR if the aggregate value of such accounts at any point in a calendar year exceeds $10,000. The $10,000 requirement is based on the combined value of all accounts and not each individual account.

It is critical to not ignore the deadline. Failure to file a FBAR may, under the law, result in civil penalties, criminal penalties or both. “Many expats fall behind on their FBAR obligations.” explains Greenback Expat Tax Services President David McKeegan. “Some people don’t know they need to file, don’t know how to file or forgot they need to file, but we always recommend that people get caught up as soon as possible. The FBAR has some pretty severe penalties associated with it, but so far the IRS has been very forgiving of expats who have honestly missed or misunderstood the requirement, which from what we have seen so far means people can catch up now, without fear of huge fines or criminal prosecution.”

Also, Mr. McKeegan advises that it?s important to not confuse the FBAR with the new IRS Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Accounts. “Technically, Form 8938 is meant to capture a lot of the same information as the FBAR, but at a higher threshold,” says Mr. McKeegan. “The FBAR is the US Treasury form and is largely a tool to catch people hiding money overseas to avoid taxes. The Form 8938 seems like it is designed to make sure that anyone with significant financial assets abroad is reporting them and paying taxes on them.” says Mr. McKeegan. “The disclosure thresholds for the 8938 are higher than those of the FBAR. Another key difference is while Form 8938 is filed with your annual U.S. expat taxes, the FBAR must be submitted directly to the Treasury department no later than June 30 as mentioned above.”

To ensure compliance, it is critical you complete the TDF 90-22.1 (FBAR) immediately if you have not done so already. For faster filing, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) offers an electronic filing option here.The postal address for submitting TDF 90-22.1 (FBAR) is:

United States Department of the Treasury
P.O. Box 32621
Detroit, MI 48232-062

If you have any questions regarding FBAR reporting or need assistance determining what your reporting requirements are related to your foreign financial assets, Greenback Expat Tax Services offers a comprehensive FBAR filing service.