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FBAR Penalties: Everything You Need To Know

If you’re required to file an FBAR (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report) and fail to do so in a timely and accurate manner, you may face significant consequences, including civil monetary penalties, criminal penalties, or both.

For U.S. persons who discover they should have filed an FBAR in previous years, it’s important to take immediate action. The recommended course of action is to electronically file the overdue FBAR using the BSA E-Filing System. This article will delve deeper into the types of penalties associated with FBAR non-compliance, how these penalties are assessed, and the steps to become compliant.

UNDERSTANDING FBAR AND ITS FILING OBLIGATIONS

The FBAR is a critical reporting requirement for U.S. persons holding foreign bank accounts. This requirement is triggered when the total value of an individual’s foreign financial assets exceeds the reporting threshold of $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. It’s crucial to understand that these assets include not just bank accounts, but also other financial assets held overseas. Failing to meet these filing obligations can lead to significant penalties, as detailed in the sections below.

CIVIL PENALTIES FOR FBAR NON-COMPLIANCE: AN OVERVIEW

The civil monetary penalties for failing to comply with FBAR requirements come with various upper limits, but there is no set minimum. These limits are subject to annual adjustments for inflation, as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 and its subsequent amendment, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. For penalties assessed after August 1, 2016, linked to violations that occurred post-November 2, 2015, the adjusted maximum penalty amounts are outlined in Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), section 1010.821, under the Penalty Adjustment Table. This section details the inflation-adjusted civil penalties that can be imposed for failing to meet the FBAR reporting and recordkeeping obligations.

FBAR PENALTIES FOR NON-WILLFUL FAILURE TO FILE

Written by Olivier Wagner | Posted in FBAR Penalty

The IRS Assessed An FBAR Penalty Against Me: Now What?

FBAR penalty procedures under Title 31 are similar to federal tax penalty procedures under Title 26. Under both Title 31 and Title 26, the IRS must make a timely assessment of the penalty prior to initiating collection action. However, the two procedures diverge somewhat with respect to collection remedies available to the government. This article discusses FBAR penalty collection procedures and provides some insights on issues that tax professionals should consider when representing taxpayers who have FBAR penalty assessments.

FBAR Collection Procedures

Prior to beginning a discussion of the FBAR collection procedures, it is important to remember that the IRS has six (6) years to make a timely FBAR assessment. This six-year period begins on the date in which the FBAR should have been filed and runs regardless of whether an FBAR has been filed at all.

Because FBAR penalties are located in Title 31, provisions therein govern collection. Under Title 31, the government may collect FBAR penalty assessments through various means including: (i) administrative (or tax refund) offset (collectively, “administrative offset”); (ii) wage garnishment; and/or (iii) litigation.[i]

Written by Matthew Roberts | Posted in FBAR Penalty