Report of Foreign Bank And Financial Accounts

The law requires each “United States person” who has a financial interest in or signature authority over any foreign financial account to file an FBAR if the aggregate value of the foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. The form required is FinCEN Form 114.

This is one that should be pretty well known by now. The obligation to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) with the US Treasury was initially imposed by the Bank Secrecy Act in 1970. Here are the Instructions to FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR). You can electronically file Form 114 for free here.

What Is a Financial Interest for the FBAR?

According to the FBAR instructions:

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Businessman Indicted For Not Reporting Foreign Bank Accounts And Filing False Documents With The IRS

A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned an indictment on March 3, 2021, charging a Virginia man with failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs) and filing false documents with the IRS.

According to the indictment, Azizur Rahman of Herndon, had a financial interest in and signature authority over more than 20 foreign financial accounts, including accounts held in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Singapore, and Bangladesh. From 2010 through 2016, Rahman allegedly did not disclose his interest in all of his financial accounts on annual FBARs, as required by law. Rahman also allegedly filed false individual tax returns for the tax years 2010 through 2016 that did not report to the IRS all of his foreign bank accounts and income.

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