Changes Are Coming To The FBAR FATCA Reporting For Expats

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Written by Dan Gordon | Posted in Expatriate • FATCA • FBAR • Individual • Swiss Bank Accounts

The new “Highway Fund Extension Act” has some interesting additions having nothing to do with highways including Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement. AND new tax due dates for corporate and other forms.

The main change that will be of interest to all EXPATS is the due date for the FBAR form here is the text direct from the act:

“The due date of FinCEN Report 114 (relating to Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) shall be April 15 with a maximum extension for a 6-month period ending on October 15 and with provision for an extension under rules similar to the rules in Treas. Reg. section 1.6081–5. For any taxpayer required to file such Form for the first time, any penalty for failure to timely request for, or file, an extension, may be waived by the Secretary.”

This means that your FBAR form will need to be filed at the same time as your Tax Return but as with the Tax Return you can request an extension to October 15 you can also make a separate request for an extension to October 15th for your FBAR filing.

Any one filing a FBAR for the first time and filing it late or failing to file an extension, as a first time filer, the penalties for filing late or failure to file an extension will be waved.

This takes the Fincen 114 (FBAR) filing closer to being treated like an ordinary tax form, next they need to consolidate the FBAR with the form 8938 filing or just make Expats with accounts in the country of their residence exempt all FBAR/FACTA filings. Some members of Congress and Treasury are becoming aware of these issues and are starting to make changes that could make compliance with tax lays easier.

Dan Gordon

Dan has been preparing tax return for US Taxpayers and Expatriates since 1998 beginning with US military and Embassy mission personnel in Bangkok, Thailand. He has always loved math and took business accounting at City U. in Seattle Washington. Dan worked at Clint Gordon & Associates (Accredited Tax Consultant) were he gained his foundational knowledge of the US taxing system.

Dan has been studying tax preparation and tax law ever since increasing his skill and knowledge of the tax preparation business accordingly, Dan is known in many circles around the globe as an Expatriate Tax Expert. His book entitled “The Complete US Expat Tax Book” has recently been published and is available on Kindle, Amazon and booksellers around the world.

Thru the years, Dan has fought many battles with the Internal Revenue Service as well as various state taxing departments with great success in helping lower and or eliminate his clients tax debts.

Dan Gordon and his staff enjoy the work they do from the simplest 1040EZ to the most complex corporations, with the goal that no client should pay more tax than legally required.