FBAR Reporting Season is here

All taxpayers are reminded about FBAR reporting this year, as the process has changed. If you have a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account which exceeds certain thresholds, the Bank Secrecy Act may require you to report the account annuallyto the Internal Revenue Service by filing electronically a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

On September 20, 2013, FinCEN posted a notice on their website which announced certain updates related to the filing of these reports, specifically, FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (the current FBAR form).

If you have been filing an FBAR form in prior years, please note that FinCEN Form 114 supersedes TD F 90-22.1 (the FBAR form that was used in prior years) and is only available online through the BSA E-filing system website.  A link to the BSA E-filing system is attached:

http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html

And a link to Form 114a follows:

http://www.fincen.gov/forms/files/FBARE-FileAuth114aRecordSP.pdf

When you are considering whether you must file foreign financial account reports during the current period, please note the updated information related to reports regarding foreign financial accounts which is set forth on the IRS website:

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Report-of-Foreign-Bank-and-Financial-Accounts-FBAR