Who Must File the FBAR? A United States person that has a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts must file an FBAR if the aggregate value of the foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.

FinCEN
FBAR Requirements FBAR refers to Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, that must be filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is a bureau of the Treasury Department. The form must be filed electronically and is only available online through the BSA E-FilingSystem website .

Why do you have to report a foreign bank account?

They must file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) because foreign financial institutions may not be subject to the same reporting requirements as domestic financial institutions. The FBAR is also a tool used by the U.S. government to identify persons who may be using foreign financial accounts to circumvent U.S. law.

Is it legal to open a foreign bank account in the US?

While it’s completely legal for US citizens to open a foreign bank account, you’ll need to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) — now called FinCEN Form 114 — if the total of your overseas accounts held more than $10,000 at any point in the past year.

Do you have to pay taxes on a foreign bank account?

Any American citizen with foreign bank accounts totaling more than $10,000 in aggregate, or at any time during the calendar year, is required to report such accounts to the Treasury Department. They are also required to report and pay tax on all income from these accounts, except so-called “signature authority accounts.”

What makes a foreign financial account a FBAR?

Generally, an account at a financial institution located outside the United States is a foreign financial account. Whether the account produced taxable income has no effect on whether the account is a “foreign financial account” for FBAR purposes. But, you don’t need to report foreign financial accounts that are: Correspondent/Nostro accounts,