FBAR Filing and Reporting
 
Our firm is comprised of tax attorneys, certified public accountants, and former IRS agents and managers.
We were over 206 years of professional tax experience and over 60 years of working directly for the Internal Revenue Service.
We are the affordable tax experts for a FBAR filing,  tax services and financial advise.
We are true IRS tax experts.
FBAR Reporting
The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has been publishing final regulations for reporting bank accounts, securities accounts and other financial accounts located in a foreign country on Form TD 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts and many taxpayers seemed confused regarding the filing requirements, including the fast-approaching and accelerated filing deadline.
If you have a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign financial account (the “foreign accounts”), including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account, the Bank Secrecy Act may require you to report the foreign account to the Internal Revenue Service by filing the FBAR by June 30, 2013, or sooner as discussed below. Unlike income tax filings:
FBARs must be received and not mailed by the due date. No extensions!
The FBAR deadline is never extended to the next business day when the due date falls on a holiday or weekend and an extension of time to file FBAR after the June 30, 2013, due date is not available. The Internal Revenue Service is very tough on these deadline dates and penalties occur in the very next day
The current year filing deadline for FBARs is Sunday, June 30, 2013.
Make sure you plan ahead to ensure timely receipt at  the Treasury Department by Friday, June 28. Remember there are no exception!
 
Penalties for FBAR
There are two types of penalties applicable to FBARs.

• Non-Willful and

• Willful.

It should be noted that the penalties are assessed per account and not per FBAR.
The penalties for FBAR are assessed for each year there is a violation.
 
Non-Willful Penalty

•  Up to $10,000 for each negligent violation

•  No Criminal Penalties Assessed

 
Willful Penalty

•  Up to the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the amount in the account at the time of the violation

 
Criminal Penalties

• up to $250,000 or 5 years in jail or both

 
Willful Penalty While Violating Certain Other Laws

•     Up to the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the amount in the account at the time of the violation

•     Criminal Penalties of up to $500,000 or 10 years in jail or both

 
What is FBAR and who has to report??
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, the Bank Secrecy Act may require you to report the account yearly to the Internal Revenue Service by filing Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).
The FBAR is required because foreign financial institutions may not be subject to the same reporting requirements as domestic financial institutions.
The FBAR is a tool to help the United States government identify persons who may be using foreign financial accounts to circumvent United States law.
Tax Investigators use FBARs to help identify or trace funds used for illicit purposes or to identify unreported income maintained or generated abroad.
Recent FBAR Guidance
On February 24, 2011, the Treasury Department published final regulations amending the FBAR regulations.
These regulations became effective March 28, 2011, and apply to FBARs required to be filed with respect to foreign financial accounts maintained in calendar year 2010, and for FBARs required to be filed with respect to all subsequent calendar years.
The FBAR form and instructions (PDF) have been revised to reflect the amendments made by the final regulations.
On May 31, 2011, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued FinCEN Notice 2011-1 (PDF), revised June 6, 2011, to provide filing deferral to certain individuals with signature authority over, but no financial interest in, foreign financial accounts of their employer or a closely related entity.
Who files FBAR
An employee or officer of an entity under 31 CFR § 1010.350(f)(2)(i)-(v) who has signature or other authority over and no financial interest in a foreign financial account of a controlled person of the entity; or
An employee or officer of a controlled person of an entity under 31 CFR § 1010.350(f)(2)(i)-(v) who has signature or other authority over and no financial interest in a foreign financial account of the entity, the controlled person, or another controlled person of the entity.
If you are in need of FBAR filing services contact us today for a free initial consultation. We are the affordable tax firm.