Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

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1 Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) Presenter s name Date Objectives FBAR purpose FBAR reporting / recordkeeping FBAR penalties Compliance initiatives 2 FBAR Purpose Combat the use of foreign financial accounts to circumvent U.S. law Provide leads to investigators to identify and trace funds used for illicit purposes Serve as an additional prosecutorial tool to combat money laundering and other crimes 3 1

2 Who Is Required To File FBAR? Any United States person who: has financial interest in, or signature authority over financial accounts in a foreign country If aggregate value of accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during calendar year 4 Financial Account Includes Any bank account Mutual funds or similar pooled fund Securities derivatives Annuity or insurance policy with a cash value Other financial instruments 5 Financial Interest Includes account where U.S. person is owner of record or has legal title, whether: account maintained for his or her own benefit, or for benefit of others, including non-u.s. persons 6 2

3 Financial Interest (Continued) Account where owner of record or holder of legal title is a: Corporation; U.S. person owns directly or indirectly more than 50% of total value of stock Partnership; U.S. person owns interest in more than 50% of profits Trust; U.S. person has beneficial interest in more than 50% of assets or receives more than 50% of current income 7 Signature Authority A person who can control disposition of money or other property in account by direct communication to financial institution maintaining financial account 8 FBAR for Joint Account If two or more U.S. persons have a financial interest in the same account, then each person may have to file an FBAR and report the entire value of the jointly-owned accounts 9 3

4 FBAR Filing Exceptions 1. Consolidated FBAR 2. IRA owners and beneficiaries 3. Military banking facility 4. Commercial bank exception 5. Publicly-traded entity exception 6. Others 10 Maximum Account Value Determine value of each account during calendar year being reported Account statements may be relied on to determine account value Accounts stated in non-u.s. currency, convert by using Treasury s Financial Management Service exchange rate from last day of calendar year 11 Filing FBAR FinCEN Form 114 must be received on or before June 30 following year being reported FBARs are filed electronically through the BSA E-Filing System Extensions granted for federal tax returns do not extend due date for FBAR filing Retain records for five years 12 4

5 BSA E-Filing System Supports electronic filing of BSA forms (individually (discrete filings) or in batches) FBAR e-filing, mandatory July 1, 2013 E-File advantages: Streamlined form submission process No cost and faster routing of information Greater data security and privacy Acknowledgement received 13 Penalties Civil penalties (31 USCS 5321) Nonwillful violation Willful Criminal penalties (31 USCS 5322) Willful Knowingly and willingly filing false FBAR Civil penalties may be imposed in addition to criminal penalties 14 FBAR and Professional Responsibility Diligence as to Accuracy (Circular 230) Should make reasonable inquiries when client provides information suggesting participation in overseas transactions/ accounts subject to FBAR Should advise client of potential penalties associated with noncompliance of FBAR requirements 15 5

6 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Enables noncompliant taxpayers to resolve their tax liabilities and minimize their chance of criminal prosecution 2009 OVDP: Closed Oct. 15, 2009 $3.4B collected from 14,700 participants 2011 OVDI: Closed Sept. 9, 2011 $1B collected upfront from 18,000 participants 2012 OVDP: Opened Jan. 19, Resources IRS.gov FinCEN.gov FBAR questions: questions to Callers within the U.S. dial Callers outside the U.S. dial BSA E-Filing questions: questions Callers within the U.S. dial