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FBAR is the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, FinCEN Form 114. You file it when the foreign accounts you own or control were worth more than $10,000 in total at any point in the calendar year. Dimov Tax reviews the accounts, calculates the reportable values and prepares the electronic filing.
Yes, if you are a US person and you own a foreign account or have signature authority over one, meaning you can move its assets by instructing the institution. A US person is a citizen, a resident, or a domestic corporation, partnership, LLC, trust or estate. You file whether or not the account earned anything.
The FBAR maximum account value is each account’s highest balance during the year, which you can take from periodic statements that show the peak. We test the threshold in three steps:
| Reported on the FBAR | Not reported on the FBAR |
|---|---|
| Foreign bank, deposit, brokerage and custodial accounts | An account at a US branch of a foreign bank |
| An account at a foreign branch of a US bank | Foreign real estate or foreign currency held directly |
| Foreign mutual funds and pooled fund accounts | Foreign stock held directly, outside a financial account |
| Foreign insurance or annuity contracts with a cash value | A US mutual fund that holds foreign investments |
We check entity interests, trusts and retirement arrangements, since each can add an account or an exception. FBAR and Form 8938 are separate filings, and one does not satisfy the other.
The FBAR filing exchange rate is the Treasury reporting rate for December 31, applied to each account’s maximum balance in its own currency and reported in whole US dollars. Where Treasury publishes no rate for a currency, we use another verifiable rate and record the source.
There is no FBAR married filing jointly option; your income tax filing status does not apply to the FBAR. One spouse can report the couple’s accounts on one FBAR only when every account of the other spouse is jointly owned, the filing is on time and both sign Form 114a, which you keep and do not send.
Keep each account’s name, number, institution name and address, account type and maximum value, with the statements behind the conversion, for five years from the FBAR due date.
Send the statements, and we tell you whether the accounts cross $10,000 and what each one is worth in US dollars.
The filer, each account’s location, ownership or signature authority, account type and the reporting year.
Account numbers, institution details, ownership, statements and the highest balance for each account.
We convert each balance, add the accounts, apply the spouse rule and flag any Form 8938 filing.
We prepare the electronic FBAR, get your signed authorization, file it through FinCEN’s system and send you the confirmation with the record file.
The FBAR for a calendar year is due April 15 of the following year, with an automatic extension to October 15, no request required. You file it with FinCEN, separately from your tax return.
Are you a US person?
Do you own a foreign account or have signature authority over one?
Did the accounts total more than $10,000 at any time?
File FinCEN Form 114 and keep the records five years
We work with clients all over the country as well as internationally... Our license transfers all 50 states. So don't feel constrained and say, 'Hey, I need to find something I can drive to.' Reach out and we'll let you know.
I have used Dimov CPA for my past two years of taxes. They helped me complete my tax returns after being overseas for 30 years and were very helpful with my international investments. Xintian specifically was excellent with communication and advice.
FinCEN charges no FBAR filing fee. We set our fee from these factors:
One filer with two accounts in one currency and statements in hand is at the light end. These are the factors, not a quote.
Still asking, do I need to file FBAR? Send the account list with ownership, statements, maximum balances and currencies, and any signature authority arrangements, and we confirm the scope and send a written quote before we start. Our pricing and consultation options are set out in advance. If an FBAR is already late or years are missing, our FBAR filing guide covers that route.
These are general rules and are not advice on your situation. Whether an account is reportable depends on how it is held, so speak to a CPA before you rely on any of it.
