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2021 FBAR Deadline in 2022 | FinCEN Form 114 International Tax Lawyer & Attorney

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The 2021 FBAR deadline is a critical deadline for US taxpayers this calendar year 2022. What makes FBAR so important are the draconian FBAR penalties which may be imposed on noncompliant taxpayers. Let’s discuss the 2021 FBAR deadline in more detail.

2021 FBAR Deadline: Background Information

The official name of FBAR is FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. US Persons must file FBAR if they have a financial interest in or signatory or any other authority over foreign financial accounts if the highest aggregate value of these accounts is in excess of $10,000. FBARs must be timely e-filed separately from federal tax returns.

Failure to file an FBAR may result in the imposition of heavy FBAR penalties. The FBAR penalties vary from criminal penalties and willful penalties to non-willful penalties. You can find more details about FBAR penalties in this article.

2021 FBAR Deadline: Pre-2016 FBAR Deadline

For the years preceding 2016, US persons needed to file FBARs by June 30 of each year. For example, the 2013 FBAR was due on June 30, 2014. No filing extensions were allowed.

The last FBAR that followed the June 30 deadline was the 2015 FBAR; its due date was June 30, 2016. Due to the six-year FBAR statute of limitations, however, it is important to remember this history for the purpose of offshore voluntary disclosures and IRS FBAR audits. The 2015 FBAR’s statute of limitations will expire only this year – on June 30, 2022.

2021 FBAR Deadline: Changes to FBAR Deadline Starting with the 2016 FBAR

For many years, the strange FBAR filing rules greatly confused US taxpayers. First of all, it was difficult to learn about the existence of the form. Second, many taxpayers simply missed the unusual FBAR filing deadline.

The US Congress took action in 2015 to alleviate this problem. As it usually happens, it did so when it passed a law that, on its surface, had nothing to do with FBARs. The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (the “Act”) changed the FBAR deadline starting with 2016 FBAR. Section 2006(b)(11) of the Act requires the FBARs to be filed by the due date of that year’s tax return (i.e. usually April 15), not June 30.

Furthermore, during the transition period (which continues to this date), the IRS granted to US taxpayers an automatic extension of the FBAR filing deadline to October 15. Taxpayers do not need to make any specific requests in order for an extension to be granted.

Thus, starting with the 2016 FBAR, the Act adjusted the FBAR due date to coincide with the federal income tax filing deadlines. This is the case even if federal law requires a different filing date. For example, in situations where the tax return due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the IRS must delay the due date until the next business day; the FBAR deadline will follow suit and also shift to the next business day.

2021 FBAR Deadline

Based on the current law, the 2021 FBAR deadline will be April 18, 2022. However, it is automatically extended to October 17, 2022.

The 2021 FBAR must be e-filed through the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) BSA E-filing system.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help With Your FBAR Compliance

If you have unreported foreign accounts, contact Sherayzen Law Office as soon as possible. Sherayzen Law Office is a leader in US international tax compliance and offshore voluntary disclosures. We have successfully helped hundreds of US taxpayers around the globe with their FBAR compliance and FBAR voluntary disclosures; and we can help you!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

FBAR Voluntary Disclosure | International Tax Lawyer & Attorney

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I often receive calls from prospective clients who talk about FBAR voluntary disclosure. They usually have no clear idea of what is meant by this term and what its requirements are. In this article, I will discuss this concept of FBAR Voluntary Disclosure and explain how this concept covers a variety of offshore voluntary disclosure options.

FBAR Voluntary Disclosure: What is FBAR?

Before we discuss the meaning of FBAR Voluntary Disclosure, we need to understand what “FBAR” is. FBAR is an acronym for Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, officially known as FinCEN Form 114. US Persons must file FBAR to report their financial interest in or signatory authority or any other authority over foreign bank and financial accounts if the aggregate value of these accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during a calendar year.

FBAR Voluntary Disclosure: Why FBAR Compliance Is So Important?

US taxpayers who fail to comply with their FBAR obligations may find themselves in an extremely difficult legal position, because FBAR has a highly complex and an exceptionally severe penalty system, which includes even criminal penalties for FBAR noncompliance. The form’s civil penalties include not only willful penalties, but also non-willful penalties – i.e. the IRS can assess FBAR penalties even if a taxpayer’s failure to file his FBARs was unintentional and accidental.

FBAR Voluntary Disclosure: What is Voluntary Disclosure?

“Voluntary disclosure” is a process by which taxpayers voluntarily self-correct their past noncompliance. When this process involves foreign assets, it is called “offshore voluntary disclosure”.

FBAR Voluntary Disclosure: Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Options (Tax Year 2020)

The IRS has created a number of voluntary disclosure programs to encourage taxpayers to come forward and correct their past US tax noncompliance. These offshore voluntary disclosure options include: Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures, Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures, Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures (effectively discontinued several weeks ago), IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice (used to be called “Traditional IRS Voluntary Disclosure”) and the now-closed OVDP (Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Process) and OVDI (Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative).

Moreover, there is also a voluntary disclosure based on Reasonable Cause exception that is sometimes called “noisy disclosure”. This is not an official IRS voluntary disclosure program, but simply a voluntary disclosure venue based on specific provisions in the Internal Revenue Code.

Finally, some taxpayers attempt to do “quiet disclosures”. A quiet disclosure can mean a range of actions voluntarily taken by a taxpayer to comply with US international tax laws without officially informing the IRS about his past noncompliance with them. In other words, a taxpayer never takes advantage of any of the voluntary disclosure options and does not claim Reasonable Cause Exception defense; rather, he either files amended tax returns or simply starts to comply with US international tax laws without doing anything about his past noncompliance.

The IRS strongly disfavors quiet disclosures and does not consider them to be voluntary disclosures. In fact, the IRS has officially stated that the agency will try to identify the taxpayers who are doing it and audit them in order to impose penalties for past noncompliance.

FBAR Voluntary Disclosure Versus Offshore Voluntary Disclosure

You probably already noticed that I never listed “FBAR Voluntary Disclosure” as a voluntary disclosure option. The reason is because it is not an official voluntary disclosure option. Rather, FBAR Voluntary Disclosure is merely a term that refers to any offshore voluntary disclosure option involving past FBAR noncompliance (such as Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures).

Hence, when a prospective client calls me to discuss his FBAR voluntary disclosure, I know that he does not mean any specific offshore voluntary disclosure program but merely wishes to know what option he should use to voluntarily correct his past FBAR noncompliance.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office About Your FBAR Voluntary Disclosure

If you have not filed your required FBARs for prior years, you should contact Sherayzen Law Office as soon as possible. Sherayzen Law Office is a leader in offshore voluntary disclosures involving FBARs – this is our core specialty.

We have filed thousands of FBARs for hundreds of clients all over the world. We have prepared hundreds of voluntary disclosures under all offshore voluntary disclosure options, including Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures and Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures. We can help you!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

FinCEN Form 114 Estate Filers | FBAR Tax Lawyer & Attorney

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Many taxpayers and even tax professionals are completely unaware of the fact that FBAR needs to be filed not just by individuals, businesses and trusts, but also by estates. In this article, I will discuss FinCEN Form 114 Estate filers (i.e. estates that need to file FinCEN Form 114).

FinCEN Form 114 Estate filers: FBAR Background Information

FinCEN Form 114, commonly known as FBAR, was created in the 1970s as a result of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. The original purpose of the form was to fight financial crimes and terrorism; FinCEN was in charge of FBAR rulemaking and FBAR enforcement. After September 11, 2001, the US Congress turned over the function of FBAR enforcement to the IRS.

While the initial justification for the IRS involvement was fighting terrorism, it soon became clear that the IRS would use its new FBAR powers for international tax enforcement. This is exactly what happened; FinCEN Form 114 turned into the most formidable and scary weapon of the IRS to force US taxpayers to turn over their foreign bank account information.

FinCEN Form 114 Estate filers: FBAR Filing Requirements

If a US person has a financial interest in or signatory authority over foreign financial accounts and the aggregate value of these foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, then he has to file FBAR for that year. FBAR requires its filers determine the highest value of each of his accounts in “native” currency (i.e. the currency in which the account is denominated) first and then report this highest balance in US dollars. The Department of the Treasury publishes every year special FBAR currency conversion rates.

Prior to 2016 FBAR, the FBAR deadline was June 30 of each year. Starting 2016 FBAR, the FBAR deadline is aligned with the tax return deadline; as of the tax year 2019, the FBAR deadline is automatically extended to October 15. This may change in the future years.

FinCEN Form 114 Estate filers: Estates Must File FBARs

It is not just individuals, businesses and trusts who are required to file FinCEN Form 114. Estates must also file FBARs for any foreign accounts in the estate. It should be remembered that indirect ownership of foreign accounts (for example, through corporate shares in the estate) may also result in the requirement to file FBARs. Failure to file FinCEN Form 114 timely may result in the imposition of FBAR penalties on the estate.

FinCEN Form 114 Estate filers: Executor Liability for Decedent’s FBAR Noncompliance

If you are an executor of an estate and you discovered that the decedent should have filed FinCEN Forms 114 for prior years but never did so, then you need to explore your offshore voluntary disclosure options as soon as possible. There is a powerful incentive for the executors to resolve the decedent’s FBAR noncompliance – failure do so may result in the imposition of FBAR penalties on the executor of the estate.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help With FinCEN Form 114 Estate Filings and Offshore Voluntary Disclosure

If you are an executor or a personal representative of an estate and there is a reason to believe that the decedent failed to file FBARs in the past, then contact Sherayzen Law Office for professional help as soon as possible.

We have helped hundreds of US taxpayers, including estates, to successfully resolve their FinCEN Form 114 noncompliance. We can help you!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

2017 FBAR Deadline | FinCEN Form 114 FBAR Lawyer & Attorney

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FinCEN recently confirmed the 2017 FBAR deadline and the automatic extension option.

2017 FBAR Deadline: FBAR Background

FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is commonly known as FBAR.  US taxpayers should use this form to report their financial interest in or signatory authority over foreign financial accounts. Failure to timely file the FBAR may result in the imposition of draconian FBAR penalties.

2017 FBAR Deadline: Traditional FBAR Deadline

Prior to 2016 FBAR, the taxpayers had to file their FBARs for each relevant calendar year by June 30 of the following year. No filings extensions were allowed. The last FBAR that followed this deadline was 2015 FBAR (its due date was June 30, 2016).

2017 FBAR Deadline: Changes to FBAR Deadline Starting 2016 FBAR

The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (the “Act”) changed the FBAR deadline starting with 2016 FBAR.  Section 2006(b)(11) of the Act requires the FBARs to be filed by the due date of that year’s tax return (i.e. usually April 15), not June 30.

Furthermore, during the transition period, the IRS granted to US taxpayers an automatic extension of the FBAR filing deadline to October 15. The taxpayers do not need to make any specific requests in order for extension to be granted.

In other words, starting 2016 FBAR, the Act adjusted the FBAR due date to coincide with the federal income tax filing deadlines. Moreover, the new FBAR filing deadline will follow to the letter the federal income tax due date guidance. The federal income tax due date guidance states that, in situations where the tax return due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the IRS must delay the due date until the next business day.

2017 FBAR Deadline

Based on the new law, the 2017 FBAR deadline will be April 17, 2018 (same as 2017 income tax return due date). If a taxpayer does not file his 2017 FBAR by April 17, 2018, then the IRS will automatically grant an extension until October 15, 2018. Failure to file 2017 FBAR by October 15, 2018, may result in the imposition of FBAR civil and criminal penalties.

Official Treasury Currency Conversion Rates of December 31, 2009

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These Official Treasury 2009 FBAR Conversion Rates are posted here due to the fact that U.S. taxpayers who are doing voluntary disclosure for prior years with respect to delinquent FBARs are required to use these rates to prepare the FBARs for 2009.  Every year, the U.S. Department of Treasure publishes its official currency conversion rates (they are called “Treasury’s Financial Management Service rates”); I will refer to the “FBAR Conversion Rates”.

The latest (October 2013) FBAR instructions require the use of Treasury’s Financial Management Service rates, if available, to determine the maximum value of a foreign bank account. In particular, the FBAR instructions state:

In the case of non-United States currency, convert the maximum account value for each account into United States dollars. Convert foreign currency by using the Treasury’s Financial Management Service rate (this rate may be found at www.fms.treas.gov) from the last day of the calendar year. If no Treasury Financial Management Service rate is available, use another verifiable exchange rate and provide the source of that rate. In valuing currency of a country that uses multiple exchange rates, use the rate that would apply if the currency in the account were converted into United States dollars on the last day of the calendar year.

For this reason, the international tax attorneys take their time to compile these rates with all updates. For your convenience, Sherayzen Law Office provides a table of the official  2009 FBAR Conversion Rates below (keep in mind, you still need to refer to the official website for any updates).

COUNTRY-CURRENCY F.C. TO $1.00
AFGHANISTAN – AFGHANI 47.9200
ALBANIA – LEK 95.4300
ALGERIA – DINAR 70.3330
ANGOLA – KWANZA 75.0000
ANTIGUA – BARBUDA – E. CARIBBEAN DOLLAR 2.7000
ARGENTINA-PESO 3.7980
ARMENIA – DRAM 375.0000
AUSTRALIA – DOLLAR 1.1110
AUSTRIA – EURO 0.6950
AZERBAIJAN – MANAT 0.8200
BAHAMAS – DOLLAR 1.0000
BAHRAIN – DINAR 0.3770
BANGLADESH – TAKA 68.0000
BARBADOS – DOLLAR 2.0200
BELARUS – RUBLE 2880.0000
BELGIUM-EURO 0.6950
BELIZE – DOLLAR 2.0000
BENIN – CFA FRANC 454.8900
BERMUDA – DOLLAR 1.0000
BOLIVIA – BOLIVIANO 6.9700
BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA MARKA 1.3590
BOTSWANA – PULA 6.6530
BRAZIL – REAL 1.7400
BRUNEI – DOLLAR 1.4010
BULGARIA – LEV 1.3580
BURKINA FASO – CFA FRANC 454.8900
BURMA – KYAT 450.0000
BURUNDI – FRANC 1200.0000
CAMBODIA (KHMER) – RIEL 4163.0000
CAMEROON – CFA FRANC 454.8900
CANADA – DOLLAR 1.0510
CAPE VERDE – ESCUDO 74.7270
CAYMAN ISLANDS – DOLLAR 0.8200
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – CFA FRANC 454.8900
CHAD – CFA FRANC 454.8900
CHILE – PESO 507.0000
CHINA – RENMINBI 6.8260
COLOMBIA – PESO 2046.5000
COMOROS – FRANC 361.3500
CONGO – CFA FRANC 454.8900
COSTA RICA – COLON 553.7000
COTE D’IVOIRE – CFA FRANC 454.8900
CROATIA – KUNA 5.0000
CUBA-PESO 0.9260
CYPRUS-EURO 0.6950
CZECH – KORUNA 18.1190
DEM REP OF CONGO-CONGOLESE FRANC 900.0000
DENMARK – KRONE 5.1670
DJIBOUTI – FRANC 177.0000
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – PESO 36.1000
EAST TIMOR-DILI 1.0000
ECAUDOR-DOLARES 1.0000
EGYPT – POUND 5.4840
EL SALVADOR-DOLARES 1.0000
EQUATORIAL GUINEA – CFA FRANC 454.8900
ERITREA – NAKFA 15.0000
ESTONIA – KROON 10.8650
ETHIOPIA – BIRR 12.6400
EURO ZONE – EURO 0.6950
FIJI – DOLLAR 1.9250
FINLAND-EURO 0.6950
FRANCE-EURO 0.6950
GABON – CFA FRANC 454.8900
GAMBIA – DALASI 27.0000
GEORGIA-LARI 1.6900
GERMANY FRG-EURO 0.6950
GHANA – CEDI 1.4290
GREECE-EURO 0.6950
GRENADA – EAST CARIBBEAN DOLLAR 2.7000
GUATEMALA-QUENTZEL 8.3320
GUINEA -FRANC 4924.0000
GUINEA BISSAU – CFA FRANC 454.8900
GUYANA – DOLLAR 201.0000
HAITI – GOURDE 40.7500
HONDURAS – LEMPIRA 18.9000
HONG KONG – DOLLAR 7.7540
HUNGARY – FORINT 187.7700
ICELAND – KRONA 124.4500
INDIA – RUPEE 46.4000
INDONESIA – RUPIAH 9350.0000
IRAN – RIAL 8229.0000
IRAQ – DINAR 1150.0000
IRELAND-EURO 0.6950
ISRAEL-SHEKEL 3.7800
ITALY-EURO 0.6950
JAMAICA – DOLLAR 89.3000
JAPAN – YEN 92.3900
JERESALEM-SHEKEL 3.7800
JORDAN – DINAR 0.7080
KAZAKHSTAN – TENGE 148.4000
KENYA – SHILLING 75.8500
KOREA – WON 1163.6500
KUWAIT – DINAR 0.2860
KYRGYZSTAN – SOM 44.0000
LAOS – KIP 8476.0000
LATVIA – LATS 0.4920
LEBANON – POUND 1500.0000
LESOTHO – SOUTH AFRICAN RAND 7.3690
LIBERIA – U.S. DOLLAR 49.0000
LIBYA-DINAR 1.2340
LITHUANIA – LITAS 2.3980
LUXEMBOURG-EURO 0.6950
MACAO – MOP 8.0000
MACEDONIA FYROM – DENAR 42.3000
MADAGASCAR-ARIA 1954.6400
MALAWI – KWACHA 146.0000
MALAYSIA – RINGGIT 3.4220
MALI – CFA FRANC 454.8900
MALTA-EURO 0.6950
MARSHALLS ISLANDS – DOLLAR 1.0000
MARTINIQUE-EURO 0.6950
MAURITANIA – OUGUIYA 270.0000
MAURITIUS – RUPEE 29.0000
MEXICO – NEW PESO 13.0990
MICRONESIA – DOLLAR 1.0000
MOLDOVA – LEU 12.1850
MONGOLIA – TUGRIK 1435.8800
MONTENEGRO-EURO 0.6950
MOROCCO – DIRHAM 7.9030
MOZAMBIQUE – METICAL 29.2800
NAMIBIA-DOLLAR 7.3690
NEPAL – RUPEE 74.4000
NETHERLANDS-EURO 0.6950
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES – GUILDER 1.7800
NEW ZEALAND – DOLLAR 1.3740
NICARAGUA – CORDOBA 20.8400
NIGER – CFA FRANC 454.8900
NIGERIA – NAIRA 149.4500
NORWAY – KRONE 5.7640
OMAN – RIAL 0.3850
PAKISTAN – RUPEE 84.2000
PALAU-DOLLAR 1.0000
PANAMA – BALBOA 1.0000
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – KINA 2.5230
PARAGUAY – GUARANI 4650.0000
PERU – INTI 0.0000
PERU – NUEVO SOL 2.8900
PHILIPPINES – PESO 46.4500
POLAND – ZLOTY 2.8500
PORTUGAL-EURO 0.6950
QATAR – RIYAL 3.6420
ROMANIA – LEU 2.9420
RUSSIA-RUBLE 30.3110
RWANDA – FRANC 569.4700
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE – DOBRAS 16539.2150
SAUDI ARABIA – RIYAL 3.7500
SENEGAL – CFA FRANC 454.8900
SERBIA-DINAR 66.7300
SEYCHELLES – RUPEE 10.9180
SIERRA LEONE – LEONE 3930.0000
SINGAPORE – DOLLAR 1.4010
SLOVAK-EURO 0.6950
SLOVENIA-EURO 0.6950
SOLOMON ISLANDS – DOLLAR 7.3580
SOUTH AFRICA – RAND 7.3690
SPAIN-EURO 0.6950
SRI LANKA – RUPEE 114.3500
ST LUCIA – EC DOLLAR 2.7000
SUDAN-POUND 2.3140
SURINAME – GUILDER 2.8000
SWAZILAND – LILANGENI 7.3690
SWEDEN – KRONA 7.1160
SWITZERLAND – FRANC 1.0310
SYRIA – POUND 45.5000
TAIWAN – DOLLAR 31.9500
TAJIKISTAN-SOMONI 4.3800
TANZANIA – SHILLING 1335.0000
THAILAND – BAHT 33.3000
TOGO – CFA FRANC 454.8900
TONGA – PA’ANGA 1.8760
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – DOLLAR 6.3300
TUNISIA – DINAR 1.3180
TURKEY-LIRA 1.4930
TURKMENISTAN – MANAT 2.8430
UGANDA – SHILLING 1895.0000
UKRAINE – HRYVNIA 8.0300
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DIRHAM 3.6730
UNITED KINGDOM – POUND STERLING 0.6160
URUGUAY – NEW PESO 19.4500
UZBEKISTAN – SOM 1525.0000
VANUATU – VATU 96.0900
VENZEULA – NEW BOLIVAR 2.1500
VIETNAM – DONG 18469.0000
WESTERN SAMOA – TALA 2.5190
YEMEN – RIAL 206.0000
YUGOSLAVIA – DINAR 66.7300
ZAMBIA-KWACHA 4640.0000
ZIMBABWE – DOLLAR 0.0000