Gold Bullion Foreign Accounts and FBAR
A frequent question in my practice is whether a foreign account holding gold bullion is required to be reported on FinCEN Form 114 formerly Form TD F 90-22.1, usually referred to as “FBAR” (Report on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts).
FBAR is required to be filed by any U.S. person who has a financial interest in or signature authority or other authority over any financial account in a foreign country, if the aggregate value of these accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. FBAR is due April 15th or October 15th (for the previous calendar year). There is an automatic extension if the FBAR is not filed by the April 15th deadline, unlike Federal and some State returns that must be filed by extension. For federal returns the extension is Form 4868. The FBAR rules are enforced by the Internal Revenue Service. You can read more about the general FBAR requirements here.
Whether gold buillion is required to be reported on the FBAR involves a general issue of whether FBAR definition of “financial account” covers foreign accounts that hold only non-monetary assets. The answer is yes – an account with a financial institution that is located in a foreign country is a financial account for FBAR purposes whether the account holds cash or non-monetary assets.
Therefore, most taxpayers must reports foreign accounts that hold gold bullion on the FBAR.
Contact Sherayzen Law Office For FBAR Help
If you have any questions with respect to FBARs or you just found out that you should have filed the FBARs for the past years and you wish to go through a voluntary disclosure, contact Sherayzen Law Office as soon as possible. Our experienced international tax firm can help you deal with any FBAR-related issues.
Remember, it does not matter whether you are located in another state or outside of the United States – we can help!