Keep up with your foreign asset reporting
Tax Tip of the Week
May 4, 2015
Keep up with your foreign asset reporting
Are you up-to-date on your foreign asset reporting? The question may make you think of the box you checked to indicate you had a foreign account on the Schedule B you filed with your 2014 federal income tax form. Or maybe you thought of "Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets," which is also filed with your Form 1040.
But even if you completed those two forms, you might still have to complete another report — one that is not mailed with your tax return, is due by June 30, can only be filed electronically, and has no extension.
The "Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts," or FBAR, is filed with the Department of Treasury when you have certain interests in, or authority over, foreign financial accounts. Generally, the filing requirement is triggered when the aggregate value of your foreign accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. Notice that the value of your accounts is what matters, not the amount of income you receive from the accounts. You may be required to file an FBAR even if you earn no income from your foreign financial accounts.
Reportable items include savings, checking, and time deposits, as well as brokerage and option accounts. Some life insurance policies and mutual funds are also reportable under FBAR rules.
Give us a call if you have any foreign accounts. We'll help you keep up with your reporting obligations.
"Business Tips" are published monthly to provide useful business information. Return to this site every month for helpful suggestions on how to make your business more profitable. If you would like more information on anything in "Business Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other business, tax, or financial information from time to time, please contact our office.
The business information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance.
© MC 2015
May 4, 2015
Keep up with your foreign asset reporting
Are you up-to-date on your foreign asset reporting? The question may make you think of the box you checked to indicate you had a foreign account on the Schedule B you filed with your 2014 federal income tax form. Or maybe you thought of "Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets," which is also filed with your Form 1040.
But even if you completed those two forms, you might still have to complete another report — one that is not mailed with your tax return, is due by June 30, can only be filed electronically, and has no extension.
The "Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts," or FBAR, is filed with the Department of Treasury when you have certain interests in, or authority over, foreign financial accounts. Generally, the filing requirement is triggered when the aggregate value of your foreign accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. Notice that the value of your accounts is what matters, not the amount of income you receive from the accounts. You may be required to file an FBAR even if you earn no income from your foreign financial accounts.
Reportable items include savings, checking, and time deposits, as well as brokerage and option accounts. Some life insurance policies and mutual funds are also reportable under FBAR rules.
Give us a call if you have any foreign accounts. We'll help you keep up with your reporting obligations.
"Business Tips" are published monthly to provide useful business information. Return to this site every month for helpful suggestions on how to make your business more profitable. If you would like more information on anything in "Business Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other business, tax, or financial information from time to time, please contact our office.
The business information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance.
