An Important Reminder from the Taxation Committee on FBAR

IMPORTANT: ACCJ members who are U.S. citizens or green card holders are required to file annual reports with the U.S. government of most foreign (non-U.S., including Japanese) bank, brokerage and other accounts. Failure to file may be subject to substantial penalties. 

2017 FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report ("FBAR") - Filing Deadline **April 17th (October 15th with automatic extension)** ​

Starting with calendar year 2016, the deadline to file the FBAR is now April 17th (the previous deadline was June 30th). However, the rule which mandated the new due date also allowed for a maximum 6 month extension to file the form. In order to implement the new rule with minimal burden, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will grant filers who do not meet the April 17 deadline an automatic six month extension to October 17, 2018. Accordingly, specific requests for this extension are not required. 

You may be required to file the FBAR for 2017 if you have an interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account. The Form must be completed and received by the Treasury Department by the extended due date of October 17th. This filing must be done online through the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network BSA E-Filing system. Paper submissions are no longer accepted.   

Please note that there could be significant penalties associated with not complying with the filing of this form.

The link below will take you to the site with more detailed information on the form and from which you may complete and e-file the form.

http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/NoRegFBARFiler.html

If you are unsure whether you are required to file this form, please consult a U.S. tax professional. 

Brian Douglas, Edwin T. Whatley, Marcus Wong, Co-chairs 
ACCJ Taxation Committee