Everything You Need to Know About Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

Learning Objectives

• Learn what the FBAR is and what it is not (for example, it does not mean FATCA or that tax is due) but failing to file it correctly can mean steep penalties. 
• Learn who must file the FBAR, when it must be filed, and which financial accounts must be reported on this form (many surprises await you).  
• Learn the meaning of core terms such as who is a “US person” having a “financial interest in” or “signature authority over” a “foreign financial account”.  
• Learn what FBAR requires when it comes to joint accounts when parties have joint signature authority or hold powers of attorney.  
• Learn the rules for FBAR filing when an individual is treated as having a “financial interest” in foreign accounts owned by foreign entities (e.g., a foreign corporation, trust, or partnership) with which the individual has some kind of relationship. Understand the exceptions and how to use them.
• Learn how to calculate the filing threshold and report the maximum values for FBAR purposes. 
• Learn how to address unique situations such as FBAR issues arising for children, with NRA and US spouses, community property jurisdictions, and the issues raised with community property.
• Learn about the FBAR penalties and how to try to get them abated.  Learn the current IRS procedures for regaining FBAR compliance, and correcting for delinquent or improperly completed FBARs. Learn how to critically analyze real-world cases.

Course Description

Understanding FBAR matters can create a whole new line of business for tax advisors, enrolled agents, and return preparers seeking to expand their US tax practice. Don’t lose potential clients because you do not fully understand FBAR. FBAR matters have grown in importance ever since 2007 with the tax evasion scandal surrounding UBS and the whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld who helped scores of Americans hide from the taxman with secret offshore accounts. The IRS is aggressively seeking FBAR penalties and many cases are getting to the courts.

Tax professionals need to understand FBAR matters now more than ever and this CPE course provides all that you need. 

It will provide an in-depth examination of the overall framework and rules surrounding FBAR. A major problem faced by practitioners is the fact that official FBAR information is not comprehensive. Some guidance is issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), while another guidance is issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); the courts have been called in to interpret the statutory terms.  

This Online CPE/CE Tax course neatly summarizes the numerous and different sources of guidance starting with the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations, moving on to the FBAR instructions and IRS guidance. 

Court cases are examined so professionals can obtain a clear and concise understanding of what is meant by a “willful” v. “non-willful” FBAR violation. A non-willful failure to file means that a person didn’t know, or reasonably couldn’t be expected to know, that they were required to file an FBAR. On 28 February 2023, the US Supreme Court held that the USD 10,000 penalty for non-willful failure to file an FBAR applies per form, not per account.

These critical concepts that are required in making the decision on how to proceed and providing your client with a sound recommendation as to how to regain FBAR compliance are covered in this CE/CPE webinar. 

Major topics included: 

• What is an FBAR?
• How to Approach FBAR Issues / Resources
• Who must file an FBAR?
• Options For Getting Into Compliance
• Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedure
• Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedure

Overview

• What is an FBAR?

  3 mins
• How to approach FBAR issues / Resources?

  7 mins
• Foreign financial accounts

  16 mins
• Calculating the filing threshold

  33 mins
• Options for getting into compliance

  48 mins
• Who must file an FBAR?

  62 mins