FBAR Filing (2024): Deadline and Late-Filing for FBAR 2024

FBAR Filing (2024): Deadline and Late-Filing for 2024 FBAR

FBAR Filing

While there are many different types of international information reporting forms that a U.S. Taxpayer may have to file each year to disclose their foreign accounts, assets, investments, entities, and trusts to the U.S. Government, the FBAR is the most common form that Taxpayers must file. The reason why the FBAR is the most common foreign account reporting form is because it requires the reporting of many different types of foreign accounts. Also, the FBAR has a relatively low threshold which does not adjust for inflation (the penalties adjust for inflation but not the threshold). Let’s review the basics of who must file the FBAR and the deadline and due date for FBAR reporting.

Who Must File the FBAR?

Taxpayers who are considered to be U.S. persons for tax purposes are required to file the FBAR. Typically, this will include U.S. Citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and foreign nationals who meet the Substantial Presence Test. It may also include domestic entities and trusts. Some Taxpayers may be able to avoid having to file the FBAR if they qualify for an exception to the Substantial Presence Test. In addition, based on the recent court ruling in Aroeste, a Taxpayer may try to take the position that if he qualifies under a tax treaty to be treated as a non-resident alien for tax purposes then he does not have to file the FBAR (the IRS disagrees with this position).

FBAR Deadline and Due Date

Technically, the FBAR is due on April 15. This is similar to most international tax forms such as Form 8938 and Form 3520 which are also due when the Taxpayer’s tax return is due. But, for the past several years the FBAR has been on automatic extension. Therefore, Taxpayers automatically have until October to file their FBAR instead of April. In addition, Taxpayers are not required to file an extension form such as Form 4868 or 7004 to extend the time to file the FBAR.

The FBAR Deadline Can Change

It is also important to note that the U.S. government has the right to change the automatic extension procedures. Also, the IRS is known for making changes to the international reporting rules or procedures without giving prior notice to Taxpayers, such as when they modified the Delinquent International Information Reporting Submission Procedures (DIIRSP) back in November 2020 just by updating the website page for DIIRSP. Therefore, Taxpayers should be sure to check each year whether the automatic extension still applies.

FBAR Penalties May be Reduced or Avoided

For Taxpayers who did not timely file their FBAR and other international information-related reporting forms, the IRS has developed many different offshore amnesty programs to assist taxpayers with safely getting into compliance. These programs may reduce or even eliminate international reporting penalties.

Current Year vs Prior Year Non-Compliance

Once a taxpayer missed the tax and reporting (such as FBAR and FATCA) requirements for prior years, they will want to be careful before submitting their information to the IRS in the current year. That is because they may risk making a quiet disclosure if they just begin filing forward in the current year and/or mass filing previous year forms without doing so under one of the approved IRS offshore submission procedures. Before filing prior untimely foreign reporting forms, taxpayers should consider speaking with a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist who specializes exclusively in these types of offshore disclosure matters.

Avoid False Offshore Disclosure Submissions (Willful vs Non-Willful)

In recent years, the IRS has increased the level of scrutiny for certain streamlined procedure submissions. When a person is non-willful, they have an excellent chance of making a successful submission to Streamlined Procedures. If they are willful, they would submit to the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program instead. But, if a willful Taxpayer submits an intentionally false narrative under the Streamlined Procedures (and gets caught), they may become subject to significant fines and penalties. 

Need Help Finding an Experienced Offshore Tax Attorney?

When it comes to hiring an experienced international tax attorney to represent you for unreported foreign and offshore account reporting, it can become overwhelming for taxpayers trying to trek through all the false information and nonsense they will find in their online research. There are only a handful of attorneys worldwide who are Board-Certified Tax Specialists and who specialize exclusively in offshore disclosure and international tax amnesty reporting. 

This resource may help taxpayers seeking to hire offshore tax counsel: How to Hire an Offshore Disclosure Lawyer.

Golding & Golding: About Our International Tax Law Firm

Golding & Golding specializes exclusively in international tax, specifically IRS offshore disclosure. 

Contact our firm today for assistance.