Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FinCEN Form 114/ FBAR) If you have a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account, exceeding certain thresholds, the Bank Secrecy Act may require you to report the account yearly to the Internal Revenue Service by filing electronically a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). FinCEN Form 114 supersedes TD F 90-22.1 (the FBAR form that was used in prior years) and is only available online through the BSA E-Filing System website. Who Must File an FBAR United States persons are required to file an FBAR if: • The United States person had a financial interest in or signature authority over at least one financial account located outside of the United States; and • The aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year to be reported. United States person means U.S. citizens; U.S. residents; entities, including but not limited to, corporations, partnerships, or limited liability companies, created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States; and trusts or estates formed under the laws of the United States. Exceptions to the Reporting Requirement Exceptions to the FBAR reporting requirements can be found in the FBAR instructions. There are filing exceptions for the following United States persons or foreign financial accounts: • Certain foreign financial accounts jointly owned by spouses; • United States persons included in a consolidated FBAR; • Correspondent/nostro accounts; • Foreign financial accounts owned by a governmental entity; • Foreign financial accounts owned by an international financial institution; • IRA owners and beneficiaries; • Participants in and beneficiaries of tax-qualified retirement plans; • Certain individuals with signature authority over but no financial interest in a foreign financial account; • Trust beneficiaries (but only if a U.S. person reports the account on an FBAR filed on behalf of the trust); and • Foreign financial accounts maintained on a United States military banking facility. Reporting and Filing Information A person who holds a foreign financial account may have a reporting obligation even though the account produces no taxable income. The reporting obligation is met by answering questions on a tax return about foreign accounts (for example, the questions about foreign accounts on Form 1040 Schedule B) and by filing an FBAR. The FBAR is a calendar year report and must NOW be filed on or before April 15th of the year following the calendar year being reported. FinCEN will grant filers failing to meet the FBAR annual due date of April 15 an automatic extension to October 15 each year. Accordingly, specific requests for this extension are not required. Effective July 1, 2013, the FBAR must be filed electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System. The FBAR is not filed with a federal tax return. A person required to file an FBAR who fails to properly file a complete and correct FBAR may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per violation for nonwillful violations that are not due to reasonable cause. For willful violations, the penalty may be the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the balance in the account at the time of the violation, for each violation. E-filing is a quick and secure way for individuals to file FBARs. Filers will receive an acknowledgement of each submission. There are now procedures to allow the filing of an FBAR by a third party (such as a paid preparer or a spouse) on behalf of the person who has the obligation to file an FBAR.