IRS Releases Guidance on Foreign Financial Asset Reporting

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IRS Releases Guidance on Foreign Financial Asset Reporting

IR-2011-117, Dec. 14, 2011

WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service in coming days will release a new information reporting form that taxpayers will use starting this coming tax filing season to report specified foreign financial assets for tax year 2011.

Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) will be filed by taxpayers with specific types and amounts of foreign financial assets or foreign accounts. It is important for taxpayers to determine whether they are subject to this new requirement because the law imposes significant penalties for failing to comply.

The Form 8938 filing requirement was enacted in 2010 to improve tax compliance by U.S. taxpayers with offshore financial accounts. Individuals who may have to file Form 8938 are U.S. citizens and residents, nonresidents who elect to file a joint income tax return and certain nonresidents who live in a U.S. territory.

Form 8938 is required when the total value of specified foreign assets exceeds certain thresholds. For example, a married couple living in the U.S. and filing a joint tax return would not file Form 8938 unless their total specified foreign assets exceed $100,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $150,000 at any time during the tax year.

The thresholds for taxpayers who reside abroad are higher. For example in this case, a married couple residing abroad and filing a joint return would not file Form 8938 unless the value of specified foreign assets exceeds $400,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $600,000 at any time during the year.

Instructions for Form 8938 explain the thresholds for reporting, what constitutes a specified foreign financial asset, how to determine the total value of relevant assets, what assets are exempted, and what information must be provided.

Form 8938 is not required of individuals who do not have an income tax return filing requirement.

The new Form 8938 filing requirement does not replace or otherwise affect a taxpayer’s obligation to file an FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts). For more go to the FBAR page on this website.

Failing to file Form 8938 when required could result in a $10,000 penalty, with an additional penalty up to $50,000 for continued failure to file after IRS notification. A 40 percent penalty on any understatement of tax attributable to non-disclosed assets can also be imposed. Special statute of limitation rules apply to Form 8938, which are also explained in the instructions.

Form 8938, the form’s instructions, regulations implementing this new foreign asset reporting, and other information to help taxpayers determine if they are required to file Form 8938 can be found on the FATCA page of irs.gov.

See TD 9567.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Markinsa
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[p71rock]

True this has been posted many times. including by me. Thanks anyways.

[Striker1]

Do I need to file Form 8938, “Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets”?

Certain U.S. taxpayers holding specified foreign financial assets with an aggregate value exceeding $50,000 will report information about those assets on new Form 8938, which must be attached to the taxpayer’s annual income tax return. Higher asset thresholds apply to U.S. taxpayers who file a joint tax return or who reside abroad (see below).

Form 8938 reporting applies for specified foreign financial assets in which the taxpayer has an interest in taxable years starting after March 18, 2010. For most individual taxpayers, this means they will start filing Form 8938 with their 2011 income tax return to be filed this coming tax filing season.

Upon issuance of regulations, FATCA may require reporting by specified domestic entities. For now, only specified individuals are required to file Form 8938.

If you do not have to file an income tax return for the tax year, you do not need to file Form 8938, even if the value of your specified foreign assets is more than the appropriate reporting threshold.

If you are required to file Form 8938, you do not have to report financial accounts maintained by:

a U.S. payer (such as a U.S. domestic financial institution),

the foreign branch of a U.S. financial institution, or

the U.S. branch of a foreign financial institution.

Refer to Form 8938 instructions for more information on assets that do not have to be reported.

You must file Form 8938 if:

1. You are a specified individual.

A specified individual is:

A U.S. citizen

A resident alien of the United States for any part of the tax year (see Pub. 519 for more information)

A nonresident alien who makes an election to be treated as resident alien for purposes of filing a joint income tax return

A nonresident alien who is a bona fide resident of American Samoa or Puerto Rico (See Pub. 570 for definition of a bona fide resident)

AND

2. You have an interest in specified foreign financial assets required to be reported.

A specified foreign financial asset is:

Any financial account maintained by a foreign financial institution, except as indicated above

Other foreign financial assets held for investment that are not in an account maintained by a US or foreign financial institution, namely:

Stock or securities issued by someone other than a U.S. person

Any interest in a foreign entity, and

Any financial instrument or contract that has as an issuer or counterparty that is other than a U.S. person.

Refer to the Form 8938 instructions for more information on the definition of a specified foreign financial assets and when you have an interest in such an asset.

AND

3. The aggregate value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than the reporting thresholds that applies to you:

Unmarried taxpayers living in the US: The total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year

Married taxpayers filing a joint income tax return and living in the US: The total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $100,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $150,000 at any time during the tax year

Married taxpayers filing separate income tax returns and living in the US: The total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year.

Taxpayers living abroad. You are a taxpayer living abroad if:

You are a U.S. citizen whose tax home is in a foreign country and you are either a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes the entire tax year, or

You are a US citizen or resident, who during a period of 12 consecutive months ending in the tax year is physically present in a foreign country or countries at least 330 days.

If you are a taxpayer living abroad you must file if:

You are filing a return other than a joint return and the total value of your specified foreign assets is more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $300,000 at any time during the year; or

You are filing a joint return and the value of your specified foreign asset is more than $400,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $600,000 at any time during the year.

Refer to the Form 8938 instructions for information on how to determine the total value of your specified foreign financial assets.

Reporting specified foreign financial assets on other forms filed with the IRS.

If you are required to file a Form 8938 and you have a specified foreign financial asset reported on Form 3520, Form 3520-A, Form 5471, Form 8621, Form 8865, or Form 8891, you do not need to report the asset on Form 8938. However, you must identify on Part IV of your Form 8938 which and how many of these form(s) report the specified foreign financial assets.

Even if a specified foreign financial asset is reported on a form listed above, you must still include the value of the asset in determining whether the aggregate value of your specified foreign financial assets is more then the reporting threshold that applies to you.

I would like to call attention to the wording AGGREGATE VALUE. Aggregate value means= Applied to where an integer or a float was expected or is expected. That means they have either given the information that we are looking for as in an RV or change in value is expected, or they are setting up a new taxing law that allows the Government to tax us on investment at a projected aggregate value specified by the government. I am doing a lot more research on this and will see what I can come up with.

[Striker1]

The link to form 8939 This form helps explain things a little better. Scroll to the bottom page to see where it applies to Foreign Currency. I am still going through everything Thought everyone would like to see this though.