FBAR FinCEN Form 114 vs. IRS Form 8938-SFFA (Currently Unavailable)

Avoid Pitfalls When Working with Expatriate Taxation Issues With the much recently publicized enforcement activity, U.S. resident aliens may have both an FBAR FinCEN Form 114 reporting requirement under CFR FinCEN Title 31- Money & Finance- and under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in yet another effort to improve tax compliance regarding foreign financial assets and offshore accounts, a FATCA Form 8938 filing requirement under CFR Title 26- Internal Revenue. The later FATCA Form 8938 was mandated- for individuals since 2011- and passed into legislation in 2010, POTUS signing it into law on March 18, 2010 as IRC Sec 6038D. IRC Sec 6038D was enacted as part of the HIRE Act, whereas the FBAR FinCEN Form 114 (formerly Form TD F 90-22.1) had been in existence since the early 1970’s. In the case of FinCEN Form 114 U.S. resident aliens meeting an aggregate maximum threshold test must report their financial interests in and signatory authority over Foreign Bank and other Financial Accounts, separately from the tax return filing by efile to FinCEN annually. In addition to the FBAR mandate those same specified U.S. resident aliens whose interests in certain Specified Foreign Financial Assets (SFFA) meeting a different set of threshold tests must report their interest in SFFAs on Form 8938, which accompanies Form 1040 annually. Advisors must consider both the non-willful and potential willful Civil and Criminal penalties associated with non-compliance as related to both the FBAR Form 114 and FATCA Form 8938 filing requirements. Join experienced practitioner Marc J. Strohl, CPA, as he explores the difficulties arising from compliance considerations associated for both Americans working abroad and Foreign Nationals living and working here in the U.S. that often challenge even experienced tax professionals when it comes to compliance efforts regarding both the FinCEN FBAR Form 114 and FATCA Form 8938.