Specific Instructions

Table of Contents

Before you begin.   If you are a specified individual and report all of your specified foreign financial assets on timely-filed Forms 3520, 3520-A, 5471, 8621, 8865, or 8891, you do not have to report them on Form 8938. Instead, enter your name(s), identifying number, address and tax year at the top of the form, and complete Part IV only. Complete Part IV in addition to reporting your other specified foreign financial assets if you report only a part of your specified foreign financial assets on one or more of these forms.

Additional sheets.   If you have more than one account or asset to report in Part I or II, or more than one issuer or counterparty to report in Part II, copy as many blank Parts I and/or II as you need to complete, and attach them to Form 8938 following page 2. Check the “If you have attached additional sheets, check here” box at the top of the form.

Identifying Information

Enter your name(s), identifying number, address, and tax year as shown on the annual return you are filing with Form 8938.

If you are a specified individual (see Specified individual, earlier) for less than the entire tax year, you only have to report the information for the part of the year that you are a specified individual.

Identifying number.   Enter the first social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) on your income tax return.

Type of filer.   Check the box that shows the type of filer you are.

Form 8938 for previously filed annual return.   Check this box if this Form 8938 is an amended or supplemental Form 8938 that relates to a previously filed return.

  If you are filing two Forms 8938 for 2012 because you are eligible for the transitional rule for tax years beginning after March 18, 2010, check this box on the Form 8938 you are filing for the prior tax year. See 2011 transitional rule for individual taxpayers, earlier, for more details.

Part I. Foreign Deposit and Custodial Accounts

Use Part I to report information for foreign deposit and custodial accounts. If you have more than one account, attach a continuation sheet with the required information for each additional account and check the “If you have attached additional sheets, check here” box at the top of the form.

Lines 1 through 9.   Enter the following information for each foreign deposit or custodial account.

Line 1.

Check the box to indicate if this is a depository or a custodial account.

Line 2.

Enter the account number of the account or other specific identifying information for the account if there is no account number.

Line 3.

Check one or more boxes to indicate if any of the following applies.

  • The account was opened during the tax year.

  • The account was closed during the tax year.

  • The account was jointly owned with your spouse.

  • You did not report any tax item in Part III for this asset.

Line 4.

Maximum value.

Enter the maximum value of the account for the tax year.

See Reporting Maximum Value, earlier, for information on determining the maximum value of the account.

Joint interests.

Use the following rules to determine the maximum value to report.

Spouses filing a joint return. You and your spouse report the maximum value of an account held jointly by you and your spouse only once on the single Form 8938 filed with your joint income tax return.

Spouses filing separate returns. You and your spouse each report the maximum value of an account held jointly by you and your spouse on your separate Forms 8938 filed with your separate income tax returns.

Other joint owners. Report the maximum value of the entire jointly held account on your Form 8938 filed with your income tax return, regardless of the value of your separate interest in the account.

Lines 5 and 6.

If you used a foreign currency exchange rate to convert the value of the account into U.S. dollars, check the “Yes,” box on line 5 and go to line 6. Otherwise, check the “No,” box and go to line 7.

Line 6.

If you answered “Yes,” on line 5, enter the following information.

  1. The foreign currency in which the account is denominated.

  2. The foreign currency exchange rate used to convert the value of the account into U.S. dollars.

  3. If the U.S. Treasury Financial Management Service did not provide an exchange rate, the source of the foreign currency exchange rate that you used.

You must use the foreign currency exchange rate on the last day of the tax year, even if you closed or disposed of the account before the last day of the tax year.

Lines 7 through 9.

Enter the name and mailing address of the financial institution in which you maintain this account.

Part II. Other Foreign Assets

Use Part II to report information for specified foreign financial assets not held in a financial account. If you have more than one asset, attach a continuation sheet with the required information for each additional asset and check the “If you have attached additional sheets, check here” box at the top of the form.

Lines 1 through 8.Maximum value.   Enter the following information for each specified foreign financial asset not held in a financial account. For examples of these foreign assets, see Other specified foreign financial assets, earlier.

Line 1.

Enter a description of the asset. If the asset is stock or securities, include the class or issue of the stock or securities.

Example 1.

You own 100 shares of XYZ Company, an Italian S.A. A sufficient description is “100 Class A shares of XYZ Company, S.A.”

Example 2.

You own a bond issued by AB GmbH, a German GmbH. A sufficient description is “Bond of AB GmbH, maturing on December 31, 2015.”

Line 2.

Enter the identifying number or other information identifying the asset.

Line 3.

Enter the following information about the asset, if required.

  1. If the asset was acquired or disposed of during the year, enter the date of acquisition and/or disposition. If the assets were acquired or disposed during different dates in the year, enter the latest date of acquisition or disposition.

  2. If you own the asset jointly with your spouse, check the box on line 3c.

  3. If you did not report any income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit for this asset on your tax return or any schedule or form attached to your income tax return filed for the tax year, check the box on line 3d.

Line 4.

Check the box for the value range that represents the maximum value of the asset during the tax year. If the maximum value is more than $200,000, enter the maximum value on line 4e.

  
See Reporting Maximum Value, earlier, for information on determining the maximum value of the asset.

Joint interests.

Use the following rules to figure the maximum value to report.

Spouses filing a joint return. You and your spouse report the maximum value of an asset held jointly by you and your spouse only once on the single Form 8938 filed with your joint income tax return.

Spouses filing separate returns. You and your spouse each report the maximum value of an asset held jointly by you and your spouse on your separate Forms 8938 filed with your separate income tax returns.

Other joint owners. Report the maximum value of the entire jointly held asset on your Form 8938 filed with your income tax return, regardless of the value of your separate interest in the asset.

Lines 5 and 6.

If you used a foreign currency exchange rate to convert the value of the asset into U.S. dollars, check the “Yes,” box on line 5 and go to line 6. Otherwise, check the “No,” box and go to line 7.

Line 6.

If you answered “Yes,” to line 5, enter the following information.

  1. The foreign currency in which the asset is denominated.

  2. The foreign currency exchange rate used to convert the value of the asset into U.S. dollars.

  3. If the U.S. Treasury Financial Management Service did not provide an exchange rate, the source of the foreign currency exchange rate that you used.

You must use the foreign currency exchange rate on the last day of the tax year, even if you sold or disposed of the asset before the last day of the tax year.

Lines 7a through 7d.

If the asset you reported on line 1 is stock of a foreign entity or an interest in a foreign entity, complete lines 7a through 7d.

Line 7a.

Enter the name of the foreign entity.

Line 7b.

Check the box on line 7b to indicate the type of foreign entity.

Lines 7c and 7d.

Enter the mailing address of the foreign entity.

Lines 8a through 8e.

If the asset you reported on line 1 is not stock of a foreign entity or an interest in a foreign entity, complete lines 8a through 8e.

Note.

If this asset has more than one issuer or counterparty, copy page 2 as many times as you need to and complete a separate line 8 for each issuer or counterparty. Check the “If you have attached additional sheets, check here” box at the top of the form.

Line 8a.

Enter the name of the issuer or counterparty and check the appropriate box to indicate if you are reporting for an issuer or a counterparty.

Line 8b.

Check the appropriate box to indicate the type of issuer or counterparty.

Line 8c.

Check the box to indicate if the issuer or counterparty is a U.S. person or a foreign person.

Lines 8d and 8e.

Enter the mailing address of the issuer or counterparty. If the issuer or counterparty has a mailing address in the United States, you can enter the U.S. mailing address.

Part III. Summary of Tax Items Attributable to Specified Foreign Financial Assets

Enter the following items for your total assets reported in Part I or Part II and the schedule, form, or return on which you reported the items.

  • Interest.

  • Dividends.

  • Royalties.

  • Gains or (losses).

  • Deductions.

  • Credits.

If you did not report any tax item for a specified foreign financial asset on any form or schedule for the tax year, check the box in line 3d of Part I or Part II for the account or asset.

Part IV. Excepted Specified Foreign Financial Assets

If you reported a specified foreign financial asset on certain other forms listed below for the same tax year, you may not have to report it on Form 8938. However, you must identify the form where you reported the asset and indicate how many forms you filed.

For more information, see Duplicative reporting, earlier. If you reported a specified foreign financial asset on one or more of the following forms, check the box(es) to identify the form(s) where you reported the asset and enter the number of forms filed.

  • Form 3520.

  • Form 3520-A.

  • Form 5471.

  • Form 8621.

  • Form 8865.

  • Form 8891.

Foreign grantor trusts.   If you are treated as an owner of any part of a foreign grantor trust, you may have to file Form 8938 to report specified foreign financial assets held by the trust. If you are a beneficiary of the foreign trust, you may have to file Form 8938 to report your interest in the trust. You do not have to report on Form 8938 any specified foreign financial asset held by the trust or your interest in the trust if you report the trust on a Form 3520 you timely file for the tax year and the trust timely files Form 3520-A for the tax year.

Prev  Up  Next
  Home  

More Online Instructions