FBAR Filing Deadline Extended for Certain Financial Professionals

Notice: Historical Content


This is an archival or historical document and may not reflect current law, policies or procedures.

Update Jan. 24, 2014 — Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, now obsolete. After June 30, 2013, the FBAR must be filed electronically with FinCEN.

Update On June 17, FinCEN issued Notice 2011-2PDF extending the FBAR filing deadline for another small subset of filers. Notice 2011-2 applies to an employee or officer of an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission who has signature or other authority over and no financial interest in a foreign financial account of persons that are not investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

IR-2011-57, May 31, 2011

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today announced that a small subset of individuals with only signature authority required to file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs) will receive a one-year extension beyond the upcoming filing date of June 30, 2011.

FinCen today issued Notice 2011-1 that extends the deadline until June 30, 2012, for the following individuals:

  • An employee or officer of a covered entity who has signature or other authority over and no financial interest in a foreign financial account of another entity more than 50 percent owned, directly or indirectly, by the entity (a “controlled person”).
  • An employee or officer of a controlled person of a covered entity who has signature or other authority over and no financial interest in a foreign financial account of the entity or another controlled person of the entity.

All other U.S. persons required to file an FBAR this year are required to meet the June 30, 2011, filing date. Unlike with federal income tax returns, extensions of time to file are not available.

Today’s notice was issued to facilitate more accurate compliance of FBAR filings in the wake of recent finalization of regulations. The FBAR filing requirements, authorized under one of the original provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act, have been in place since 1972.

On Feb. 24, 2011, FinCEN published a final rulePDF that amended the Bank Secrecy Act regarding FBARs.

The FBAR form is used to report a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, one or more financial accounts in foreign countries.

U.S. persons are required to file FBARs Form TD F 90-22.1 annually if they have a financial interest in or signature authority over financial accounts, including bank, securities or other types of financial accounts, in a foreign country, if the aggregate value of these financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.

Follow the IRS on New Media
Subscribe to IRS Newswire