hannahc16

Hello

i am on an L2 visa and our uk bank acc has just gone over 10k, can someone please just point me in the right direction of what i need to do. i am not working on the l2 visa and these funds where paid to me through redundancy of my uk job prior to the move here.

Thanks

tom169

FBAR.

LouisB

I’ve just been reminded of this too.

10k in USD right, using the balance at the end of the previous year and the same date’s fx conversion rate?

Is that correct?

tom169

It is 10k USD sum of every foregin account. It's if you cross it at any point in the year... Even for 1 second.

MidAtlantic

You file an FBAR on-line here:

https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html

The calculation is:
- determine the maximum value of each account for the year in local currency
- convert those maximums to USD using the December 31 exchange rate here: https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsre...rrentRates.htm
- total those maximums and if that total exceeds 10k USD you must file
- the entry for each account is also as calculated above.
Obviously it is relatively easy if you have just one account.

It does mean double counting in some circumstances eg if you have $8k in an account and transfer it to another account you have $16k for FBAR purposes. Crazy, but that's how it works.

LouisB

If for tax purposes your year was partial, partial residency, should the reporting period predate time in the USA?

LouisB

Actually two questions on this.

1 should it also include U.K. business accounts?
2 it should still cover the full year even if US residency was partial?

I’ve looked online but the explanations are a little confusing.

Although I get the basics for personal accounts except my doubt over item 2 above.

If anyone is doing this for 2017 the gbp/usd year end treasury rate is 0.74 in case it helps.

Thanks!

Octang Frye

So I have an endowment policy which will mature later this year. I have to declare it to the IRS?
Will I pay taxes on it?

Giantaxe

FBAR covers any financial account you have signature authority over, either individually or jointly. So if you have signature authority on those business accounts they will need declaring.

I've never heard of an FBAR being applied only to a partial year. Some discussion of the reverse situation here; this guy is competent imo:

https://hodgen.com/fbar-filing-in-th...-expatriation/

LouisB

Ok thanks. I think I will just declare it all to be safe then. It’s all taxed and above board so probably easier than getting it wrong somewhere.

I presume if you had say 5 accounts and 3 of them took over 10k on aggregate then so would adding the 4th and 5th even if they had just $0.01c in them, so once you’re over the threshold on aggregate you’re basically declaring everything anyway.

Jerseygirl

Yes...once you go over the threshold you must declare all accounts...even if the balance is $0.01.

LouisB

Ok got it, thanks!

Wow, crazy double counting going on, but ho hum...

One more question then.

Personal accounts have a space in the fbar form. So do joint accounts.

Where do business bank accounts go?

Do I put business bank accounts owned by me on the same form alongside personal accounts, or is there a different form for this, where should I report business accounts?

uk_grenada

Read about the chinese stance on foreign investors in hong kong... Muricas fbar is all fubar’d on that front.

Giantaxe

The FBAR form doesn't make a distinction between personal and business accounts.

https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com...gs-businesses/

LouisB

Thanks.

I am quite worried about this which I literally discovered by accident

5471 Form for IRS for overseas business.

Looks like I may have to do it, it looks complicated and the deadline is either missed or very close.

Now very anxious. What a nightmare

I will put everything on fbar for now and find out about the 5471 asap.