Hi, need a little help regarding FBAR. Am I able to file FBAR’s personally to the IRS online for the last 5 years or does an accountant have to file for me? I thought my previous accountant had taken care of this for me, unfortunately he has proved to be unreliable! Any help with this issue would be appreciated.

You can file yourself online for free. If you have all the information it is pretty quick and easy. You can file for the prior 6 years but you should include a short and clear statement as to why you are filing late, specifically mentioning that you had relied on a professional to take care of this for you. So long as you have paid all taxes due on your overseas accounts then that should get you back in compliance.

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

Do not fret, the past 6 years can be done online. We did, with the truthful statement that we did not know we had to file. No amended returns required, so all was well. Ever since we pay a CPA to take care of this...

..So, when our CPA prepares our documents and is about to file, we have to sign. One year, we noticed the FBAR and 8938 were missing!! I was annoyed at them, but it is our responsibility to make sure they are present. Also, check their work!!!

Hi folks. This is really interesting. We failed to file the FBAR on a QROPS pension (which the UK considers to be a pension and but the IRS consider to be an investment vehicle) and my lawyer is expecting a 5% penalty to be levied.

See this: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/inte...ation%20or%20a
So long as your income taxes are all in order then there will be no penalty.
The IRS will not impose a penalty for the failure to file the delinquent FBARs if you properly reported on your U.S. tax returns, and paid all tax on, the income from the foreign financial accounts reported on the delinquent FBARs, and you have not previously been contacted regarding an income tax examination or a request for delinquent returns for the years for which the delinquent FBARs are submitted.

I assume (hate to assume) that if small sums, think under 1000 USD, were not reported in total over say a ten year period, some discretion will be applied and huge penalties will not be issued. There is some chatter about this is the CPA community. Who knows though.

I just became aware (last week) that I have a UK pension based on being contracted out of SERPs in the late 1980's. I have been in the US for 31 years. The amount is well over the 10k threshold for filing FBAR and probably has been for several years (I'm still trying to get online access to see how it has grown over the years). How many years should I go back and report? A nice windfall, but yet a reporting headache in the US!

As per #3 do the last six years truthfully and you will be good.

So, I sent in my FBAR’s for the last 4 years. I received notification from the US dept. of treasury acknowledging that they had received them. Can I expect any further action from the treasury or am I ok?

You will get no further communication the treasury which is the department that manages FBARs unless they selected you as one of the ones to prosecute. Very few people are prosecuted for FBAR violations, and those that are have been deliberately hiding many millions. Assuming that is not the case you can move on with your life.

The IRS who manage payment of tax on foreign assets and compliance of foreign account reporting on Form 8938 is another story altogether. They will prosecute the regular Joe. If you have never received any income from the pension fund, and you are under the reporting thresholds for Form 8938 them you have no concerns on that front either, but make sure you comply going forward if your assets grow and exceed the thresholds for Form 8938 and/or your receive income from the pension.

Some people will say that a pension falls under the foreign grantor trust rules and requires Form 3520 instead of Form 8938. There are no clear guidelines from the IRS on that one. Form 3520 is considerably more complex than Form 8938. Many people myself included go the Form 8938 route because it is simple and easily competed versus the 3520 which for most would require professional help.