FBAR Due Date Changed to April 15 for 2017 and Beyond

Aug 21, 2017

Recently, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") of the US Treasury Department revised the annual due date for filing FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (more commonly known as the FBAR form), from June 30 to April 15. The change is effective for foreign financial accounts maintained during and after calendar year 2016, for FBARs filed in 2017 and thereafter. This new due date for filing FBARs coincides with the due date for filing individual income tax returns. To quickly and easily determine if you have an FBAR filing obligation, access the free FBAR Wiz app here. As a reminder, the FBAR is a required filing for individuals and businesses with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, at least one financial account located outside of the United States, and the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported. In addition to the new April 15 FBAR filing deadline, the FinCEN provided for a maximum six-month extension of the filing deadline, to take the final due date for filing FBARs to October 15. Previously, no extensions for filing FBARs were available. The FinCEN did not immediately announce how to request or obtain the extension, leaving the procedure unclear until recently. Additionally, the six-month FBAR filing deadline extension to October 15 will be automatic each year, and taxpayers do not have to file specific extension requests. A copy of the official FinCEN announcement can be found at this link. This means that the due date for FBAR filings for foreign financial accounts maintained during calendar year 2016 is April 18, 2017, consistent with the Federal income tax due date. The extended due date will be October 16, 2017, since October 15 is a Sunday.