Foreign Bank Account Report – the colloquial name given to FINCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit) Report 114. All US citizens and green card holders must file this form annually with the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit if the total of all of their “foreign” bank accounts exceeds US$10,000 at any time during the year. The $10,000 threshold was set in the 1970s and is NOT indexed for inflation. Plus, for US citizens living in Australia, those “foreign” accounts include accounts at NAB and CBA (just around the corner). For each foreign account, the account name, account number, branch address, and year end balance in US dollars must be reported.
Additionally, the FBAR requirement applies to accounts where the US taxpayer has signature authority, even if the account does not belong to them. So, if you can sign on your employer’s account, you must include that account in your FBAR.
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