Preparing the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Self-Study

Summary

In a globalized world, it is common for U.S. citizens to hold assets outside of the U.S. Reporting these assets properly and timely can be confusing and, if done incorrectly, can lead to expensive penalties. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) handles the filing of FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), for foreign bank accounts and securities held overseas.

Tax professionals can assist taxpayers by preparing and electronically filing FBARs on their behalf using the BSA E-filing System. This course will help tax preparers identify who must file the FBAR, how to file the FBAR, which penalties apply and remedies for failures to file. In addition, knowing when to file Form 8938, Statement of Foreign Financial Assets, instead of, or in addition to, the FBAR, will be reviewed. Recent court cases with FBAR penalties will be analyzed to understand how steep the non-willful penalties can be.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify which taxpayers must file an FBAR
• Summarize the FBAR filing requirements
• List the penalties for failure to file a complete and correct FBAR
• Analyze the compliance options for filing delinquent FBARs
• Recognize the differences between FATCA reporting (Form 8938) and FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)

Course Details

This course includes an e-book and exam questions to help you earn CPE. CPE is issued after the exam is successfully completed.