Posts Tagged ‘FBAR’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Bozo Tax Tip #2: They Shoot Jaywalkers, Don’t They?

Sunday, July 12th, 2020

I have, unfortunately, become quite competent in the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. That form is better known as the FBAR. It used to have the form number TD F 90-22.1 (yes, it really did) but now goes by Form 114. The form must be filed online through the BSAefiling center of FINCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

You must file an FBAR if you have $10,000 aggregate at any time during the year. The report for 2019 is due October 15th (it has a due date of April 15th with an automatic extension to October 15th).

The form is fairly simple and straightforward: Note every foreign financial account you have with name, address, account number, and maximum balance at any time during the past year. Let’s say you have one foreign account, a bank account at the Royal Bank of Canada. You would take your maximum balance and convert it to US dollars from Canadian dollars (you should use the Fiscal Service’s year-end exchange rates to determine the balance in US dollars no matter when the high balance was). The form must be electronically filed and is filed separately from your tax return.

The penalties for not filing it are quite high. Willful non-filing has a minimum penalty of $100,000 or half the balance in the account–and that’s per account! There’s also possible jail time.

So what must be reported:
– Foreign Bank accounts;
– Bank accounts outside the US of a US financial institution;
– Foreign financial accounts where all you have is signature authority;
– Foreign securities accounts;
– Foreign mutual funds;
– Foreign life insurance with a cash or annuity value; and
– Online gambling accounts if outside the US.

There are others, too.

The IRS does have a chart that lists most things that need reporting on the FBAR and Form 8938. Form 8938 is the “cousin” of the FBAR; this form needs to be filed if you have larger balances in foreign accounts.

Millions of FBARs are filed each year. When I started in tax, filing an FBAR was a huge audit red flag; that’s no longer the case. There are just too many FBARs filed. Do note that if you have an FBAR filing requirement you must note that in question 7 at the bottom of Schedule B.

To end this with some humor, one of my pet peeves in dealing with taxes is that there are three different sets of abbreviations for foreign counties used in tax. The FBAR has one set; question 7 at the bottom of Schedule B has another set, and Form 8938 has a third set. Some countries are noted identically while others are not. On one of of the abbreviations Curacao is “CU” while that means Cuba in another.

In any case, the FBAR is no laughing matter. The IRS’s mantra here is to shoot jaywalkers. Don’t become such a person: If you have an FBAR filing requirement, file it! Again, the FBAR is effectively due on October 15th.

Tags:,
Posted in FINCEN | Comments Closed

Online Gambling and Offshore Cryptocurrency Exchange Mailing Addresses for 2020

Thursday, February 27th, 2020

If you have one or more foreign financial accounts and you have $10,000 aggregate in those account(s) at any time during 2019, you must file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (the “FBAR”). This is Form 114 from FINCEN. (The IRS and FINCEN now allege that foreign online poker accounts are “casino” accounts that must be reported as foreign financial accounts. The rule of thumb, when in doubt report, applies—especially given the extreme penalties.) You also should consider filing an FBAR if you have $10,000 or more in a non-US Cryptocurrency Exchange.

There’s a problem, though. Most of these entities don’t broadcast their addresses. Some individuals sent email inquiries to one of these gambling sites and received politely worded responses (or not so politely worded) that said that it’s none of your business.

Well, not fully completing the Form 114 can subject you to a substantial penalty. I’ve been compiling a list of the addresses of the online gambling sites. It’s presented below.

FINCEN does not want dba’s; however, they’re required for Form 8938. One would think that two different agencies of the Department of the Treasury would speak the same language…but one would be wrong.

You will see the entries do include the dba’s. Let’s say you’re reporting an account on PokerStars. On the FBAR, you would enter the address as follows:

Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited
Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Rd
Onchan, IM31DZ Isle of Man

Here’s how you would enter it for Form 8938:

Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited dba PokerStars
Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Rd
Onchan, IM3 1DZ Isle of Man

You will also see that on the FBAR spaces in a postal code are removed; they’re entered on Form 8938. You can’t make this stuff up….

Finally, I no longer have an address for Bodog. If anyone has a current mailing address, please leave it in the comments or email me with it.

There remains debate over whether you need to file an FBAR for foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. At a presentation last year, an IRS employee stated that for the FBAR foreign cryptocurrency exchanges did not have to be reported. Unfortunately, the instructions for the FBAR do NOT state this. (See here, here, and here.) Thus, I strongly advise that foreign cryptocurrency exchanges continue to be reported on the FBAR. There is no penalty for overreporting; there are severe penalties for underreporting.

There is no dispute, though, about reporting foreign cryptocurrency exchanges on Form 8938: They must be reported on Form 8938 (if you have a Form 8938 filing requirement).

Note: This list is presented for informational purposes only. It is believed accurate as of February 27, 2020. However, I do not take responsibility for your use of this list or for the accuracy of any of the addresses presented on the list.

The list is in the cut text below.

Tags:
Posted in Gambling, International | Comments Closed

Should You Be Reporting Cryptocurrency Held in a Foreign Exchange on the FBAR and Form 8938?

Monday, August 5th, 2019

It’s been assumed that the answer to the question I posed as the title to this post is “Yes”, that you should be reporting cryptocurrency held in foreign cryptocurrency exchanges on the FBAR. However, the AICPA Virtual Currency Task Force asked this question to FINCEN and was surprised to find the answer is no:

FinCEN responded that regulations (31 C.F.R. §1010.350(c)) do not define virtual currency held in an offshore account as a type of reportable account. Therefore, virtual currency is not reportable on the FBAR, at least for now. This may change in the future, especially considering the influx of stable coins, so practitioners should stay abreast on this topic. FinCEN did tell the task force that it, “in consultation with the IRS, continue[s] to evaluate the value of incorporating virtual currency held offshore into the FBAR regulatory reporting requirements.” Absent this clarity, the conservative approach would be filing the FBAR.

I think the conservative approach is best, and we can look back at the Hom decision at a parallel situation. Years ago, online gambling accounts were reportable. Then FINCEN said to tax professionals, you do not have to report these accounts on the FBAR. However, a court then ruled in United States v Hom that these accounts were reportable. Nothing today prevents the identical situation from occurring with regards to cryptocurrency.

Indeed, let’s say John Smith has $1,000,000 worth of Bitcoin on some foreign cryptocurrency exchange. He doesn’t file the FBAR. He sells his cryptocurrency and the IRS discovers this when no tax return (or FBAR) is received. The matter is referred for criminal prosecution, and not only are charges filed for failing to file a tax return, the Department of Justice adds charges for not filing the FBAR.

There is no penalty for overreporting accounts on the FBAR, just underreporting. Thus, the mantra, “When in doubt, file the FBAR,” definitely applies. I strongly suggest you file the FBAR for foreign cryptocurrency exchanges (assuming you have an FBAR filing requirement).

But what about Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), the FATCA reporting statement that’s required with certain tax returns? Nothing has changed with regard to this form. Thus, even if you elect not to report your foreign cryptocurrency exchange holdings on the FBAR, you are still required to report them on Form 8938 (assuming you meet the Form 8938 filing threshold).

Again, there’s no penalty for overreporting and lots of penalties for underreporting. The conclusion I draw is the only logical conclusion given the current situation.

Tags:,
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, FINCEN | Comments Closed

The FBAR Is *Not* Due Tomorrow

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

Most tax-related deadlines are on the 15th of various months. Income tax returns for individuals are due on April 15th; the extended deadline is October 15th. But just to have fun with us there are some exceptions. One of these used to be the FBAR—the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (Form 114).

The FBAR used to be due on June 30th, and that was a receipt deadline. Almost every other deadline in tax is a postmark deadline; for example, if you mail your tax return on April 15th and it takes a month to get to the IRS it’s still considered timely filed. That wasn’t the case for the FBAR. Luckily, Congress changed the law.

Beginning with 2016 FBARs (those filed last year) the deadline was changed to be concurrent with the tax deadline (April 15th). There’s an automatic six-month extension until October 15th. A few years ago the FBAR changed and now must be electronically filed. It now also does not have to be accepted by the deadline to be considered timely; it only has to be filed by the deadline.

Every year I get asked by a few clients, “Russ, why haven’t you reminded me about the FBAR deadline at month-end?” I’m happy to tell them that’s simply no longer the case.

Tags:
Posted in FINCEN, Gambling, International | Comments Closed

Online Gambling and Offshore Cryptocurrency Exchange Addresses for 2018

Wednesday, January 24th, 2018

This list has been superseded by the 2019 list.

With the United States v. Hom decision, we must again file an FBAR for foreign online gambling sites. An FBAR (Form 114) is required if your aggregate balance exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. (The IRS and FINCEN now allege that foreign online poker accounts are “casino” accounts that must be reported as foreign financial accounts. The rule of thumb, when in doubt report, applies—especially given the extreme penalties.) You also should consider filing an FBAR if you have $10,000 or more in a non-US Cryptocurrency Exchange.

There’s a problem, though. Most of these entities don’t broadcast their addresses. Some individuals sent email inquiries to one of these gambling sites and received politely worded responses (or not so politely worded) that said that it’s none of your business.

Well, not fully completing the Form 114 can subject you to a substantial penalty. I’ve been compiling a list of the addresses of the online gambling sites. It’s presented below.

FINCEN does not want dba’s; however, they’re required for Form 8938. One would think that two different agencies of the Department of the Treasury would speak the same language…but one would be wrong.

You will see the entries do include the dba’s. Let’s say you’re reporting an account on PokerStars. On the FBAR, you would enter the address as follows:

Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited
Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Rd
Onchan, IM31DZ Isle of Man

Here’s how you would enter it for Form 8938:

Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited dba PokerStars
Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Rd
Onchan, IM3 1DZ Isle of Man

You will also see that on the FBAR spaces in a postal code are removed; they’re entered on Form 8938. You can’t make this stuff up….

Finally, I no longer have an address for Bodog. If anyone has a current mailing address, please leave it in the comments or email me with it.

Note: This list is presented for informational purposes only. It is believed accurate as of January 24, 2018. However, I do not take responsibility for your use of this list or for the accuracy of any of the addresses presented on the list.

The list is in the cut text below.

If anyone has additions or corrections to the list feel free to email them to me.

Tags:
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, FINCEN, Gambling | Comments Closed

FBAR Snags Manafort

Monday, October 30th, 2017

Paul Manafort, Jr. and Richard Gates III were indicted on Friday. The 12-count indictment alleges “[C]onspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.” I’ll let others talk about the political issues related to this indictment (the indictment came from Special Counsel Robert Mueller III); I’ll discuss what may be the most serious charges (and the ones most likely to be overlooked by the political chattering class)—the FBAR charges.

The FBAR (Form 114) is a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. Let’s say you have a bank account in France; it had €10,000 in it during 2016 (about $10,537). If you have any foreign bank or financial accounts you must check a box on Schedule B of your tax return noting that. If you have $10,000 or more aggregate in those accounts at any time during the year, you must check another box and list the country(ies) you have such accounts in on Schedule B; you must also file the FBAR.

The FBAR is simply a report of such accounts; it is not a tax. It does not change whether or not you have taxable income. It can, though, point investigators into areas where you may have unreported income. Willfully not filing an FBAR is a felony, punishable by a fine of $100,000 or half the balance of the bank account (per account), whichever is higher, plus possible time at ClubFed. It’s a serious charge. It’s no surprise to me that Mr. Manafort chose an attorney who was a former prosecutor in the DOJ Tax Division.

My quick perusal of the indictment shows that allegedly lots of money were in accounts in the Ukraine and Cyprus. So there’s the potential of both multi-year FBAR violations and multiple accounts. Mr. Manafort’s tax professional isn’t going to be indicted over this:

For instance, on October 4, 2011, MANAFORT’s tax preparer asked MANAFORT in writing: “At any time during 2010, did you [or your wife or children] have an interest in or a signature or other authority over a financial account in a foreign country, such as a bank account, securities account or other financial account?” On the same day, MANAFORT falsely responded “NO.” MANAFORT responded the same way as recently as October 3, 2016, when MANAFORT’s tax preparer again emailed the question in connection with the preparation of MANAFORT’s tax returns: “Foreign bank accounts etc.?” MANAFORT responded on or about the same day: “NONE.”

Interestingly, there are no allegations in this indictment that Mr. Manafort hasn’t paid his taxes. (It’s possible, of course, that additional charges are forthcoming.) As I tell my clients, “Just file the FBAR.” It appears Mr. Manafort should have done that.

Tags:
Posted in IRS | 1 Comment »

Harvey and Irma Relief Includes the FBAR

Wednesday, September 13th, 2017

Taxpayers with $10,000 aggregate in one or more foreign financial accounts must file an FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, Form 114) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN). FINCEN has announced on their website that they are following the IRS’s lead and extending the due date for account holders impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma until January 31, 2018.

Tags:, ,
Posted in FINCEN | Comments Closed

The Hidden Bitcoin Trap: FBAR

Sunday, February 26th, 2017

A lot of my clients have invested in Bitcoins. For those who aren’t aware Bitcoins are a “cryptocurrency.” For tax purposes, Bitcoins are treated like stocks and bonds; realized gains (and losses) are reported on Schedule D. And that’s everything you need to know, right? Definitely not.

Most holders of Bitcoins use a Bitcoin wallet such as Coinbase or Blockchain. A wallet is used like a brokerage account. That means if you have a foreign Bitcoin wallet, you may have an FBAR reporting requirement.

Coinbase is located in San Francisco; it’s not a foreign financial firm. However, Blockchain is based in Luxembourg. Any American who is using Blockchain who has a tax filing requirement must note they have a foreign financial account on Question 7a. And such an individual may have to file an FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, Form 114) to note this account (if they have $10,000 or more aggregate at any time during 2016). Additionally, it’s also possible such and individual will need to file Form 8938 with their tax return.

I suspect that many holders of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are unaware of this issue. Many Bitcoin holders use multiple wallets and never look at the location of the wallet. Also, many individuals deliberately choose a wallet outside of the US to avoid possible scrutiny. Given that FBAR penalties can be ridiculously high this is an issue that tax professionals and taxpayers need to be concerned about.

While I have used Bitcoin wallet Blockchain as an example, there are many such wallets located outside the United States. I will begin to include such wallets in my list of offshore gambling sites (I’ll probably split the lists next year).

Tags:
Posted in International, IRS | Comments Closed

FINCEN Announces Due Dates for 2016 FBARs

Monday, December 19th, 2016

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) announced the due dates for 2016 Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR, Form 114). The FBAR will now be due on the same day as tax returns with an automatic extension for six months. There is no need to file a separate extension with FINCEN for the FBAR. Basically, this means the FBAR is now effectively due on October 15th.

The new rule was required per an act passed by Congress last year. Kudos to FINCEN in implementing this in the simplest, easiest-to-comply version that was possible.

Tags:
Posted in FINCEN, International | Comments Closed

The 2016 Hom Decision: Do Online Gambling Sites Still Need to be Reported on the FBAR?

Wednesday, July 27th, 2016

The Ninth Circuit’s unpublished opinion in United States v. Hom is now up. It’s sort of a misnomer to use the word “published” for an unpublished opinion. Unpublished here means it cannot be cited as a precedent; the court doesn’t think it has sufficient precedential value. It doesn’t mean, though, that the opinion isn’t of value.

Back in 2014 Mr. Hom was convicted of not filing an FBAR (then, Form TD F 90-22.1) for accounts at FirePay, PokerStars, and Party Poker. The appeals court quickly upheld that FirePay is a foreign financial account.

Hom’s FirePay account fits within the definition of a financial institution for purposes of FBAR filing requirements because FirePay is a money transmitter…FirePay acted as an intermediary between Hom’s Wells Fargo account and the online poker sites. Hom could carry a balance in his FirePay account, and he could transfer his FirePay funds to either his Wells Fargo account or his online poker accounts. It also appears that FirePay charged fees to transfer funds. As such, FirePay acted as “a licensed sender of money or any other person who engages as a business in the transmission of funds” under 31 U.S.C. § 5312(a)(2)(R) and therefore qualifies as a “financial institution.”… Hom’s FirePay account is also “in a foreign country” because FirePay is located in and regulated by the United Kingdom.

This part of the ruling shouldn’t be a surprise. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might just be a duck. FirePay offered services that banks do. It looked like a financial institution; the court ruled it was one.

However, Mr. Hom prevailed regarding PokerStars and Party Poker.

In contrast, Hom’s PokerStars and PartyPoker accounts do not fall within the definition of a “bank, securities, or other financial account.” PartyPoker and PokerStars primarily facilitate online gambling. Hom could carry a balance on his PokerStars account, and indeed he needed a certain balance in order to “sit” down to a poker game. But the funds were used to play poker and there is no evidence that PokerStars served any other financial purpose for Hom. Hom’s PartyPoker account functioned in essentially same manner.

The Government argues that these entities were functioning as banks, but this argument lacks support. Neither the statute nor the regulations define banking. In discerning the plain meaning of the text, we interpret words in light of their “ordinary, contemporary, common meaning” unless they are otherwise defined. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines bank as, “an establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money, for the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds.” There is no evidence that PartyPoker and PokerStars were established for any of those purposes, rather than merely for the purpose of facilitating poker playing. [footnotes and citations omitted]

So are we done (again) with including online gambling accounts as foreign financial accounts? Unfortunately, the government made another argument: that online gambling sites are casinos. The Court rejected that argument because it was raised too late (it needed to be presented during the actual case). However, we need to examine it because nothing prevents the government from raising it in the future.

So let’s look at the law and the regulations promulgated under the law. 31 USC § 5312(a)(2)(X) defines a financial institution to include, “a casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment with an annual gaming revenue of more than $1,000,000 which—
(i) is licensed as a casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment under the laws of any State or any political subdivision of any State….”

Unfortunately, most online poker sites offer activities found in a casino. For example, PokerStars now offers casino games; other sites offer sports betting. A court could easily find that PokerStars meets the definition of an online casino and since it is clearly based outside the United States meets the definition of a foreign financial institution. Thus, the only safe course is to continue to report online gambling sites as foreign financial sites on the FBAR.

I would prefer (from a workload standpoint) to draw a different conclusion, but the safe course is that we must continue to recommend that individuals with funds on online gambling sites file the FBAR.

Tags:
Posted in Gambling | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »