During Overseas Americans Week 2009, meetings were held with the American Bankers Association (ABA) and with FinCen in the Treasury Department (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which develops regulations on banking operations). We discussed the fact that our organizations have received multiple complaints from Americans overseas that U.S. banks either forcibly closed their account on short notice or have refused to open a bank account because of their foreign address, most often citing the Patriot Act as the reason.
Steps to follow if a U.S. bank refuses to open or to maintain an account because of an American client's foreign address.It's FBAR time again!
Do remember that all Americans and greencard holders (in the United States or abroad) are required to file a Foreign Bank Account Report every year IF the AGGREGATE value of ALL their bank accounts abroad exceeds $10,000 (around 7,000 euros) on ANY ONE DAY in the preceding year. If you think about it, that means the vast majority of us.
Fortunately the Treasury Department has thought about it, too, and made it easier to file than it used to be. The form can now be filled out on line using Adobe Reader and saved (do not use last year's form, however! You can copy from last year's and paste into this year's, but you must use the current form). Also, for those wishing to use express/courier mail for speed or security reasons, there is now a "real" street address to which the form can be mailed.
The penalties for not filing are very high and we all know that banks are talking to each other more and more, so it's just not worth ignoring this obligation (which has nothing to do with income taxes - the form is not filed with your tax form or sent to the IRS).
Your FBAR must be received (not sent) by June 30, 2013, so you might as well get it done now! The form can be downloaded at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f90221.pdf
Dues Payments - Please Login