On 12/10/2024 at 5:17 PM, mudcat said:

When I do my FBAR reporting, I report the highest balance in each account during the year. I use the US Treasury exchange rates which are published in January to convert to USD. When I report my Thai bank interest on my tax return, I use the spot exchange rates on the day the interest posts.

Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) | Internal Revenue Service

For each account you must report on an FBAR, you must keep records with this information:

Name on the account,

Account number,

Name and address of the foreign bank,

Type of account, and

Maximum value during the year.

It is easy to get crossways with the different U.S. government reporting of foreign assets.

FATCA dates back to 2014 - FBAR is reported on FinCEN 114 which is filed with the Treasury and not with your taxes (blank atta. As JohnnyBD posted, the threshold is pretty low aggregate balance >$10,000 at any point during the year, so many if not most of us will need to file at some point during our stay here. I have filled out templates for my wife and myself that we complete and file at the same time as we file our taxes.

There is a program to 'get right with the IRS' called streamlined filing which requires filing back FinCEN 114 forms and amended f1040s. I went through that process and it was not fun, but doable on your own if you have good records.

The other requirement is to disclose on overseas assets anywhere on f8938 which is filed along with your taxes. The thresholds are complicated but most of us will not be required to file.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/corporations/do-i-need-to-file-form-8938-statement-of-specified-foreign-financial-assets

If your overseas financial assets are getting up into the 100s of thousand USD I suggest that you also take a look at the instructions https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8938.pdf.

NOTE "If you do not have to file an income tax return for the tax year, you do not need to file Form 8938, even if the value of your specified foreign assets is more than the appropriate reporting threshold."

We will not need to file a f8938 as most of our assets remain in the U.S., and my U.S. citizen wife will not need to file after I die when she is living on SSA survivor benefits and Thai bank account interest, but the transition year after she inherits will included in the final tax return.