-by Brian Garrison, Associate Director of Finance

As you are preparing to file your taxes, we wanted to make you aware of some very important IRS and U.S. government regulations that could require some special reporting from workers in foreign countries.  Be sure to consult with your tax preparer concerning these two forms:

FORM 8938 concerning foreign financial assets.   It may need to be filled out and filed with your tax returns.  (Please see an email previously sent to all missionaries with an attached PDF of the form, instructions and an informational FAQ sheet that will help in determining if you indeed need to fill out the form.)  Please review and bring it to the attention of your tax preparer when doing your taxes.

FORM FinCEN 114.  The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) gave the Department of Treasury authority to collect information from United States persons who have financial interests in or signature authority over financial accounts maintained with financial institutions located outside of the United States. This provision of the BSA requires that a FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) be filed if the aggregate maximum values of the foreign financial accounts exceed $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. FinCEN Form 114 supersedes Treasury Form TD F 90-22.1 and is available online only through the BSA E-Filing System.  This form, if required, must be filed electronically by June 30, 2019, or severe penalties and possible punishment could be enforced.

FinCEN Form 114 must be obtained from the Bank Secrecy Act’s Financial Crimes enforcement Network and filed electronically on their website. Their web address is:  https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/NoRegFBARFiler.html

(Again, see the previous email sent for an attached document entitled “irsfbarreferenceguide” for detailed information as to who should file this form and how.  The document also contains some good examples of determining bank account “aggregates” for 2018.)

If you have any questions about this information, please contact me at bgarrison@bbfimissions.com.