Flash: Further Limited FBAR Extensions Granted

Last week, the IRS granted a further four-month extension of the deadline for pre-2010 FBARs in situations where a U.S. person had signature or other authority over a foreign financial account but did not have a beneficial interest in such account.¹ A separate one-year extension of the deadline for such filings was also announced for certain employees of registered investment advisors.²

Background

Foreign bank account reports (FBARs) are required to be filed by U.S. persons who either have a beneficial interest in a foreign financial account or have signature authority or other control over such an account. FBARs are generally due by June 30th of the year following the year for which the report is required to be filed and are not eligible for any extensions. In 2009, the IRS suggested that it was reconsidering the need for such filings in the case of a U.S. person that has signature or other authority but no beneficial interest in an account, and indicated that the