IRS Announces Changes To FBAR Rules

The Internal Revenue Service announced on June 16, 2011, that individuals with signature authority over (but no financial interest in) foreign financial accounts during the 2010 calendar year must file an annual report on Treasury Form TD F 90-22.1 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or "FBAR") by the regular June 30, 2011, deadline. In the past, the IRS had granted repeated deferrals for such filings while it studied the matter; for prior years, these deferrals have now been further extended to November 1, 2011.

In general, every U.S. person with a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, any financial account outside the U.S. must file an FBAR if the aggregate value of all such accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. For accounts maintained during the 2010 calendar year, the FBAR must be received by the Department of the Treasury no later than June 30, 2011.