New York FBAR Lawyer

Experienced New York FBAR Lawyer

Failed to File a Foreign Bank Account Report? Get Help Today.

Just like filing an annual tax return is an obligation as a taxpayer in the United States, so is filing an FBAR if you have foreign financial holdings. Every person or entity in the United States who owns foreign financial assets worth $10,000 or more at any point during the calendar year must file a Report of Foreign Bank & Financial Accounts, or FBAR, with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. This requirement applies to individuals, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts and estates and any other U.S. entity with foreign assets. Parties that fail to file an annual FBAR report by the due date may be subject to expensive civil fines and even possible criminal penalties. depending upon the circumstances.

FBAR Attorney Timothy S. Hart Resolves Filing Issues

Knowing whether you are required to file is not always clear, which can lead to unintended violations. If you failed to file your required FBAR on time or at all, reach out to Timothy S. Hart Law Group, P.C. today. Our New York FBAR lawyer has extensive experience resolving complex foreign bank account reporting issues. He may be able to help you avoid or minimize penalties if you filed late, made filing mistakes or neglected to file at all. And if you are being investigated for tax evasion related to willful foreign account violations, Timothy S. Hart will strongly advocate for your rights and interests.

To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation, call our Albany law office at (518) 213-3445 or our New York City office at (917) 382-5142. Even though our offices are in New York, our attorney is licensed to handle IRS tax cases nationwide and can help you no matter where you live.

What Exactly is the FBAR?

The FBAR is an annual reporting process that was instituted as part of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 to keep track of foreign assets owned by individuals and entities in the U.S. The law is intended to prevent money laundering for purposes of terrorism, criminal undertakings, tax evasion and other illegal activities.

Who Needs to File the FBAR?

U.S. citizens and green card holders, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and trusts and estates owning foreign accounts worth $10,000 or more must file an FBAR report with the Treasury Department or face civil and criminal penalties.

Keep in mind, whether your foreign account holdings reach $10,000 for a day or only a few minutes at any point during the year, you are required to file an FBAR. If you have multiple foreign accounts with less than $10,000 in each account, but they add up to $10,000 or more, you must file an FBAR.

Types of Accounts That Must Be Reported

There are some specific types of foreign account holdings that must be reported to the Treasury Department. They include the following:

• Foreign stocks and securities
• Foreign mutual funds
• Foreign life insurance
• Foreign brokerage accounts
• Financial accounts held at any foreign branch of any U.S. financial institution.

If you have any of these, you must file an FBAR that gives the details of your holdings if they reach the reporting threshold. If you try to hide your foreign account to attempt to save on taxes or for any other purpose, you could be harshly penalized.

FBAR Filing Deadline

The last date to file the FBAR is April 15. However, if you don’t file your foreign bank account report by this due date, you will automatically be granted a filing extension with a deadline of October 15.

If you are afraid of missing either of these filing deadlines, or have already missed them, reach out to tax attorney Timothy S. Hart for help.

Why Choose Timothy S. Hart for Your FBAR Case?

FBAR attorney Timothy S. Hart has years of experience resolving taxation and reporting issues in complex cases, including matters such as late filings, failure to file and discrepancies in foreign account filings. In addition to being a skilled lawyer who has handled numerous cases involving the federal government, he is also a Certified Public Accountant, which provides him the comprehensive knowledge necessary to achieve the most beneficial resolutions possible for clients. Timothy S. Hart is admitted to practice in the U.S. Tax Court and the State of New York. In addition to his law degree and status as a CPA, he has advanced education focused in taxation.

FAQs About FBAR Reporting

Here are answers from our attorney to common questions we get about FBAR reporting. If you have a specific FBAR issue that you wish to discuss, contact Timothy S. Hart directly by calling (917) 382-5142 for our NYC office or (518) 213-3445 for our Albany office.

What is the process for filing the FBAR?

The process of filing an FBAR is different from filing annual tax returns. FBAR is not filed with your tax return. It is filed electronically to the Treasury Department using the BSA-E-Filing System.

If you want to paper-file your FBAR, then you need to call the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN’s) regulatory helpline number to request an exemption from e-filing. If they approve your request, they will send a paper FBAR form to you and you need to complete and mail that to the IRS address provided on the form.

On the other hand, if you want an FBAR lawyer or someone else to file the FBAR for you, you must use the form FinCEN report 114a. This will authorize that person to file FBAR on your behalf.

Who can help filling out the FBAR?

If you need help filling out the FBAR, there are FBAR lawyers in New York and elsewhere who offer their services. You can also get help filling out the FBAR from a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Timothy S. Hart is both a skilled FBAR lawyer and a knowledgeable CPA. He is deeply familiar with what information must be given on the reporting form, as well as the online filing process and steps. He can fill out and file the FBAR for you, if you wish.

How much is the FBAR penalty?

The FBAR penalty is hefty! If you fail to file your FBAR on the due date, it can lead you (as an individual or business entity) to pay a civil penalty of up to $12,921 on each non-willful violation of the filing requirement. On the other hand, if the failure to file an FBAR is found to be a willful violation, the civil penalty will be 50% of the account balance, or $129,210, whichever is greater. There is also the potential for criminal penalties if your violation is found to be willful.

What happens if you never filed an FBAR?

What happens if you never filed an FBAR and have learned you should have filed? You must take steps right away to correct the situation before you are hit with severe financial penalties and potentially criminal charges, which could happen if the IRS decides that your non-filing was willful. There is a program called the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program that could help reduce your penalties if you are in this situation. Our FBAR lawyer can advise you of your possible eligibility for this program.

Can you correct an FBAR?

You can correct an FBAR that has already been filed. To correct an FBAR, you will need to file another complete FBAR report online with the revised information and check the “amended” box. If you don’t file online, you will have to request another paper FBAR form. If you need help with amending an FBAR report, Timothy S. Hart can assist you.

Can the IRS see my foreign bank account?

The answer to this question is “yes.” Eventually the IRS will find out about your foreign bank account if you have not reported it yourself. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires non-U.S. banks and other foreign institutions to provide information about U.S. account holders or face financial consequences themselves.

If you do not report your foreign accounts that are worth $10,000 or more at any time during the calendar year to the United States Treasury Department, legal action can be taken against you (as an individual or business entity), and, as previously discussed, the monetary penalties are very high. You may also face criminal charges.

How an FBAR Lawyer Can Help You

Our FBAR lawyer is highly experienced with taxation issues and is well-versed in dealing with offshore bank accounts and financial account problems. If you have not filed an FBAR in years because you did not know you had to, Timothy S. Hart will knowledgeably represent your interests. He will work hard to try and resolve your problem with the IRS and help you avoid steep monetary penalties.

When people willfully fail to file FBAR reports by the deadline or try to hide foreign accounts, they can face criminal prosecution. While it is better to be on the safe side by disclosing your foreign accounts and filing your FBAR in a timely way, we know that in reality this doesn’t always happen. If you are facing a criminal investigation, our FBAR tax lawyer will aggressively stand up for your rights in order to get you the best possible resolution.

Foreign Financial Accounts that Do Not Have to Be Reported

Not every foreign account must be reported. Per the IRS website, you don’t need to file an FBAR for accounts that are:

• Correspondent/nostro accounts
• Owned by a governmental entity
• Owned by an international financial institution
• Maintained on a United States military banking facility
• Held in an individual retirement account you own or of which you are a beneficiary
• Held in a retirement plan of which you’re a participant or beneficiary
• Part of a trust of which you’re a beneficiary if a U.S. person (trust, trustee of the trust, or agent of the trust) files an FBAR reporting these accounts.

We know that understanding whether you need to file or not can be confusing. If you have any questions about filing requirements or if you have realized you needed to file and did not, contact our New York FBAR lawyer for help right away. The sooner you work to resolve your filing situation with knowledgeable legal guidance from a tax attorney, the better your chances of mitigating possible penalties.

Contact Our New York FBAR Lawyer for Assistance

FBAR cases can be very complex, and violations can result in steep financial penalties and, potentially, criminal charges. You have the best chance of avoiding these outcomes with the help of an experienced New York FBAR lawyer.

Timothy S. Hart will carefully examine the issues with your FBAR disclosures in order to provide a strategic solution right from the start. Our tax attorney has a focus area in offshore bank account and financial account problems and may be able to help you avoid expensive penalties or have those penalties reduced. Call us today to learn about solutions to your FBAR issues.

To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with attorney Timothy S. Hart, call our Albany law office at (518) 213-3445 or our New York City office at (917) 382-5142.