Foreign Accounts and Assets

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Foreign Accounts and Assets

February 23, 2018

Foreign Accounts and Assets

Tax-filing season often causes us to take stock of our financial and retirement accounts. You might think that an overseas retirement account that you still have from a foreign rotation might be irrelevant for U.S. filings, or an overseas bank account you keep for international travel might not be a big deal, but this can be a false and potentially costly assumption.

If the amounts in these accounts are large enough, there could be U.S. information reporting requirement which needs to be made with your tax return. Penalties for failure to comply with these reporting requirements can start at $10,000.

If you are one of our tax clients, make sure you mention to us your foreign bank or retirement account(s) during your tax preparation process so that we can treat it properly on the tax forms.

If you are not one of our clients and you would like help navigating these rules and complying with the filing requirements, please give us a call and ask for Nick Vogel.