This may be the last time you see a reminder that the FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) filing deadline of June 30 is fast approaching. That’s because, beginning in 2017, the annual FBAR filing will coincide with the April 15 income tax filing deadline.
Unlike the April 15 deadline for filing income tax returns, the upcoming June 30 deadline is cast in stone for filing an FBAR to report ownership interests in or signature authority over foreign financial assets, according to Barbara T. Kaplan, shareholder and co-chair of the Global Tax Practice at Greenberg Traurig LLP.
“Timely mailing is timely filing when it comes to a taxpayer’s income tax return, but that is not true of the FBAR filing,” Kaplan said. “If you mail your income tax return on April 15 and it arrives at the IRS office on April 18, you have met the filing deadline. When it comes to the FBAR, however, that filing must be received by the Treasury on or before June 30 this year—period.”