US Citizen Filing For Taxes in the US

[keesio]

Actually, question related to the FBAR filing. If my spouse is filing "married, filing separately" do we still need to include maximum account values for jointly owned accounts?

Any account that has the name of someone who is a US citizen or resident (your spouse) and that person has signature authority over it must be on the FBAR form. So yes, that would include any joint bank accounts.

 

[keesio]

But then that would require me to get a TIN, wouldn't it?

Why do you need a TIN? You don't need to file an FBAR. Just your wife.

 

[santoki]

Why do you need a TIN? You don't need to file an FBAR. Just your wife.

It asks for a TIN in that section, but upon further inspection that can be a foreign TIN.

 

[keesio]

I never knew you could file an FBAR jointly. This form certainly looks a lot different than past years.

 

[santoki]

I never knew you could file an FBAR jointly. This form certainly looks a lot different than past years.

I remember reading about those who filed jointly or separately, but this form asks for information on both separately owned and jointly owned accounts. That's why I was asking the questions above. To be safe, I'm just disclosing both along with my personal information.

I think I've figured it out though. Seems fairly straightforward for those with only bank accounts (no rrsps, tfsas etc.). Just put your US taxpayer and address information in, fill in the max account of separate/joint accounts, fill in personal information of joint account holder, sign/save and submit.

 

[keesio]

yeah the FBARs are simple in the sense that they just want to know what you have and what the max was in there for the year. Really the most challenging thing is trying to figure out the max. But you don't have to be exact. When in doubt, you can simply overestimate to be safe. As they say, they will never penalize you for over estimating.

 

[santoki]

yeah the FBARs are simple in the sense that they just want to know what you have and what the max was in there for the year. Really the most challenging thing is trying to figure out the max. But you don't have to be exact. When in doubt, you can simply overestimate to be safe. As they say, they will never penalize you for over estimating.

I've found the easiest way is to just go back to your accounts online and look up each month of the tax period. Take whatever the highest deposited amount was and convert to US dollars. Seems fairly straightforward that way.

 

[jes_ON]

I was just looking over this thread and realized we haven't listed the actual forms that need to be filled out to complete a basic return on your own (FBAR included)

Can anyone with knowledge of it step in?

Oddly, if you merely have a bank account in a foreign country, you now also have to fill out Schedule B (Form 1040), Interest and Ordinary Dividends -
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Schedule-B-(Form-1040),-Interest-and-Ordinary-Dividends

 

[tavora]

Sorry to resurrect this older thread, but this seems like the best place to post it.

My husband is a U.S. citizen and he hasn't signed up for his company's RRSP yet because we're afraid of the U.S. tax implications. His company is a Canadian division of a U.S. company, but I'm afraid that if he signs up for an RRSP and then invests in mutual funds (even within an RRSP), it will be a nightmare for reporting. I read something somewhere that the IRS treats foreign mutual fund holdings differently. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[keesio]

Sorry to resurrect this older thread, but this seems like the best place to post it.

My husband is a U.S. citizen and he hasn't signed up for his company's RRSP yet because we're afraid of the U.S. tax implications. His company is a Canadian division of a U.S. company, but I'm afraid that if he signs up for an RRSP and then invests in mutual funds (even within an RRSP), it will be a nightmare for reporting. I read something somewhere that the IRS treats foreign mutual fund holdings differently. Does anyone know anything about this?

RRSPs are recognized under the tax treaty Canada has with the US. So any mutual funds in the RRSP are fine. I'm 100% positive with individual RRSPs. Now to be honest I'm not 100% positive with group (company) RRSPs since I only have an individual RRSP but I'm pretty sure that the treaty applies to all RRSP from what I understand. Might be good to have a tax professional confirm this.

 

[on-hold]

Keesio, does that mean that the RRSP can be ignored when it comes to reporting, or has to be reported but has no tax penalty?

 

[keesio]

Keesio, does that mean that the RRSP can be ignored when it comes to reporting, or has to be reported but has no tax penalty?

RRSPs still needs to be reported on FBAR and FATCA Form 8938 (if you are required to file both forms). What the tax treaty covers is that the IRS recognizes an RRSP as a valid tax shelter for retirement. So you don't have to pay taxes on earned income in the RRSP.

The main thing you need to be aware of with RRSPs is that while the income earned in the RRSP is tax free to the IRS, your contribution amount IS NOT. So you may have to pay taxes on the amount you contribute since you get a refund from CRA. If you still have enough tax credits, you can offset that tax.

 

[Charlamag]

[quoteI know a couple of dual citizens that haven't lived in the US for close to 20 years and who have never filed. They never have a problem renewing their passport or entering/exiting the country to visit. So much like the other people at the meeting the other day, these people were clueless about needing to file. But, if these people have gotten away with it for 20 years, what the heck is the point of filing at all?][/quote]

It used to be that passports didn't require your social security number but I believe that is standard information required now. A passport application can be held up or denied if you for example have outstanding child support - should the USA choose to link the IRS database with the passport office, it would be easy enough to red flag every person who has not filed taxes. What would happen then? A letter informing them of their obligation perhaps is all - but one can easily imagine that for those that 'got away' with not filing for years, that sense of security could end at the pleasure of the US government. Some things to think about -

 

[Hnhkrk]

Has anyone filled out the paperwork online via the program that the IRS offers on their website? That is what I was thinking of doing, as I think my case is pretty straight forward. I made 2k this year while dog walking as an independent contractor, and my husband and I's bank account has yet to go over 10k.

Thoughts?

I AM ONLY TWENTY-ONE THIS SHOULD NOT BE A THING FOR ME TO WORRY ABOUT UGH.

 

[rhcohen2014]

I AM ONLY TWENTY-ONE THIS SHOULD NOT BE A THING FOR ME TO WORRY ABOUT UGH.

of course it is, it is one of the privileges of being an adult. if you want someone else to "worry" about it for you, then hire an accountant. remember, if you are filing taxes in canada too, you will want file in canada first so you can apply any tax credits you get to your us taxes.