Tax News Update    Email this document    Print this document  

October 19, 2020
2020-2505

Calendar year 2019 FBARs extended to October 31st

In response to concerns over taxpayer reliance on an earlier communication, on October 16, 2020, FinCEN formally issued a notice extending 2019 calendar-year FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) filings to October 31, 2020. The filings were previously due on October 15, 2020, as automatically extended from April 15, 2020.

On October 14, 2020, FinCEN erroneously posted a sweeping relief notice on its Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) e-filing website stating: "The FBAR deadline for Federal tax year 2019 has been moved from 15 Oct 2020 to 31 Dec 2020. If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact the BSA E-Filing Help Desk." FinCEN removed the notice and message at 4:26 PM EST on October 15, 2020, the due date of the filing, and clarified that the extension was intended to be limited to victims of recent natural disasters as indicated in FinCEN's recent notice, dated October 6, 2020. Such victims still have until December 31, 2020, to file.

On October 16, 2020, at 6:30 PM EST, FinCEN apologized for the error and any confusion the website posting from October 14th caused. FinCEN mentioned that it has coordinated with the IRS to address the concerns of filers who may have missed their filing deadline because of the October 14th message. As a result, taxpayers who file their 2019 calendar year FBAR by October 31, 2020, will be deemed to have timely filed.

———————————————

Contact Information
For additional information concerning this Alert, please contact:
 
International Tax and Transactions Services
   • Lauren Lovelace (Lauren.Lovelace@ey.com)
   • Kunal Pawa (Kunal.Pawa@ey.com)
Information Reporting & Withholding
   • Saul D Tilmann (Saul.Tilmann@ey.com)
 

The information contained herein is general in nature and is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal, accounting or tax advice or opinion provided by Ernst & Young LLP to the reader. The reader also is cautioned that this material may not be applicable to, or suitable for, the reader's specific circumstances or needs, and may require consideration of non-tax and other tax factors if any action is to be contemplated. The reader should contact his or her Ernst & Young LLP or other tax professional prior to taking any action based upon this information. Ernst & Young LLP assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in tax laws or other factors that could affect the information contained herein.

 

Copyright © 1996 – 2024, Ernst & Young LLP

 

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, retransmitted or otherwise redistributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including by photocopying, facsimile transmission, recording, rekeying, or using any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from Ernst & Young LLP.

 

EY US Tax News Update Master Agreement | EY Privacy Statement