Exempt Organizations Advisory - IRS Issues Bank, Financial Accounts Regulations

Catherine W. Wilkinson (cwilkinson@steptoe.com)
Suzanne Ross McDowell (smcdowell@steptoe.com)

Today, the IRS issued Notice 2009-62. The Notice provides additional administrative relief for (i) persons with no financial interest in a foreign financial account but with signature or other authority over the foreign financial account and (ii) persons with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign financial account in which the assets are held in a commingled fund. The Department of the Treasury intends to issue regulations clarifying the FBAR filing requirements pertaining to those persons with respect to these foreign financial accounts, and solicits comments related to these FBAR filing requirements in this Notice. 

• The Notice provides that those persons have until June 30, 2010, to file an FBAR for the 2008 and earlier calendar years with respect to these foreign financial accounts. Thus, eligible persons that avail themselves of the administrative relief provided in this Notice may need to file FBARs for the 2008, 2009 and earlier calendar years on or before June 30, 2010, to the extent provided in future guidance.

• Interested persons should submit comments and suggestions with respect to the guidance on FBAR reporting in this Notice by October 6, 2009.

• The notice can be accessed via:  Notice 2009-62.

• Previously issued relief for persons who are not United States citizens, residents, or domestic entities can be found in Announcement 2009-51, 2009-25 I.R.B. 1105 (June 5, 2009). Guidance and relief for persons who only recently learned of their obligations to file an FBAR can be found here (specifically Q&A 9 and 43).