If you:
Are a US person (citizen, green card holder, resident alien, or tax resident)
Possess (or have a financial interest in) foreign (non-US) assets of any of the following types:
Financial (deposit or custodial) account in a foreign institution
Foreign stock or securities (regardless of whether or not they are held in a foreign financial account)
Foreign partnership interests
Foreign mutual funds, hedge funds, or private equity funds
Foreign-issued life insurance or annuity contract with a cash value
Foreign accounts and investments assets that you are holding in trust
Note: this is NOT an exhaustive list. For most purposes, essentially any financial asset or interest must be reported. If you are unsure about whether or not you must report an asset, please consult a qualified tax professional for advice.
AND, you meet one of the following thresholds:
If you reside in the US:
The total value of assets was more than USD 50,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than USD 75,000 at any time during the year.
If you reside outside the US:
Unmarried:
The total value of assets was more than USD 200,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than USD 300,000 at any time during the year
Married:
The total value of assets was more than USD 400,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than USD 600,000 at any time during the year.
Then, you must file a FATCA report with your annual tax return which includes all the relevant assets.
Note: The scope of this article is limited to FATCA requirements for individuals and not corporate entities. Corporate entities also have FATCA filing requirements which may be covered in a future post.
Exceptions
There are some exceptions when determining whether individuals and their assets are exempt from FATCA reporting, for example:
If, for any reason, you do not need to submit a tax return, then you don’t need to submit a FATCA report.
If you already reported an asset in IRS forms 3520, 5471, 8621, or 8865, you don’t need to report that asset in your FATCA form, but you do need to indicate which form that asset was previously reported in.
If the asset in question is a domestic bankruptcy trust or domestic investment trust (but other reporting rules apply)
Certain exemptions also apply for specific types of assets belonging to residents of US territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands)
Please remember: The above list is not exhaustive, and if you are at all unsure whether these or other exceptions apply to you, consider asking a tax professional for help in evaluating your situation and submitting your FATCA form.
For more details, see the relevant page on the IRS website
How can I get help with preparing my FATCA form?
We understand how stressful, and frustrating, it can be to deal with complex tax reporting obligations like the FATCA and FBAR, and we’re here to help. In addition to standard tax filing and preparation services, the experts at Del Sol CPA and Associates are more than happy to offer you assistance with filing a timely and compliant FATCA form each year with your tax return.
If you have any questions or are seeking guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our bilingual team of trained tax professionals for answers. We look forward to serving you!
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