Navigating Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR): Avoiding Traps That Lead to Costly Penalties

Credit(s)

IRS CPE Credits: 2 Tax hour

Everything You Need to Know About Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

FBAR compliance is often perceived as straightforward—until you encounter real-world complexities that challenge even experienced practitioners. Do entity-owned accounts trigger personal filing obligations? How do community property laws affect reporting for married taxpayers? What about foreign pensions, investment accounts, and signature authority situations? The rules can be deceptively intricate, and misunderstandings can lead to costly penalties. This webinar by International US Tax expert Virginia La Torre Jeker, J.D. will provide an in-depth exploration of all aspects of FBAR filing, from the fundamentals to the trickiest edge cases that often leave professionals uncertain. Whether you're advising clients with international financial interests or ensuring your own compliance, this session will equip you with the clarity and confidence needed to navigate FBAR requirements effectively.

The webinar will also review various cases involving whether the client with unreported foreign financial accounts acted willfully or non-willfully. Understanding the different fact patterns and what to watch for is essential in handling your case. We will examine some real-life cases, as this determination significantly impacts penalty assessments. Since the US Supreme Court’s decision in the Bittner case, FBAR penalties are on the IRS radar, and practitioners have legitimate concerns that the IRS may be attempting to classify noncompliance more frequently as “willful” to increase penalties.

Webinar Objectives

• Learn what the FBAR is and what it is not (for example, it does not mean FATCA or that tax is due) but failing to file it correctly can mean steep penalties.
• Learn who must file the FBAR, when it must be filed and which financial accounts must be reported on this form (many surprises await you). 
• Learn the meaning of core terms such as who is a “US person” having a “financial interest in” or “signature authority over” a “foreign financial account”. 
• Learn what FBAR requires when it comes to joint accounts, when parties have joint signature authority, or hold powers of attorney. 
• Learn the rules for FBAR filing when an individual is treated as having a “financial interest” in foreign accounts owned by foreign entities (e.g., a foreign corporation, trust or partnership) with which the individual has some kind of relationship. Understand the exceptions and how to use them.
• Learn how to calculate the filing threshold and report the maximum values for FBAR purposes.
• Learn how to address unique situations such as FBAR issues arising for children, and with NRA and US spouses, community property jurisdictions and the issues raised with community property.

Webinar Agenda

• When FBAR penalties are assessed, learn how one can try get them abated.
• Understand how to use the treaty tie-breaker rules properly so that the individual need not file FBAR and has a valid escape hatch.
• Understand the current IRS procedures for regaining FBAR compliance, and correcting for delinquent or improperly completed FBARs.
• Learn how to critically analyze real-world cases to assist in determining if the violation was "willful" or "non-willful" and whether criminal elements may be present in the fact pattern
• Learn whether FBAR penalties can be assessed against a taxpayer’s estate if they were not assessed when the taxpayer was still alive and how to possibly address this situation.

Webinar Highlights

• FBAR Basics & Filing Requirements – Who must file, what qualifies as a reportable account, and key deadlines.
• Common Traps & Costly Mistakes – Avoid penalties by understanding common filing errors and how to correct them.
• Entity-Owned Accounts – When do business accounts trigger a personal FBAR obligation? Learn how ownership structures impact filing.
• Community Property & Joint Accounts – How do marital property laws in different jurisdictions affect FBAR reporting for spouses?
• Signature Authority & Power of Attorney Issues – Do you need to file if you have control but no financial interest?
• Foreign Pension & Investment Accounts – Discover what must be reported and how these differ from standard bank accounts.
• Overlap with Form 8938 & Other Filings – Clarifying FBAR vs. FATCA reporting to ensure full compliance.
• Voluntary Disclosure & Penalty Relief – Strategies for clients with missed filings or unreported accounts.

Who Should Attend

Tax professionals, tax advisors and consultants, tax lawyers, enrolled agents, certified public accountants, family offices, wealth advisors and wealth planners as well as compliance officers and financial professionals managing global accounts