FBAR and Schedule B

I have two joint bank accounts with my UKC husband, who is the earner in our family.  My own income puts me well below the tax threshold, but we have more than $10000 in the bank, so I'm required to file FBARs.  My question is, do I still have to file Schedule B, and therefore a tax return?  Thanks for any information.

OK, maybe it was a stupid question.  I just phoned the IRS office in London and got the answer, just in case anyone else needs to know about this.  The answer is, filing the FBAR does not necessitate filing a tax return, if gross income is below the tax threshold.

It wasn't a stupid question at all. The FBAR rules are such a grey area, particularly in these areas, it causes everyone to hesitate. You did the right thing in calling the IRS. (I scoured Pubs. 17 and 54 last night looking for an answer, but there are no definitive statements relating to your situation.) I hope you recorded the time of the call and who you talked to.

Thanks, theOAP, I wasn't sure whether it was a stupid question or not, but I finally had to know.  As far as recording the call, I didn't think to do that.  However, the person I spoke to was extremely definite about his answer.  He said the IRS and the Treasury have nothing to do with each other, and their forms have nothing to do with each other either.  He couldn't have been more definite.

And thanks for trying to find the answer.  I hate looking through all this tax-related stuff, and I certainly appreciate your effort, even if you weren't able to find anything.

Chanah

I agree. This is an excellent question, truly.  As theOAP suggests, it is prudent to keep a record of the employees' badge number and name of the IRS representative as well as the exact time of the call.

Thanks, Guya.  I think I'll email them and ask the same question.  It took me 5 attempts to actually get someone on the line yesterday, and I know from past experience I was lucky to get someone as quickly as that.

The IRS in London no longer has staff to respond to emails.  You'd need an email address for the IRS in the US...no I don't know one, sorry.

OK, I emailed IRS Email Tax Law Assistance about 2 weeks ago, and finally got this reply:

"If you do not meet the income requirement to file a federal tax return , but must complete a Schedule B, Interest and Ordinary dividends for purposes of  Reporting Foreign Bank and Financial Account (FBAR) information.

You should place your name and social security number in the space provided on the Schedule B, then complete part three as required, attach a statement explaining that you were not required to file an income tax return, but must submit the Schedule B for FBAR compliance requirements only.

File the Schedule B as a stand alone document to the address where you would normally submit your federal income tax return if you were required to file. Send this information to the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin TX., and 73301-0215 USA for processing, no other actions are necessary."

So I guess that's the answer.

Thanks for that, Chanah. That will be our situation as well.

OK, I emailed IRS Email Tax Law Assistance about 2 weeks ago, and finally got this reply:

This is most interesting. Thanks to your efforts, anyone in a similar position now has a definitive answer. Well done, Chanah.

thanks so much!

If you google the form, it should show up. You don't actually mail it to the same place you would mail your tax return, it's a different address. Unless you would be liable for tax for some other reason, there is no special reason this form would indicate you owe tax.
I would file a tax return this year anyway, you probably won't owe any tax. Almost definitely as you didn't have any income!

I'm pretty sure there was a thread with all of the links to the forms on it, but I'm on my phone and can't find it.

Do you and your husband each do an FBAR? I'm working on my first one, but haven't looked at it in a bit as I was awaiting bank statements to get the info about the highest amount in my accounts (and then they didn't send all the statements I requested and I had to request again).

Anyhow, what it looks like so far is since we have a joint account, I fill it out in my husband's name and there's no place for my name on the form at all? And I don't need to do a separate one for myself, right?

We were wondering how to handle the joint accounts. Does the total amount get sent in on the USC's report? Or do you half it?

Whole.