Mailing FBAR via Airsure?

Also wanted to add that on the USPS site you can opt in to receive emails about the delivery of your package! Brilliant!

If you go to USPS Track and Trace:-

http://www.usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm

Enter the Airsure number and it may show up.  This was the case for an important letter we sent a couple of years ago.  The number seemed to go all the way through the system.  But once it is passed to USPS you can no longer track it on Royal Mail.

Give it a go.

Thanks! I knew the man at the PO definitely said my letter would be scanned when it arrived at the destination, not only when it arrived in the US. He didn't mention, however, that I had to check the tracking number at the US postal site.

Mine says:
Processed through Sort Facility, May 25, 2011, 5:21 am, DETROIT, MI 48233
Processed through Sort Facility, May 24, 2011, 9:55 pm, DETROIT, MI 48233
Processed through Sort Facility, May 22, 2011, 3:58 pm, JAMAICA, NY 11430
Origin Post is Preparing Shipment

So why was it processed through the same sort facility two days in a row? I wonder if there is a problem with delivery for some reason? At least I'm thankful I know to check the USPS site for a possible bit of info!

Delivery driver didn't complete his full round and it came back to the depot with him, most likely. Nothing to worry about.

You may never receive a 'delivery made' notice. It's possible to receive a confirmation, only to find it went to a different PO Box (32622 instead of 32621). Been there, done that. There was a way to confirm on old FBAR forms. I don't know if it still applies:

Verification of Filing. Ninety days after the date of filing, the filer can request
verification that the FBAR was received. An FBAR filing verification request may be
made by calling 1-800-800-2877 and selecting option 2. Up to five documents may be
verified over the phone. There is no fee for this verification. Alternatively, an FBAR
filing verification request may be made in writing and must include the filer’s name,
taxpayer identification number, and the filing period. There is a $5.00 fee for verifying
five or fewer FBARs and a $1.00 fee for each additional FBAR. A copy of the filed
FBAR can be obtained at a cost of $0.15 per page. Check or money order should be
made payable to the United States Treasury.
The request and payment should be mailed to:
IRS Enterprise Computing Center/Detroit
ATTN: Verification
P.O. Box 32063
Detroit, MI 48232  

In the past, IRS/Treasury would not accept a certificate of mailing or delivery as proof you submitted the forms. It made no difference if it was mailed at the lowest UK postage rate, or you paid a courier £2000 to accompany it to delivery. If there was no record in their system, then you didn't send it; even though it may have been lost within that system. Their reasoning: you could have sent an empty envelope.

I have no idea what the stance is today.

The comfort a confirmation gives the sender is that the envelope was delivered to the address. It never confirms the documents are in the system.

I had known I could call the IRS at some point for comfirmation, but in 90 days if they haven't received it, it will then be considered late and I'm already very worried about fines for my other late ones (if only I'd known to mail them, or if we'd actually spent money instead of being so frugal so we'd have less than $10,000 in the bank -- never thought I'd feel that way!).

I'll be sending my overdue forms from past years next week. Should I resend my 2010 form with them? I'll do this via FedEx, it will make it there by the end of the month. But I don't want to muddy the waters for whomever gets my case and have them mistakenly think the 2010 form was late too because they aren't really paying attention!

Should I resend my 2010 form with them?

In my (amateur) opinion, no. It could only complicate things. There has been no indication from anyone else saying they have received 'delivery' confirmation, and several indicating they have the same info on the USPS as you.

I know I go on about this a lot, but another benefit of dropping your forms off at the IRS office at the embassy is that they will stamp a set of copies that you provide as having been received, which alleviates the whole postal nightmare and provides proof that you've met your filing obligation if necessary in the future. Only applicable if you're in London, although depending on the cost of postage to the US it might be cheaper to take a day trip!

If anyone does receive delivery confirmation from an Airsure mailing to the FBAR address,  please post so we know it's actually possible!

I'm assuming that if I sent the next ones FedEx, I would definitely get delivery confirmation?

I just called the Track and Confirm line for the USPS, btw, and it's useless. Not only do I not get a live person, it won't even give me the information I can get from inputing my tracking code online. It just says it's not possible to track.

Just checking back to see if anyone who mailed their fbar via Airsure has gotten delivery confirmation?

I've yet to mail my forms from years past and am waffling on whether to use Airsure or Fedex. I think I'll use Airsure to save money, but it's so strange that they don't list delivery past the sorting facility!

Fedex gives you delivery confirmation, yes. I prefer sending forms that way myself, partly because of all the personal information that's inside about my bank accounts, and partly because I just can't rest till I know whatever I've sent has definitely arrived.

Saving money is OK up to a point, but relative to the potential penalties for not filing some of these forms (or appearing not to have filed them, because they've got lost), the courier cost doesn't seem that high. It all depends on your individual circumstances though.

Hi all,

I mailed my wife's 1040 and FBAR a few weeks ago, and decided to check today that they'd arrived. I seem to be in the same situation as everybody else on this thread: the 1040 is reported successfully delivered to IRS's Austin office (on both the Post Office and USPS websites), but the FBAR is at this stage:

(From USPS website)

   Detailed Results:
   
Bullet    Processed through Sort Facility, June 02, 2011, 3:03 pm, DETROIT, MI 48233
Bullet    Processed through Sort Facility, May 29, 2011, 5:30 pm, JAMAICA, NY 11430
Bullet    Origin Post is Preparing Shipment

There's probably still time to re-send it via Fedex - just - but I'd rather not do this. If everybody else's FBAR tracking is giving similar details to this, then I'll just hope it's been delivered. Has anybody's FBAR been reported successfully delivered, or is everyone still at this stage?

Thanks,
tolstoy_fan

Hi all,

I mailed my wife's 1040 and FBAR a few weeks ago, and decided to check today that they'd arrived. I seem to be in the same situation as everybody else on this thread: the 1040 is reported successfully delivered to IRS's Austin office (on both the Post Office and USPS websites), but the FBAR is at this stage:

(From USPS website)

   Detailed Results:
   
Bullet    Processed through Sort Facility, June 02, 2011, 3:03 pm, DETROIT, MI 48233
Bullet    Processed through Sort Facility, May 29, 2011, 5:30 pm, JAMAICA, NY 11430
Bullet    Origin Post is Preparing Shipment

There's probably still time to re-send it via Fedex - just - but I'd rather not do this. If everybody else's FBAR tracking is giving similar details to this, then I'll just hope it's been delivered. Has anybody's FBAR been reported successfully delivered, or is everyone still at this stage?

Thanks,
tolstoy_fan

That's how mine still is, too. It doesn't bode well for how important documents are handled at that address.

Alternately, I recently mailed my overdue fbars from past years via UPS. They haven't arrived yet, but the UPS people changed the address from how I'd written it on the form. Instead of the second line being "Atten: FBAR mailroom, 4th floor", they put the first line as F BAR, the second line the IRS computing center, and the third line "mailroom, 4th floor". I'm really hoping it gets to the office it needs to get to.

It's highly annoying. Next year I'll Fedex them (or drop off at the Embassy), but not now - it seems everybody on this thread is in the same boat.

It's highly annoying. Next year I'll Fedex them (or drop off at the Embassy), but not now - it seems everybody on this thread is in the same boat.

If I could drop them off at the Embassy, I would. If you're in a position to do that, it probably offers the most peace of mind. I wonder if you get some kind of receipt showing you've dropped it off?