Re: FBAR confusion from a UK IRS tax filer (Answered)

Hi Folks,
OMG i wish i had found this site years ago!! i am hoping you can help me out with some useful advice, as i am now a little confused about our tax returns.
this is my situation:
 I am UK citizen born and bred. I married a US citizen in the 2008, and we have been living in the UK since our marriage. (Permanent Residency Visa  ) We have been filing our taxes ourselves every year which has been quite simple. (1040, and 2555EZ) Filed jointly (so i have a ITIN) -long term plan is to move back US

 we don't have kids, don't have a mortgage and only earn about £20,000 each. so we have never troubled the US tax thresholds (we think) and have had upto now limited savings.
My wife has some funds and a bank account in the US, but total interest from that only total around $500/year

However last year I received a PPI payout of £15,000, which was split into two ISA's and paid of the credit cards.  
I was aware of the FBAR but didn't think it was an issue as our saving have never amounted to much until now:
 on reading into it this year, it would appear that my personal pension would also count toward this total?
I am 35 and started this pension back in 2001, so i do not claim it as an income, and any interest received goes straight back into scheme. In 2009 it's transfer value was £6980, and has been increasing ever since, so would be over the $10,000 mark since then.
Being a UK citizen it never occured to me that i would have to declare this to the US Treasury.
So my question is what to do next?  i am planning on including it in this years FBAR, but do i need to file a delinquent return for the previous years?

I am also wondering if we have missed any forms that we should be filing as a matter of course? as reading this forum a lot of file numbers are banded about.
Any advise, and i understand it is just that, would be gratefully received just to put my mind at rest Thanks

Hello

It was a bit unclear from the above information, but do you have US citizenship or a Greencard?

If you do, then you will have to file an FBAR form to report your foreign accounts. An FBAR must be filed if your balances (based on the total of all foreign accounts together) reached over 10K USD.  I would recommend filing (even back-filing if you have been above the threshold for a few years) those FBAR's right away as they are pretty strict for those they find in "non compliance". FBAR's for 2013 are due by June 30th and you should back file (if applicable) by then as well.

If your wife's name is on the accounts (or she has personal accounts that total over 10K) she must also file an FBAR (separately from yours).

On the other hand, if you only have an ITIN, you do not need to worry about filing an FBAR (however your wife will have to if her personal or joint accounts reach the threshold).

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.

-The Greenback Expat Tax Team

Thanks for the response, and it appears you advice is correct:

 i have just spoken to the IRS FBAR assistance line have received an emphatic "NO - you are not a US Citizen, you don't live in the US,  you don't need to file an FBAR!" 
-I think they may have been asked this before...
 
So just to clarify, this is my situation and reason for asking:

 I am neither a US citizen, nor a green card holder:- I am married to a US citizen, both of us living in the UK.

In filing our taxes in 2008, we opted to file "jointed married" income returns
( due to the fact we moved in June, meaning a 50/50 split on US and UK earnings for that year. (and combining our foreign earned income for that year simplified matters))

I filed a W-7 at the time, along with a letter asking to being treated as a resident alien on my tax forms. and received my ITIN

The Key part appears to be this:

"Who Must File an FBAR:

United States person includes U.S. citizens; U.S. residents...
...a US Resident is an Alien residing in the United States"

So even though i'm treated as Resident Alien for Tax returns, i do not qualify as a resident alien in relation to FBAR submission

 it now all seems so simple...
(Plus i get to help my wife fill in hers now )

As you can see i have alterned the Title, so hopefully this will be of some assistance to someone else along the line.

Once again, thanks for all the advice..and great site i am sure i will be submitting other questions along the way. 

FBAR is different to what you report to the IRS, and the reporting is to the US Treasury.

As the reply above said, if your wife's name is on any of the accounts over the $10k threshold then she will have to file an FBAR, but not you.

FBAR is different to what you report to the IRS, and the reporting is to the US Treasury.

As the reply above said, if your wife's name is on any of the accounts over the $10k threshold then she will have to file an FBAR, but not you.

Filing a joint return when you are not a US resident or citizen, but are married to a US citizen can lead to many complications.....it's usually best to let your US spouse file "married single" so you can stay out of it.

Having a UK pension is usually not a big issue as they are well covered in the treaty, but you mention a couple of ISAs and they can be troublesome. Firstly they are not US tax free and if you have a stocks and shares ISA the funds will probably be taxed under US Passive Foreign Investment Corporation rules which are complicated and draconian.