Schedule B - Is this needed?

I am filing form 1040, 8965, 2555-EZ this year and wasn't clear on whether  I needed to attach Schedule B to my 1040.  I have low income and a joint checking account that does not meet the FBAR requirements for reporting.  Do I still need to fill out Part III of Schedule B and attach this to my 1040 to indicate that "yes" I have an account (7a) but "no" I do not need to fill out FBAR (also 7a)?

Thank you for any clarity on this matter!

If you have any interest paid to you then you need to report it on Schedule B, even if your accounts fell below the FBAR reporting threshold.

No interest at all.

Just confused when noticing on the Schedule B, Part III "You must complete this part if you (a) had over $1,500 of taxable interest or ordinary dividends; (b) had a
foreign account; or (c) received a distribution from, or were a grantor of, or a transferor to, a foreign trust. "

Item b applies, as I have a foreign checking account.  But I was second guessing if I needed to do the form since all I would need to do is check "yes" then "no" in 7a of Part III only.

Does this make sense?

Electing to claim the foreign earned income exclusion may not produce the optimum result. You’ll always want to project taxes to optimise the results based on your personal circumstances.

Hi guya, I'm not sure I understand what you mean?  I make so little that the foreign earned income exclusion always covers my salary, which I thought was the optimum result!  Could you say a bit more?

No interest at all.

Just confused when noticing on the Schedule B, Part III "You must complete this part if you (a) had over $1,500 of taxable interest or ordinary dividends; (b) had a
foreign account; or (c) received a distribution from, or were a grantor of, or a transferor to, a foreign trust. "

Item b applies, as I have a foreign checking account.  But I was second guessing if I needed to do the form since all I would need to do is check "yes" then "no" in 7a of Part III only.

Does this make sense?

It does make sense and I would include Schedule B with the answers to part III being Yes to 7a and No to 7b and 8a. Leave parts I and II blank since you have no income. You are simply recording the fact that you have a foreign bank account.

 

It does make sense and I would include Schedule B with the answers to part III being Yes to 7a and No to 7b and 8a. Leave parts I and II blank since you have no income. You are simply recording the fact that you have a foreign bank account.

Thank you durhamlad, that's what I thought but starting doubting myself.

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion?  My overall caution is to ask yourself if electing to claim the foreign earned income exclusion by filing IRS Form 2555 is going to produce the optimum result?
Many folks may have non-excluded income such as currently US taxable pension contributions from a non-US employer and want to use foreign tax credits to reduce US tax payable on these kinds of income. Equally, anyone with a child may wish to maximise their potential child tax credit refund (a very handy amount of up to $1,400 per child) by not claiming the foreign earned income exclusion. Most importantly for many, as none of us can predict family circumstances, US and non-US tax and exchange rates for all the next 10 years, it is typically prudent to maximise excess foreign tax credit carryovers to future tax years. Because of this uncertainty over each of the next 10 years; it is possible that electing to claim the foreign earned income exclusion - and therefore not optimising foreign tax credit carryovers - could cost real money in any of the next 10 US tax years. (US law allows excess foreign tax credits to carry forward for up to 10 years.)

Another point - if you choose not to take the FEIE this time you can always do so in a later year. However, if you do take it now and don't in a later year, you cannot go back to taking the exclusion for another five years (except under special circumstances).

Another point - if you choose not to take the FEIE this time you can always do so in a later year. However, if you do take it now and don't in a later year, you cannot go back to taking the exclusion for another five years (except under special circumstances).

Hi Kelly85, is this particular to this year (or a recent change) or has this always been the case?  This has gotten so much more complex than I thought it was!

Hi Kelly85, is this particular to this year (or a recent change) or has this always been the case?  This has gotten so much more complex than I thought it was!

That's been the case for as long as I remember (not a recent change).

Hi Kelly85, is this particular to this year (or a recent change) or has this always been the case?  This has gotten so much more complex than I thought it was!

Without checking the history of the law, I would guess this has been the law since the 1950s.