Beginning with foreign bank account reports (FinCEN Form 114, known as the FBAR) for the 2016 calendar year, FBARs will be due on April 15 of the following year. A six-month extension to October 15 will be available upon request.
FBARs of U.S. citizens and residents living abroad will be due on June 15 – with an additional four-month extension available to October 15. No additional two-month extension to December 15 will be allowed, however, as is permitted for the tax returns of U.S. persons living abroad.
These changes were part of the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015, enacted on July 31, 2015, and intended to help taxpayers by aligning the timing for tax return and FBAR filings. FinCEN and the IRS still have to sort out procedural details for the new FBAR filing deadlines and extensions – e.g., whether extensions would be filed with the IRS or FinCEN.
Note: The FBAR deadline for calendar year 2015 remains June 30, 2016 (with no extensions allowed).
