FinCEN Withdraws Notice regarding Dec 31 2020 deadline
FinCEN Clarifies FBAR Extensions
October 16, 2020
On October 14, 2020, FinCEN posted an incorrect message on its Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) E-Filing website. FinCEN removed it within 24 hours. The message incorrectly stated there was a new filing extension until December 31, 2020 for all filers of Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs). The extension until December 31, 2020, however, is intended only as an accommodation for victims of recent natural disasters covered in FinCEN’s October 6, 2020 notice (https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/Notice-Extend%20FBAR%20Due%20Date%20for%202020%20Disaster%20Victims-Final%2020201005.pdf).
FinCEN apologizes for the error and any confusion this has caused, and has coordinated with the IRS to address the concerns of filers who may have missed their filing deadline due to the October 14, 2020 message.
Filers who file their 2019 calendar year FBAR by October 31, 2020 will be deemed to have timely filed. As set out in the October 6 notice, FBAR filers impacted by recent natural disasters continue to have until December 31, 2020 to file their FBARs.
https://www.fincen.gov/fincen-clarifies-fbar-extensions
URGENT!
FinCEN Withdraws Notice!
Only FBAR Filers in Natural Disaster Area Extended to 12/31/2020!
At approximately 4:26 pm Eastern on October 15, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued an email blast that its announcement on October 14, 2020 extending the deadline for filing Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs) (FinCEN Form 114) was in error. The erroneous October 14, 2020 post read:
The FBAR deadline for Federal tax year 2019 has been moved from 15 Oct 2020 to 31 Dec 2020. If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact the BSA E-Filing Help Desk.
Earlier today, however, the announcement of the extension to December 31, 2020 disappeared from FinCEN’s website with no explanation. It was later replaced by the following announcement:
FBAR Clarification
October 15, 2020
An October 14, 2020 posting on the BSA E-Filing website implied a filing extension for all Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) filers until December 31, 2020. The extension until December 31, 2020 is only available for victims of recent natural disasters:
FinCEN’s clarifying announcement can be found here.
As stated in the announcement, for filers residing in an area affected by a recent natural disaster as specified in FinCEN’s October 6, 2020 announcement, which can be found here, the extended FBAR deadline remains December 31, 2020.