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FBAR deadline extended to Oct. 31 after confusion

By Alistair M. Nevius, J.D.

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2020. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

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After a misworded posting caused confusion about the 2020 deadline to file FBARs (i.e., FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)), Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has extended the deadline to Oct. 31.

Last Wednesday, FinCEN posted a notice to its website saying that this year’s deadline to e-file calendar year 2019 FBARs on the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) E-Filing System had been extended from Oct. 15, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020 (all FBARs must be e-filed). However, on Thursday that notice was no longer available on the FinCEN website and FinCEN had posted a notice clarifying that the extension is only available to victims of recent natural disasters (an extension that had been announced Oct. 6).

On Friday, FinCEN apologized for Wednesday’s mistaken posting and, because some filers may have missed the Oct. 15 deadline due to the notice, announced that it is extending the deadline for calendar year 2019 FBARs to Oct. 31, 2020. (Victims of natural disasters covered by the Oct. 6 notice continue to have a Dec. 31 deadline.)

— Alistair M. Nevius, J.D., (Alistair.Nevius@aicpa-cima.com) is The Tax Adviser’s editor in chief.