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Got a green card? You may have to file an "FBAR" form.

June 21, 2011

Many Indian citizens work for the insurance industry in Des Moines. It's a fair bet that some of them have inadvertently set themselves up for big potential fines from the IRS for failing to file form TD F 90.22-1, the "FBAR" form, to disclose their bank accounts back home.

The deadline for filing the forms for 2010 is June 30. TaxGrrrl explains how to file in her Forbes blog. She also discusses the "Offshore Voluntary Compliance Program" available for taxpayers who have missed filings for old years.

TaxDood has spells out the stakes:

The penalty for willfully failing to file the FBAR for a given tax year can be as high as the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the total balance of the foreign account per violation. Non-willful violations that the IRS determines were not due to reasonable cause are subject to a $10,000 penalty per violation. These possible penalties are separate and in addition to penalties that may be imposed for failing to report any taxable income associated with the account (e.g., failure to file, failure to pay, 20% accuracy-related penalty, etc.).

So meeting the deadline is important. If you think you might need to file, get on it.

Scenes from the jaywalker hunt

Tags: FBAR.shooting jaywalkers.TaxDood.TaxGrrrl.