How to File Your FBAR – FREE & EASY
Filing your own FBAR can save you money and it’s quite easy to do.
Once you’ve done it once or twice, you’ll be able to file your FBAR in 15-30 minutes.
Here’s our help guide to filing your own FBAR.
Before you get started on the FBAR form, think about all the non-US bank accounts you have access to.
You need to report every account you have control over.
The bank account doesn’t even need to be your account, it could be a business account or an account you manage for one of your children.
If you’re a treasurer of a club or charity, you may have access to their bank accounts too.
Finally, don’t forget about pension accounts, retirement accounts and trading accounts (stocks/shares/securities) etc.
Next, you’ll need information for each of these accounts.
You’ll need to know the;
• Account number
• Address of the bank/institution
• Highest balance that occurred in the account during the calendar year.
Once you have all this info, you’re already halfway there 🙂
You can only file your FBAR online.
There are two online filing options.
You can download the FBAR PDF to your computer, complete it with your information and then upload it to the FBAR BSA filing service. The benefit of doing it this way is you can save your progress as you go.
The second option is to file your FBAR live on the FBAR BSA filing website, but you cannot save your progress, you must do it one go.
To use the first option (preferred by most), you’ll need Abode Reader installed on your computer or tablet.
If you don’t have Adobe Reader already, you can download using this link, free of charge:
https://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/
When you’re ready to go with Adobe Reader, download the FBAR PDF here:
https://bsaefiling1.fincen.treas.gov/DownloadSaveServlet
On the first page, make up a filing name… something like MY2021FBAR, and then click on the save button.
Save the form somewhere on your computer where you can easily find it again, such as on your desktop.
Next, move to page 2 and complete the personal information section.
Don’t use any unnecessary spaces, symbols, or punctuation.
If you’re in the UK, remove the space from your UK postcode.
Answer 14 needs to be answered and it’s self-explanatory.
Next, move to bank account information.
There are 3 parts to this section, and it’s important you complete the correct part;
1. Accounts in your name only
2. Joint accounts (even if the other person is not a US citizen)
3. An Account that is not yours, but you have control over it.
