FBAR maximum account value question

[Shogun159]

My mom immigrated to the US in Oct 2023. She has a foreign bank account. Prior to moving to the US, her account's value was around 100k. After moving to the US, which is after Oct, the account's value was at 50k.

When filling FBAR for 2023, should her maximum account value is 50k instead of 100k? ( counting from Oct till now, she was Nonresident before Oct)

[SusanY1 · Accepted solution]

Since no tax is associated with the FBAR/FinCEN 114 form, I'd err on the side of caution and list the highest value for the full calendar year ($100,000) rather than the amount that corresponds with her time as a resident. 

There isn't much guidance on this sort of matter aside from some recent litigation that is still not entirely settled (and which is a bit different from the situation you describe, though still dealing with dual status aliens).  

There's no harm that comes from reporting the higher value and it'll avoid the potential for any penalty for not reporting correctly.  

[pk]

@Shogun159 , while agreeing  with my colleague @SusanY1  , I  am just wondering what you mean by immigrating --- do you mean that she came here in October 2023 as a permanent resident  ( GreenCard) or on a visa or did she become a US citizen  when she entered the USA ?

pk