foreign accounts

[gjas1984]

I'm filing jointly with my wife, and I need to add information about foreign accounts. We both have accounts as individual owners. I can add my own accounts plus joint ones, but I don't have an option to add her accounts. What can I do?

[DawnC]

Form 8938 does not require that both names be on Form 8938, if you and your spouse are filing jointly.  For each asset, there is a question on whether the asset is owned jointly with your spouse.   From the Form 8938 instructions:

• Joint ownership with spouse filing joint income tax return. If you and your spouse file a joint income tax return and, therefore, would file one combined Form 8938 for the tax year, include the value of the asset jointly owned with your spouse only once to determine the total value of all the specified foreign financial assets you and your spouse own.
• Married specified individuals filing a joint income tax return. If you are married and you and your spouse file a joint income tax return, report any specified foreign financial asset that you jointly own only once and include the maximum value of the entire asset (and not just the maximum value of your interest in the asset). Also, you must report any specified foreign financial asset that you or your spouse separately owns and include the maximum value of the entire asset. If you and your spouse file a joint income tax return that includes Form 8814, you must report any specified foreign financial asset your child owns only

A joint owner of an asset has an interest in the entire asset.  If you are a joint owner of a specified foreign financial asset, and you cannot use one of the special rules for married individuals who file a joint tax return, you must report the specified foreign financial asset and include the maximum value of the entire asset.

If you are married and you and your spouse file a joint income tax return, you satisfy the reporting threshold only if the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $100,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $150,000 at any time during the tax year.

Enter your name(s) and TIN as shown on the annual return you are filing with Form 8938.  Enter the first TIN shown on your income tax return. (TurboTax prepares Form 8938 for you and will default to using the first SSN on your joint return).   

entering FBAR

entering 8938

[gjas1984]

My question was a bit different, I am doing taxes using TurboTax tools, and there I can add additional foreign bank accounts, mine, or joint with my spouse, I don't have the option to add an account that is solely and exclusively my spouse's, how do I do this using TurboTax tools and not the paper option?

[DaveF1006]

To clarify, what do you mean by completing your return using Turbo Tax Tools? Are you using a online version or the installed software?

@gjasiewicz-gmail 

[gjas1984]

online version

[DaveF1006]

Turbo tax online has the capacity to report as many foreign accounts as needed. Just follow the prompts within the program. As you report each account, it is not necessary to specify the owner for each account.

I realize there is a screen that has an entry asking if this account is a joint account. If you leave that box unchecked, there are no corresponding questions asking which one of you own the account so at this time, i would ignore the question. What is important is that the account is reported on the 8938.

Let us know if this helps.