Foreign Bank Account Interest but no taxable income for 2019 - do i still need to file?

[jmadden16]

For all of 2019 I was studying abroad and did not earn any income, but did have a small amount of interest generated from a foreign bank account (the account's balance being way under the minimum for an FBAR).

Turbotax insists I must upgrade to Deluxe in order to file a 1040 because of having a foreign bank account, despite having a $0 return and no taxable income. Is this accurate? Do I need to file even with no income, because of this bank account interest?

[SusanY1 · Accepted solution]

The amount of interest that you earned will be the primary determinant of whether or not a return is required to be filed in your case.  

Check this Interactive Tax Assistant to determine if you need to file: Do I Need to File a Tax Return?