As a student on a visa, if you are filing a tax return as a US resident alien, then yes, you may have to declare your bank account in your home country, if the account exceeds certain dollar limits. If you are not a US resident alien for tax purposes, then you are instead classified as a nonresident alien, and you may not have to report your foreign (home country) bank account. This is a detailed answer to your question, so please read it in the entirely so you understand everything.
This area of United States tax law -- for international visitors and foreign citizens -- can be especially difficult to navigate.
For United States tax filing purposes, student visa holders are generally considered "nonresident aliens," unless they can qualify to be resident aliens for US tax purposes. As a nonresident alien, you only need to file a US tax return for taxable income that you receive from US sources. This is unlike resident aliens and US citizens, who must report their worldwide taxable income. Resident aliens are also subject to the same general rules of reporting foreign bank accounts that apply to US citizens.
If you've been present in the United States for long enough, then you can file a tax return as a resident alien, in which case you would simply use the same Form 1040, 1040A, 1040-EZ series that other US taxpayers do. If you must file as a nonresident alien, you will need to file a Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ, plus Form 8843.
Here are some links to learn more about the resident alien test for student visa holders, along with some detailed examples:
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/determining-alien-tax-status
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/alien-residency-examples
While TurboTax can complete most any tax type of tax return for US citizens and resident aliens, at the present time we do not support the nonresident Form 1040NR series of tax returns.
However, TurboTax has partnered with a company called "Sprintax.com" to offer nonresident tax preparation services. They can certainly help you with filing a Form 1040NR; or 1040NR-EZ, as well as any state tax return or foreign account disclosure required. In short, they are a cost-effective way to take care of nonresident tax compliance needs.
For further information you can visit them on the internet at:
https://www.sprintax.com/non-resident-alien-tax-1040nr-turbotax.html
If you do qualify as a US resident alien for tax filing purposes, and use Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ to file your tax return, then you do have to declare (report) that you own a bank account or other financial assets in a foreign country (which is anywhere outside of the USA or its Territories), if the US dollar amount of those accounts are over certain limits.
In fact, there are two separate disclosure forms that may be required here; each also has different reporting rules. One is known as IRS Form 8938, and can be attached to the relevant yearly Form 1040 tax return. The other is FinCen Form 114, which can only be filed via the internet. The following Internal Revenue Service webpage describes them in some detail, and provides their dollar value reporting levels:
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/comparison-of-form-8938-and-fbar-requirements
Form 8938 is included in TurboTax; FinCen Form 114 is not, and you may need to access that reporting webpage separately, if your foreign financial assets total over the limit(s). Note that you can get to the FinCen reporting internet site through the above IRS link.
We know this a lot of information to absorb, as the US tax compliance process can be complicated and confusing. We appreciate that, and have therefore attempted to give you as much instruction and advice as is possible. Thank you for your interest in TurboTax.
