8938 foreign financial assets exchange rate info

[tilburn]

Hi crowd:  this may seem somewhat trivial but I want to make sure everything is correct on my US return.  This will be the first time filing foreign financial assets including investments, dividends, interests.  I have already filed the FBAR so that is complete.  FFA entries are of course very similar.  The question I have is that in TT, when entering the values it explicitly in US dollars.  That's fine.  But the next page asks if the funds were being held in foreign currency.  And, they are, so I have been filling out the country, exchange rate, and "US Treasury" which is where I took the exchange rate.

However, I'm looking at a 2019 return completed by professional service, for the same type of entries, and they did not check that box and supply the foreign country, ex rate, and source.

To me when supplying that, it tells the IRS that first amount (max value for the year supplied on first page) was a converted amount.  That's why I put it in there.

I'd just like to know for certain whether or not to put in that info.  Was the professional accountant wrong for not doing that?  Funds in question are held in for foreign currency, so it seems that piece should be answered.

Thanks for more insight on this.

[jtax]

It seems pretty clear that the box should be checked and the exchange rate disclosed. But I could be missing something. 

A lot of times professional skip corners. They might think as long as the USD amount is correct no one will care. I would prefer to do it right. Usually no one will care because no one will look at anything on any particular form. But if it is reviewed you want it right. Especially for something so easy to do.

Check out the 8938 instructions as well.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8938

[tilburn]

I've been looking more at the return, and before at the start of all the foreign asset area, there is a specific country designation to select - so I'm now guessing since they were all for the same country, and that country was selected, that was deemed enough... anyway, maybe I'll just leave them in.

Thanks!