I need to file an FBAR for 2023 because one of my foreign bank accounts exceeded $10,000 at some point during the year. I also have 3 other foreign accounts with very low balances (all under $200, some even at $0). Do I need to report all my foreign accounts on the FBAR, even the ones with zero balances? Any insight here would be greatly appreciated.
No, you only need to report the accounts where balances exceeded $10K during the year.
According to the US Treasury website, an FBAR must be filed if the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. Please view the FBAR line by line instructions.
The term aggregate would suggest that all financial accounts should be reported.
Do you know if we need to split savings and checking accounts held by the same bank account into separate entries, or whether its okay to consolidate those (eg. 2 savings accs and 1 spending account all linked to the same overall bank & user information) ? thanks!
No, according to IRS sources, it suggests that each account be reported. FBAR reporting consist of:
They report you must keep records on these accounts in case these are examined for any reason.
Instructions for FBAR Reporting