Is non-resident alien required to report FBAR?

[Jack10]

I moved to US in late 2015, actually I only lived in US for 2 weeks in 2015. I filed my 2015 tax return as non-resident alien (1040NR). I wasn't aware of FBAR when I was filing 2015 tax return.

My question is:
Was I required to report FBAR for 2015? Should I do late report if so?

[GeoffreyG · Accepted solution]

The short answer to your question would be no, you do not need to file an FBAR form (for 2015), if you are a nonresident alien (foreign citizen) who lived in the United States for just two weeks in the relevant year.  A longer answer to your question is more detailed, so please continue reading.

There are actually (2) separate foreign financial account disclosure forms that can be applicable to US citizens, resident aliens, and nonresident aliens (and your self-described circumstances would seem to place you in the nonresident alien category).

Of these (2) different disclosure forms, each also has different reporting rules.  One is known as IRS Form 8938, which is filed along with a US income tax return.  The other is FinCen Form 114, which can only be filed via a specific government site on the internet.  The following Internal Revenue Service (IRS) webpage describes both of these disclosure documents in some detail, and provides their US dollar value reporting levels (for 2016):

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/comparison-of-form-8938-and-fbar-requirements

After visiting that link, you can see from reading the IRS summary there that FBAR (a.k.a. FinCen Form 114) does not apply to nonresident aliens.  In other words, nonresident aliens are exempt from FBAR.

Form 8938 disclosure requirements can apply to nonresident aliens, but only those who make an election to be treated as a resident alien for purposes of filing a joint income tax return, along with a US citizen or US resident alien; or those nonresident aliens who are a bona fide resident of either American Samoa or Puerto Rico.

Unless one of those special situations describes you, then none of these foreign account disclosures are applicable to you.  Thus, as a nonresident alien, you do not need to file either Form 8938 or a FinCen 114 (FBAR) disclosure in most instances.  Please keep in mind that the foreign financial account disclosure rules change, however, if or when a nonresident alien becomes a resident alien (for income tax purposes).

Thank you for asking this question.

[Jack10]

Thanks for your detailed explanation!

[Jack10]

Thanks for your detailed explanation!

[Jack10]

Thanks for your detailed explanation!

[raptors1992]

Hello, thank you for a detailed post. Can you please explain "who make an election to be treated as a resident alien for purposes of filing a joint income tax return" when talking about Form 8938? Thank you

[LinaJ2020]

It means, if one person is a nonresident but spouse is a US resident.  In order to file jointly, the resident spouse has an option to make an election to claim the nonresident spouse as a resident.  See here:   Nonresident to resident  Once the election is made, he or she will need to file a Form 8938 if meet the requirements.   8938 vs FinCen However, if the nonresident spouse remains his or her nonresident status, Form 8938 would not apply.

@raptors1992

[raptors1992]

Thanks a ton for the response. So if I'm an individual who will be on a J1 visa working as a resident physician (non-resident alien under trainee under "SPT and exemption") and do not fulfill "a nonresident alien who makes an election to be treated as a resident alien for purposes of filing a joint income tax return", I will not have to fill out form 8938 and FCARB for my foreign investments? Thus, my foreign assets will not be US taxed.