I understand that I only need to file Form 8938 Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets if total value of my specified foreign assets is more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year (dual citizen, Canadian resident, married/file separate returns).
My RRSP after the exchange (CDN to US) is just under, by few thousand - the $200,000 threshold. Should I go ahead and file this year or am I being overly-cautious. I'm just not having a good year due to these informational forms!
To file or not to file Form 8938
Moderator: Mark T Serbinski CA CPA
Well. its all foreign assets. did you include your bank accounts, tfsa, etc, and half your joint accounts?
If you did, and the value at year-end is <$200K, then I would NOT file.
If you did, and the value at year-end is <$200K, then I would NOT file.
After 20 years, I am severely cutting back on responses. Do not ask specifically for my help. There are a few others on this board that can answer most questions. All the best
I have no tfsas - nothing that will complicate my tax situation if I can help it. I just have a joint and separate bank account and then there's my RRSPs. I believe I need to file the 8938 because I think I was not calculating the exchange properly. if I use the rate from the last day of the tax year as per the instructions (0.9950). My 203 CDN =204 US. Just my luck!
A follow-up question: I am filing my US taxes now (filed for extension earlier), and I am planning to file 8938 as my Cdn holdings exceed 50k ( I am a US resident). This is the first time I am filing the 8938. Do I need to file for previous 8938's for 2010 and 2011? My understanding is that the rules were only clarified in the summer of '12, but there may still be a requirement to fill them retroactively.
By my reading of the instructions for form 8938 (see the final example on page 4), if you and your wife are filing separately, and if your wife is not a 'specified individual', i.e. does not have enough foreign assets to require her to file her own 8938, then you must include the entire amount (not 50%) of any jointly held assets in determining your total foreign assets. If this is >200K you must file an 8938, and disclose the entire amount of any joint assets on it.