Do I need to fill in form T D F 90-22.1?

[canuck_girl999]

I filled out form 8891 and chose not to consider my Canadian account as an RRSP as I lost money in it - and have never declared it as a tax treaty RRSP.

I recently found out there is also a form called T D F 90-22.1 which declares the account as a foreign account.

As I'm not taking advantage of the treaty as an RRSP in the US, do I also need to fill out this form?

[nelsona]

Regardless of the fact that you do not avail yourself of the treaty provisions for tax deferral, your RRSP is still classified as 2 things in the eyes of IRS:
1. A foreign account
2. A foreign trust.

#1 means that if your RRSPs as well as any other foreign accounts you have totalled US$10K at any time in the previous year you MUST file a TD F 90-22.1 which includes ALL foreign accounts.


#2 means that you must file a form 3520 for each RRSP account that you hold. This is a complex and time consuming form, and it is much simpler to file Form 8891 instead (again, regardless if you defer taxation or not).

Failure to take steps to satisfy the requirements of #1 and #2 both hold out very high penalty clauses merely for the failure to report these accounts.