Does Treasury Department Confirm Receipt of FBARs?

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beaconhill
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:42 am

Does Treasury Department Confirm Receipt of FBARs?

Post by beaconhill »

I am a US citizen who moved to Canada when I was three years old. In the summer of 2011 I learned I was obligated to file US tax returns and FBARs. I completed and sent in the past eight years of delinquent FBARs (2003 to 2010). I then kept current by submitting FBARs for 2011 and 2012. But I never received any confirmation from the Treasury Department. Do they usually send something? Could that be considered them accepting a quiet disclosure?
Thanks very much for any help on this matter.
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

Not unless there is an error.
Now of course, the FinCEN process sends an e-knowledgement.
When they want money they will tell you.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
beaconhill
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:42 am

Post by beaconhill »

[quote="nelsona"]Not unless there is an error.
Now of course, the FinCEN process sends an e-knowledgement.
When they want money they will tell you.[/quote]
I understand the need to become compliant. I guess the bigger question for me is how do you know if they have accepted a submission? When I first sent in FBARS, I explained my situation and the reasons I had not previously filed. If I haven't gotten a response, does that mean they rejected my reasons and I'm still subject to fines, they accepted my reasons and I'm now in good standing, or am I in limbo, with my fate to be determined later? How do I know they even received my forms?
rafa02
Posts: 95
Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 3:18 pm

Post by rafa02 »

Unfortunately I cannot offer much help, but I can tell you that a few years ago, Treasury provided a phone number that we could call and receive confirmation of our FBAR filing (for current and previous years). I have not tried phoning since I started E-filling and getting confirmation directly from the BSA website, and I just tried searching to find the number and was unable to do so - perhaps it is no longer available, but you might be able to track down this number, if still available.
K104XYZ
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 11:05 am
Location: Calgary AB

Post by K104XYZ »

beaconhill,

Similar to you, I sent in 7 years’ worth of paper FBARs to the IRS Detroit Computing Center P.O. Box address for FBAR submissions, in April 2011 (for 2004-2009 retro years, plus the then current year 2010), with a covering letter explaining why I was filing late. I did not hear anything at all, either.

But the IRS did (back then) offer the availability of getting a confirmation, if you asked. Besides a phone number that you could call, there was also an address that you could write to, and for $5 you could request confirmation of a few years’ worth of FBARs. So I wrote in May 2012 to request confirmation that they had received my 2010 FBAR, and paid the $5. I received a response several weeks later saying that they had received it in April 2011, so then I knew that they had received my whole submission. That was the end of it.

I don’t know if anyone in Detroit would now still answer a letter if you sent one. But if you want to try, the special verification request address was:

IRS Enterprise Computing Center Detroit
ATTN: Verification
P.O. Box 32063
Detroit MI 48232

Also, there was/is an email address where you can ask questions – why not send a note and ask about verification of receipt – see below.

FBAR Assistance
Questions regarding the FBAR can be sent to FBARquestions@irs.gov.
exPenn
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Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: GTA

Post by exPenn »

I did the same thing several years ago. Sent in 7 years back tax returns and 7 years FBARs to become compliant. I sent both packages by registered mail, so I would get a singed and dated receipt as proof that they received them. I once tried the 1-800 phone number to request an FBAR receipt, but of course, it didn't work from Canada. Apparently it never occured to the IRS that people required to report foreign bank accounts might actually live in a foreign country.

Regarding taxes, if you go on the IRS website you can order a statement of your tax account that will be sent through the mail. This lists any taxes, interest and penalties owing. I order one evey year. This should be cumulative, so if you are compliant, there should be nothing owing.
nelsona
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Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

As I said, if they want money from you, they will certainly let you know.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
MGeorge
Posts: 313
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:23 am
Location: Canada

Post by MGeorge »

I was able to get an FBAR receipt confirmation but calling the 1-800 number using google phone from my work computer. I can't get google phone to work these days though.

When you file online through fincen, you get 2 status messages.
The first one says "accepted" with a number. I think it also says the information will be transmitted to Treasury.
The second one says "acknowledged" - with a confirmation number.

That's as much as I've ever received.
------------------------------
MGeorge is neither an accounting nor taxation professional.
beaconhill
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:42 am

Post by beaconhill »

[quote="rafa02"]Unfortunately I cannot offer much help, but I can tell you that a few years ago, Treasury provided a phone number that we could call and receive confirmation of our FBAR filing (for current and previous years). I have not tried phoning since I started E-filling and getting confirmation directly from the BSA website, and I just tried searching to find the number and was unable to do so - perhaps it is no longer available, but you might be able to track down this number, if still available.[/quote]
Thank you - I will look into that.
beaconhill
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:42 am

Post by beaconhill »

[quote="K104XYZ"]beaconhill,

Similar to you, I sent in 7 years’ worth of paper FBARs to the IRS Detroit Computing Center P.O. Box address for FBAR submissions, in April 2011 (for 2004-2009 retro years, plus the then current year 2010), with a covering letter explaining why I was filing late. I did not hear anything at all, either.

But the IRS did (back then) offer the availability of getting a confirmation, if you asked. Besides a phone number that you could call, there was also an address that you could write to, and for $5 you could request confirmation of a few years’ worth of FBARs. So I wrote in May 2012 to request confirmation that they had received my 2010 FBAR, and paid the $5. I received a response several weeks later saying that they had received it in April 2011, so then I knew that they had received my whole submission. That was the end of it.

I don’t know if anyone in Detroit would now still answer a letter if you sent one. But if you want to try, the special verification request address was:

IRS Enterprise Computing Center Detroit
ATTN: Verification
P.O. Box 32063
Detroit MI 48232

Also, there was/is an email address where you can ask questions – why not send a note and ask about verification of receipt – see below.

FBAR Assistance
Questions regarding the FBAR can be sent to FBARquestions@irs.gov.[/quote]
Thanks for all your help - really appreciated.
beaconhill
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:42 am

Post by beaconhill »

[quote="exPenn"]I did the same thing several years ago. Sent in 7 years back tax returns and 7 years FBARs to become compliant. I sent both packages by registered mail, so I would get a singed and dated receipt as proof that they received them. I once tried the 1-800 phone number to request an FBAR receipt, but of course, it didn't work from Canada. [b]Apparently it never occured to the IRS that people required to report foreign bank accounts might actually live in a foreign country. [/b]

Regarding taxes, if you go on the IRS website you can order a statement of your tax account that will be sent through the mail. This lists any taxes, interest and penalties owing. I order one evey year. This should be cumulative, so if you are compliant, there should be nothing owing.[/quote]
Thanks a lot. Bold above made me laugh - well done.
beaconhill
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:42 am

Post by beaconhill »

[quote="nelsona"]As I said, if they want money from you, they will certainly let you know.[/quote]
Thank you - good point. Can you tell me if there is a statue of limitations for them assessing penalties on the FBARS I submitted.
nelsona
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Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

Typically, it matches the time period you had to backfile, so 6 years from time you filed.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over this, nor waste any time calling them.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
nelsona
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Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

I've submitted FBARS for 15 years and only got one nete for a missing value one time, otherwise silence.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
beaconhill
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:42 am

Post by beaconhill »

[quote="nelsona"]I've submitted FBARS for 15 years and only got one nete for a missing value one time, otherwise silence.[/quote]
Thanks - that's good to know.
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