Form 3520-a and calculating exchange rate fluctuations

mrsjack · Post by **mrsjack** » Sat Feb 18, 2017 12:27 pm

Hi. We're in the UK, but you guys have such good information on filling out form 3520-a that's it's been a HUGE help to us.

I have to fill in a 3520-a for my stakeholder pension. It looks like a grantor trust to the IRS. For the last couple years our (breathtakingly expensive) tax accountant has been doing the form for us. We can trace all the numbers on the trust balance sheet except for the "Other" entry. Our accountant has put in a number as "unrealised exchange rate gain".

Anybody know how this is calculated? We have all the historic exchange rates for this and the previous year's reporting. We can make the numbers work in one place but not the end-of-year calculations.

Thanks.

Michele

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Sat Feb 18, 2017 5:19 pm

With the exorbitant price comes the right to ask them how they come up with the numbers, so that you can do it your self. I would call them.

mrsjack · Post by **mrsjack** » Sat Feb 18, 2017 6:24 pm

Yes, it may come to that but it's Saturday and we are working on the forms now. With a bit of arithmetic we were hoping to avoid a few rounds of email tag with the assorted assistants that protect the accountants.

Michele

CdnAmerican · Post by **CdnAmerican** » Sat Feb 18, 2017 8:15 pm

Perhaps the accountant has figured it out in a backwards way .. .computing the total value in US$ at the very bottom, and then subtracting out the prior year value, the investment gains, and your contributions for the year? Just a guess..

mrsjack · Post by **mrsjack** » Sun Feb 19, 2017 6:41 am

Hello CdnAmerican! It's your tutorial we've been using to make sense of the 3520-a. Many thanks for that.

The backwards calculation is the one we have been using also. All the numbers drop into place except for one, so it looks like a call to Captain Expensive is inevitable. All the accountants who specialise in US taxes over all are driving brand new Jags. It makes my brain want to explode.

Thanks again.

Michele

CdnAmerican · Post by **CdnAmerican** » Sun Feb 19, 2017 7:53 pm

Darn - I was hoping that would do the trick! The only other things I could think of would be distributions (which would probably be accounted for on a higher line) or contributions (ditto). Good luck!

mrsjack · Post by **mrsjack** » Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:08 am

That's useful to know, too. We are going to tackle our daughter's next and hers WILL have contributions.

Thanks again for having taken the time to write all those instructions out.

Michele