# FBAR and NRA Spouse question



## hanksteelbottom (Mar 13, 2014)

Hi again,

Quick recap of my situation before I ask the question:

My Norwegian wife lived with me in the States for about 2 years (many years ago). We applied for and got a work permit for her along with a SSN so she could pay taxes.

Question: On the FBAR form for joint accounts do I have to write her SSN on the form even though she is not nor has ever been a US citizen? I want to write "NRA spouse" on the name, but I worried this will look fishy if I have to write her SSN...

I basically hoping to avoid bringing my non-US citizen wife into FBAR as much as possibe...

thanks in advance! : )


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## hanksteelbottom (Mar 13, 2014)

Just another quick detail if it makes a difference:

I have always filed 1040 as Married Filing Separately but I have given her SSN on the form and left it at that.

I don't know if that makes any difference regarding my FBAR question.

thanks


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

As long as you have been providing her SSN, it probably doesn't make any practical difference whether you give her name or just indicate NRA spouse. They can always just look it up if they really want to know.

I know my resistance to indicating my spouse's name is based on the era when it was "strongly implied" that all NRA spouses needed an ITIN, and I simply did not want to get him one. (At the time, too, they wanted the NRA spouse to go in to the Consulate and even be fingerprinted just to get a stupid ITIN.) 

Frankly, as long as your wife has no US filing obligation, I'd just indicate NRA spouse and be done with it (on both the FBAR and the income tax forms). Unless you've got seriously significant overseas income and/or reportable accounts (and I'm talking millions - not thousands) I'd just go whichever way feels best to you.
Cheers,
Bev


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## hanksteelbottom (Mar 13, 2014)

Thanks once again for putting my mind at ease....it's been a lot of stress lately because of all this


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

There's another thread on this very subject in this very forum, so I'd have a look at that. I'm slightly contrarian on this, apparently. But I'm also correct. 

In short, I entirely fail to see the point in attempting to withhold information the form legally requires you to supply, especially when the government asking already knows the answers.


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## hanksteelbottom (Mar 13, 2014)

I can be a stickler for rules myself, so your self-declared "contrarianism" is understood. But as you say, if it's required then fill it in, but that's sort of my whole point: I'm trying to figure out what IS required. Anyway, I have enough information on this for now, so I'm just going to charge ahead, file all these FBARs and get on with my life. Again though, thanks to everybody for quick answers and different points of views


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