# FBAR for NRA spouse working in US



## juanita48 (Jun 25, 2015)

My daughter -- US citizen -- and son-in-law -- NRA with work permit in US -- are living and working in the US, but still have bank accounts in Bolivia.

For tax purposes, they file as "Married, filing jointly". Do they have to send in a joint FBAR, since their tax return includes both of them, or does just she sign the FBAR as an American citizen, including any individual accounts or joint accounts with her husband?

Is it necessary to include any foreign accounts that are only in his name?

Thanks!


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

I'll quote from the instructions:



FinCEN Form 114 Instructions said:


> Certain Accounts Jointly Owned by Spouses. The spouse of an individual who files an FBAR is not required to file a separate FBAR if the following conditions are met: (1) all the financial accounts that the non-filing spouse is required to report are jointly owned with the filing spouse; (2) the filing spouse reports the jointly owned accounts on a timely filed FBAR electronically signed (PIN) in Item 44; and (3) the filers have completed and signed Form 114a, "Record of Authorization to Electronically File FBAR’s" (maintained with the filers’ records). Otherwise, both spouses are required to file separate FBARs, and each spouse must report the entire value of the jointly owned accounts. See instructions for specific items, Part III, Items 25-33.


So, from your description, your son-in-law must file FinCEN Form 114 (inclusive of all foreign financial accounts -- that includes accounts only in his name, yes). If your daughter's only foreign financial accounts are accounts she holds jointly with her husband, then she can participate in his filing (and does not need to file a separate report), as explained in the instructions. If she has her own individual foreign account, signature authority over another foreign account, or another joint foreign account then she would need to file her own FinCEN Form 114.


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