# Problems filing FBAR



## csd440

Hi all,

So I thought I had filed my FBAR forms, but I just went to print out the docs for my files and all I can see is this:

_Please wait...

If this message is not eventually replaced by the proper contents of the document, your PDF viewer may not be able to display this type of document.

You can upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Reader for Windows®, Mac, or Linux® by visiting Adobe Reader Install for all versions.

For more assistance with Adobe Reader visit ...._

Now I did fill out the forms and save them, but it seems all I have submitted to FinCen is the above. Great. Has anyone else had this issue? I have a MAC but did the forms on my husbands laptop but still had issues despite using a PC. Why is it so difficult grrrrrrr. So basically ive submitted nothing and have to start over.


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## BBCWatcher

Are you seeing that message on your Mac? That's what you would see if you're using Apple's Preview as your PDF viewer, for example. (Or as your Web browser plug-in.)

Only genuine Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Adobe Acrobat) seems to work, and only Version 10 or higher. (I haven't had success this year with the older Version 9.x available on Linux.)

Yes, this is bad. The U.S. Treasury Department needs to move the filing system to conventional, open Web standards.


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## csd440

So I refilled it all out, this time I managed to do it on my MAC using safari. I saved it, opened it again and this time I can see the file YAY. But when I went to submit it, there is a note on the page saying do not submit if its already been submitted. Talk about doubting myself now. I'm bloody gunna have to call them to see if they somehow got the original filing. Ughhhhhh. Sorry, just venting now. I dunno how many things I submit online without issue but this one is crazy. I think Fincen have a special department that specialises in overcomplicating forms and procedures just so someone can screw up and they can nail them to the wall for incompetence.


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## BBCWatcher

A couple tips:

1. Although you can file FinCEN Form 114 without creating an account and logging into that account on the FinCEN Web site, it is useful to do exactly that (create an account, log in, and file FinCEN Form 114 from that account). A proper account provides greater tracking ability.

2. Check your e-mail inbox to see if you have any e-mails from FinCEN. Also check your junk mail folder in case your e-mail provider pushed it there. (I think they also have a U.S. toll-free number you can call to check on the status of your filing.)

3. FinCEN uses some status words like "Acknowledged" and "Accepted" that are a bit confusing. "Accepted" appears to mean that your form has been accepted for filing -- that it has passed the front gates, as it were -- not that the processing of your form has been completed.

The basic problem, I think, is that the expected audience for this whole system was financial institutions and professional accountants and tax preparers. That was a fairly reasonable assumption in the 1970s and 1980s, probably. US$10,000 was (and sometimes still is) a lot of money! When you're designing a filing system only for people who do this sort of thing for a living, full-time, then your design doesn't have to be particularly friendly to members of the public who might use the system for 10 minutes once per year.

Well, the world has changed, and the U.S. Treasury really needs to shift FinCEN Form 114 filing to a system that supports open Web standards, that works on any browser (including browsers on smartphones and tablets). That's not too hard, technically, but Congress might have to appropriate some money.


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