Opinion ID: 6112567
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The FBAR’s Statutory and Regulatory Framework

Text: In the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, Pub. L. No. 91–508, 84 Stat. 1114, Congress directed the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate regulations requiring U.S. citizens and others to report their “transaction[s]” and “relationship[s]” with “foreign financial agenc[ies]” to the IRS. Bank Secrecy Act §§ 241–42, 84 Stat. at 1124 (codified as amended at 31 U.S.C. § 5314). In response, the Secretary of the Treasury created the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts form, known as the FBAR. See 31 C.F.R. § 1010.350(a). Treasury regulations provide that each U.S. citizen with interests in or authority over foreign bank accounts with balances exceeding $10,000 must file an annual FBAR identifying and describing those accounts. See id. §§ 1010.306(c), 1010.350(a). The IRS may impose civil penalties on persons who fail to report their foreign bank accounts as provided by the FBAR statute and its implementing regulations. See 31 U.S.C. § 5321(a)(5)(A) (providing that “[t]he Secretary of the Treasury may impose a civil money penalty on any person who violates . . . any provision of section 5314”); 31 C.F.R. § 1010.810(g) (delegating to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue “the authority to: assess and collect civil penalties under 31 U.S.C. [§] 5321”). The IRS “may assess a civil USCA11 Case: 20-12061 Date Filed: 01/25/2022 Page: 5 of 23