Revised Form for Foreign Bank Accounts

The US Treasury Department has revised Form 90.22-1, the form used to report foreign bank accounts owned or controlled by US citizens. There's some substantial revisions to this form, and they are succinctly outlined by the tax experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers in their two-page handout: Changes to Form TD F 90.22-1 Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.

The most notable changes:

Who must file the report has been expanded from American citizens and resident aliens to include any person or business doing business in the United States. Foreign corporations with US branches, even if they are not otherwise incorporated in America, will need to file a report.

What counts as a foreign bank account has been expanded to include prepaid credit and debt cards.

Specific dollar amounts held in foreign accounts must be reported. Previously the form asked a person to indicate the value of the accounts using rather broad dollar ranges.

Additional parts have been added for people to report accounts held separately, jointly, signature authority, and corporate accounts.