Brief Information on FBAR
If you or your spouse combined account balance in Indian bank accounts crossed more than 10,000 $ (i.e., 6,30,000 INR) at any given day in 2014 you need to file FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report).
OR
If you or your spouse's combined Asset value in Foreign Countries crossed more than 50,000$ at any given day in 2014 then you need to file FBAR. (Assets includes: Bank deposits, Stocks value, Mutual fund values, Partnership investment value in any business, Life Insurance account value-Do not include house, land, apartment values)
IRS will not assess any tax on this amount but failing in disclosing this information may result in IRS penalties.
Last day for FBAR submission is Jun 15, 2015
Should I file it?
I had the same question. I discussed this with couple of my friends and used my judgement to file it. I have been hearing about this from last few years and every year, during tax filing season, I would fall into the same dilemma. One of my friend suggested this - "If you want to be in USA for a longer period of time, for now, then you should file it."
Indian government is coming up with detailed plan to track all of your assets through Aadhar, so it is just a matter of time, when India & USA government agencies, including Banking sector will have tie-up to exchange information. When this becomes mandatory or strictly enforced, then it would be really hard to file for one big lump-sum amount. The question would be - "How did you accumulate everything in one year". Anyway, that was my two cents. So, use your judgement.
Filing Information
I filed this through my CPA who charges $20 for a single Joint Account. You could reach out to him at taxfiling@taxcooler.com. If you would like to give my reference it would be Mukesh Kumar (mukeshietk@gmail.com)
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