8938 and FBAR

[HOPE2]

Hi, client, she has a superannuation account, HESTA, from Australia (HESTA provide retirement benefits for
workers in the Health and Community Services Sector  is an Australian industry superannuation fund for workers in health and community service sectors. HESTA is run by a Trustee company called H.E.S.T. Australia Limited.

Generally, you can access your super when you've met a condition of release, such as:

• when you've permanently retired or commenced a transition to retirement income stream on or after preservation age, which is now 60 years old
• after reaching age 60 when an employment arrangement ceases
• when you reach 65
• if you become permanently incapacitated
• if you have a terminal medical condition
• under financial hardship conditions.

Her status has been single and US resident as of 2021 till now. Her balance account from 2021-2025 has been always over threshold of 8938 (for 8938:  

• Unmarried individual (or married filing separately): Total value of assets was more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than $75,000 at any time during the year and
• for FBAR :

  Who must file FBAR

  A U.S. person, including a citizen, resident, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust and estate, must file an FBAR to report:

  1. a financial interest in or signature or other authority over at least one financial account located outside the United States if
  2. the aggregate value of those foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported.

  Generally, an account at a financial institution located outside the United States is a foreign financial account. Whether the account produced taxable income has no effect on whether the account is a foreign financial account for FBAR purposes.

  But, you don’t need to report foreign financial accounts that are:

  • Correspondent/Nostro accounts,
  • Owned by a governmental entity,
  • Owned by an international financial institution,
  • Maintained on a U.S. military banking facility, 
  • Held in an individual retirement account (IRA) of which you’re an owner or beneficiary,
  • Held in a retirement plan of which you’re a participant or beneficiary, or
  • Part of a trust of which you’re a beneficiary, if a U.S. person (trust, trustee of the trust or agent of the trust) files an FBAR reporting these accounts.
  •  
  • Do you think a HESTA account should be reported to the IRS and on FBAR? If it is reportable, can I file Form 8938 on paper for each year from 2021 to 2025 separately since it is only an informational report? Also, how about FBAR can still e-file 2021,2022 and 2023

[HOPE2]

Any help please.

[sjrcpa]

I don't know if it is reportable. But, delinquent FBARs can be efiled at the FinCen site but not through Intuit. Intuit treats them like income tax returns and only efiles current year and prior 2 years.

Form 8938 is not a standalone form. It would need to be submitted as part of an amended return.

[HOPE2]

Thanks@ sjrcpa.

For 2021–2022, can I e-file an amended return for a missed Form 8938?

[sjrcpa]

No. You can only efile current year, 2025, and two prior years, 2024 and 2023.