I have a client filing Married Filing Joint and only the wife has bank accounts overseas. How do I prepare the FBAR for just the spouse, without the taxpayer?

[jaddair]

My individual tax client is filing a MFJ return and only the wife has foreign bank accounts and needs to file an FBAR.  The taxpayer (husband) does not.  How to I complete the FBAR so it only lists the spouse's information and does not include the taxpayer?

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

I think you have to split the file into 2 MFS returns then use the wife's MFS return to complete the FBAR for her...personally I just go here and do it outside of ProSeries 

 https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/NoRegFBARFiler.html

[itonewbie]

Not sure about ProSeries but it's like Lacerte/PTO, you can e-file just the spouse's FBAR by checking the box for Spouse and not notating any joint account holder for that account.

Just to add to Lisa's post, the link she referenced is for direct filing by taxpayers.  As a tax preparer, you will need to enroll as a BSA E-Filer.  Once your account is set up, if you don't already have one, you can then log into the portal using your account, prepare the FBAR, and submit it from the website.

https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html

[Accountant-Man]

I do what Lisa says. I split the return and use only the one for the spouse. She has the foreign accounts.

[sjrcpa]

I recall from last year that setting up a separate file for a spouse FBAR is a ProSeries "feature".