Hyderabad: Indian workers and green card holders in the United States, if their combined balances of their Indian financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during 2025, should file documentation with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by October 15. Failure to comply could lead to heavy financial penalties.
The requirement came under the Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) rules, administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The report is filed using FinCEN Form 114. The deadline for reporting accounts held during 2025 was April 15, 2026, with an automatic extension until October 15.
According to the IRS, the requirement applies to US citizens and residents who have a financial interest in, or signature authority over, foreign financial accounts. Green card holders and Indian workers who qualify as US residents for tax purposes are a part of the FBAR, which also includes H-1B, L-1 and O-1 holders.
The threshold for reporting is fixed at $10,000. If any foreign national, who has an aggregate of more than $10,000 in their accounts at any point of time in 2025, they must report the same through FBAR to the IRS.
Indian bank accounts, including Non-Resident External (NRE) and Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) accounts, fixed deposits and joint accounts need to be reported in an FBAR. Other financial accounts and investments, including demat accounts and certain retirement or savings arrangements, must also be assessed under the applicable rules.
Importantly, the $10,000 threshold applies to the combined value of reportable foreign financial accounts, not to each account separately. For example, a person with $4,000 in an NRE account, $3,000 in an NRO account and $4,000 in a fixed deposit would cross the threshold and has to file an FBAR.
The obligation applies even if the accounts did not earn taxable income. The maximum value of the accounts during the calendar year must be considered when determining the reporting requirement.
Failure to file can attract civil penalties, with higher penalties possible for deliberate violations. According to the IRS, a $16,536 penalty will be incurred if it is a non-willful violation. But if the IRS determines the violation is intentional and willful, the penalty is $165,353 or 50% of the account balances, whichever is greater.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
