AICPA Urges FinCEN to Extend Automatic Disaster Filing Relief to FBAR and BOI Reporting

AICPA Urges FinCEN to Extend Automatic Disaster Filing Relief to FBAR and BOI Reporting

Washington, D.C. (October 3, 2024) - Following a request to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax and payment filing relief in the wake of Hurricane Helene, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has submitted a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) urging them to implement a policy to offer automatic filing extensions for Reporting of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) and Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports to victims of major disasters.

In the past, FinCEN has provided FBAR filing relief to those impacted by disasters, however there is no mechanism for automatic filing relief in those situations, nor have they been consistent with the IRS when granting this relief. Additionally, given its recent implementation, FinCEN has not offered disaster relief for any BOI reports due. Currently, taxpayers face an FBAR filing deadline of October 15, while hundreds of thousands more still have a year-end, 90-day or 30-day BOI filing requirement.

"The AICPA recommends that FinCEN adopt a policy of automatically granting FBAR and BOI filing postponements to coincide with the IRS's extended due dates when the IRS grants postponements under section 7508A. The relief provided by FinCEN should match the relief provided by the IRS for other filings, both in terms of the extended due dates and the geographic scope," says Sue Coffey, CEO of Public Accounting for the AICPA, in the letter.

"Victims of natural disasters should not have to endure the added stress and uncertainty of various filings with agencies such as the IRS and FinCEN," added Melanie Lauridsen, Vice President of Tax Policy and Advocacy for the AICPA. "Creating consistency and parity for automatic relief between these two agencies would alleviate pressure on taxpayers who are already struggling to rebuild."

About the American Institute of CPAs

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world's largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 415,000 members in the United States and worldwide, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. AICPA sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, not-for-profit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives continuing education to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.

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