I’ve been asked by some of my gambling clients about ePassporte, an e-wallet that’s now in widespread use. The question that has arisen is whether ePassporte is a foreign bank account like Neteller was.
It’s hard to figure this out from ePassporte’s web site. Their official name is “ePassporte, N.V.” which certainly doesn’t sound like an American entity. The whois for their domain returns an address in Curacao. ePassporte offers banking services, so if they’re a foreign company they would meet the requirements of a foreign bank under Treasury Department regulations.
So where is ePassporte headquarted? They’re headquartered in St. Kitts, part of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the smallest independent nation in the Caribbean. So if you have an account at ePassporte it is a foreign bank account. If you’re a US citizen and your high balances in any foreign bank accounts when added together add up to $10,000 or more, you must file Form TD F 90-22.1 and check the box on Schedule B. If you willfully don’t file Form TD F 90-22.1 the minimum fine is $100,000.
So if you have foreign bank accounts and meet the threshold of reporting make sure you comply. You have until June 30th for your report to make its way to the Department of the Treasury (this form is file with the Treasury, not the IRS).
Tags: FBAR