Need the values of foreign retirment accounts for a foreign resident be reported on the new (and also the old) statements for foreign accounts? What about the increases in value do to reinvested returns and/or increases in value of the investments. Assume that the funds can only be used on retirement or death.
My lawyer says that any _interest-bearing_ foreign account must be reported on IRS forms 8938 and TD F 90-22.1.
It does not matter whether it is a regular checking account, some sort of retirement account, or whatever. The deciding factor for reporting is whether the money deposited on the account earns interest.
For FBAR purposes (the $10K value limit at any time in the year all accounts aggregated), you have to report the maximum value attained in the year and send the FBAR so that it is received no later than 6/30/12.
For FATCA purposes (the $50K value limit at year-end or $75K at any time in the year), you only have to file the form if any income or gains or distributions are reportable on your tax return. If there is nothing to report on your tax return, then the form is not required. Top of my head.... it's an 8938.
Even though the foreign country's law will not allow you do withdraw the interest etc. that you earn on the offshore retirement account, such interest is reportable on the two forms that I mentioned before.
There is a (slight) chance that the U.S. and the foreign country in question have a bilateral tax agreement that states otherwise, but I would not count on it...
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