Reporting Interest Income on Federal Tax Returns for foreign CD

I'm sure you know about FINRA and FATCA reporting of foreign assets, so I'll just go into the income tax consequences.

You have to create a reasonable amortization schedule for the account, in the foreign currency. I'd try calculating the amount that would be available at the end of each year, using a fixed instantaneous interest rate, but other schedules might be acceptable. You might want to attach the schedule as an attachment to your return.

If the account is in a foreign currency, you have to convert the annual interest into US$, and report that amount. Currency conversion gain/loss is only reported on actual conversion into another currency.

-- Arthur Rubin, CRTP, AFSP, Brea, CA

Adding to Arthur's reply for clarity....

Any CD issued with a maturity date in excess of one year that does not credit interest at least annually, is considered to be a debt instrument issued at a discount and is subject to OID (Original Issue Discount) rules. You are required to report as interest income the OID as it accrues over the term of the CD. The amount of OID that you report each year as taxable interest is added to your cost of the CD to obtain your adjusted cost basis.