Must I report my child's foreign bank account if I'm listed as a parent or guardian?
Checked against official sources on How we check
Short answer
Only if the bank's arrangement gives you a reportable role; being the parent or guardian isn't enough. You report it on your own FBAR if you are a named joint owner or the bank will act on your instructions to withdraw or transfer the money. Your foreign accounts must also total more than $10,000. Separately, your child, if a U.S. person, may need their own FBAR; if they can't sign it, you sign it for them.Source 1Source 2Source 3
How the rule works
Signature authority is the power to move money from an account by instructing the bank directly, alone or together with someone else. If the bank lets you withdraw from or transfer out of your child's account, you have it. If you are named as a joint owner, you have a financial interest instead. If you can only view the account, you have neither. Filing and signing your child's FBAR as parent or guardian doesn't give you signature authority over the account or put it on your own FBAR.Source 1Source 2Source 3
Example
Your U.S.-citizen child has a foreign account worth $15,000 in the child's name, and the bank accepts your instructions to withdraw from it. You include the account on your own FBAR if your foreign accounts total more than $10,000. Your child also needs an FBAR; if the child can't sign it, you file it, sign it and enter “Parent/Guardian filing for child” in Item 45.Source 3Source 2
What to check
Related questions
- Must I report a foreign account shared with my parent if the money is theirs?
- Do I report the full joint account balance or only my ownership share?
- Can my spouse and I file one FBAR together?
- Can spouses file one FBAR if one spouse has signature authority over an employer's foreign account?
- Signature and other authorityWhen being able to move money from an account you don't own makes it reportable.
Full rules and more examples: Joint accounts, spouses and children
Sources
Official sources used for this page.
Source 1: eCFR, 31 CFR § 1010.350 — Reports of foreign financial accounts (opens in a new tab)
Who has a reportable financial interest in accounts, the rule for owners of record and the definition of signature authority.
ecfr.govChecked Back to text
Source 2: IRS, Internal Revenue Manual 4.26.16 — FBAR (opens in a new tab)
Financial interests, signature authority, U.S. residency (including 6013(g)/(h) elections and treaties), family attribution, spousal filing, Form 114a parts and amended-FBAR identifiers.
irs.govChecked Source updated Back to text
Source 3: FinCEN, Filing for Child (opens in a new tab)
Children's independent filing obligations and parent/guardian signature procedure.
fincen.govChecked Back to text