US Supreme Court Rules That the $10,000 FBAR Penalty In Non-Willful Cases Applies On A Per-Report Basis, Not A Per-Account Basis
The facts of the case are simple. Alexandru Bittner—a dual citizen of Romania and the United States — learned of his FBAR reporting obligations in 2011. In 2011, he filed the FBAR reports for 2007 through 2011.
He reported 61 accounts in 2007, 51 in 2008, 53 in 2009 and 2010, and 54 in 2011.
The government imposed a total of $2.72 million in penalties for all the accounts.
Bittner challenged that penalty in court, arguing that the FBAR authorized a maximum penalty of $10,000 per report, not $10,000 per account – totaling $50,000.
The Supreme Court agreed with the Bittner!! In its opinion, the Supreme Court referenced American Expats several times, stating how they were impacted by FBAR!
To read the Supreme Court opinion, see
https://drive.google.com/file/d/195wKWZ0UFTlVtPzyacBePsuXDck0IK7N/view?usp=sharing
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