(a) Elimination of duplicative reporting of assets—(1) In general. A specified person is not required to report a specified foreign financial asset on Form 8938, “Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets,” if the specified person—

(i) Reports the asset on at least one of the following forms timely filed with the Internal Revenue Service for the taxable year—

(A) Form 3520, “Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts” (in the case of a specified person that is the beneficiary of a foreign trust);

(B) Form 5471, “Information Return of U.S. Persons With Respect To Certain Foreign Corporations”;

(C) Form 8621, “Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund”;

(D) Form 8865, “Return of U.S. Persons With Respect To Certain Foreign Partnerships”;

(E) For taxable years beginning after March 18, 2010, and ending on or before December 31, 2013, Form 8891, “U.S. Information Return for Beneficiaries of Certain Canadian Registered Retirement Plans”; or

(F) Any other form under Title 26 of the United States Code timely filed with the Internal Revenue Service and identified for this purpose by the Secretary in regulations or other guidance; and

(ii) Reports on Form 8938 the filing of the form on which the asset is reported.

(2) Foreign grantor trusts. A specified person that is treated as an owner of a foreign trust or any portion of a foreign trust under sections 671 through 679 is not required to report any specified foreign financial assets held by the foreign trust on Form 8938, provided—

(i) The specified person reports the trust on a Form 3520 timely filed with the Internal Revenue Service for the taxable year;

(ii) The trust timely files Form 3520-A, “Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust With a U.S. Owner,” with the Internal Revenue Service for the taxable year; and

(iii) The Form 8938 filed by the specified person for the taxable year reports the filing of the Form 3520 and Form 3520-A.

(3) Joint Form 5471 or Form 8865 filing. A specified person that is included as part of a joint Form 5471 filing pursuant to § 1.6038-2(j) or a joint Form 8865 filing pursuant to § 1.6038-3(c) and who notifies the Internal Revenue Service as required by § 1.6038-2(i) or § 1.6038D-(3)(c) will be considered to have filed a Form 5471 or Form 8865 for purposes of paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(b) Owner of certain trusts. A specified person that is treated as an owner of any portion of a domestic trust under sections 671 through 678 is not required to file Form 8938 to report any specified foreign financial asset held by the trust if the trust is—

(1) A widely-held fixed investment trust under § 1.671-5; or

(2) A liquidating trust within the meaning of § 301.7701-4(d) of this chapter that is created pursuant to a court order issued in a bankruptcy under Chapter 7 (11 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) or a confirmed plan under Chapter 11 (11 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) of the Bankruptcy Code.

(c) Special rules for bona fide residents of a U.S. possession. A specified individual who is a bona fide resident of a U.S. possession is not required to include the following specified foreign financial assets in the determination of the aggregate value of his or her specified foreign financial assets and, if required to file Form 8938 with the Internal Revenue Service, is not required to report the following specified foreign financial assets:

(1) A financial account maintained by a financial institution organized under the laws of the U.S. possession of which the specified individual is a bona fide resident;

(2) A financial account maintained by a branch of a financial institution not organized under the laws of the U.S. possession of which the specified individual is a bona fide resident, if the branch is subject to the same tax and information reporting requirements applicable to a financial institution organized under the laws of the U.S. possession;

(3) Stock or securities issued by an entity organized under the laws of the U.S. possession of which the specified individual is a bona fide resident;

(4) An interest in an entity organized under the laws of the U.S. possession of which the specified individual is a bona fide resident; and

(5) A financial instrument or contract held for investment, provided each issuer or counterparty that is not a United States person is—

(i) An entity organized under the laws of the U.S. possession of which the specified individual is a bona fide resident; or

(ii) A bona fide resident of the U.S. possession of which the specified individual is a bona fide resident.

(d) Effective/applicability dates. This section applies to taxable years ending after December 19, 2011. Taxpayers may elect to apply the rules of this section to taxable years ending prior to December 19, 2011.

[T.D. 9706, 79 FR 73831, Dec. 12, 2014]