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I have purchased a home by taking a home loan in foreign country. Should the foreign bank details be reported even though there is no taxable income?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 3, 2019
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Also, is the mortgage interest tax deductible ? if so, can i do it without submitting 1098 form and just registering my foreign bank account and attaching the year end statement

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Best answer by Fern

FBAR reporting is required for financial assets. A person who holds a foreign financial account may have a reporting obligation even when the account produces no taxable income. There may be circumstances (escrow amounts for example.) where a foreign mortgage would trigger financial reporting.

You can deduct property tax paid outside the US. The US tax code makes no distinction between property located in the US and property in a foreign country, when it comes to deducting mortgage interest or property taxes. You do have to translate the amount paid into US dollars. See https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Yearly-Average-Currency-Exchange-Rates for help with the translation rate.

In Turbo Tax you will indicate that you did not receive a 1098 for this mortgage.

F

FernAnswer

Employee

FBAR reporting is required for financial assets. A person who holds a foreign financial account may have a reporting obligation even when the account produces no taxable income. There may be circumstances (escrow amounts for example.) where a foreign mortgage would trigger financial reporting.

You can deduct property tax paid outside the US. The US tax code makes no distinction between property located in the US and property in a foreign country, when it comes to deducting mortgage interest or property taxes. You do have to translate the amount paid into US dollars. See https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Yearly-Average-Currency-Exchange-Rates for help with the translation rate.

In Turbo Tax you will indicate that you did not receive a 1098 for this mortgage.