If your prior FBARs listed your personal Australian accounts and left out your self-managed super fund (SMSF), start by checking what the fund held and what authority you had over its accounts in each calendar year. Then compare those records with the FBARs and U.S. returns you actually filed. That review helps establish whether anything needs to be corrected.
1. Pull the records for each year
Find the filed FBAR and its electronic acknowledgment for each year you are reviewing. Acknowledgments help confirm submission, while the filed reports show which accounts you listed. Gather complete U.S. returns with attachments, including any Form 8938 or foreign trust filings, and retain any notices about those years.
Write down when you lived in Australia and when you moved to the United States. U.S. citizens generally remain subject to U.S. reporting rules while abroad. Residence can still matter for Form 8938 thresholds and eligibility for a correction procedure. See the IRS filing guidance for U.S. citizens and residents abroad.
2. Identify the SMSF accounts and who could direct transactions
Use the trust deed, trustee or director appointments, bank mandates, and broker records to identify the fund’s accounts. For each account, record the legal account holder, your role, who could direct transactions with the institution, and when that authority began or ended. If more than one U.S. person is involved, review each person’s interest and authority.
Collect statements showing the highest account values for each calendar year, with the original currency and relevant dates. An Australian annual report may use a different reporting period or show only a closing balance. The FBAR generally uses the maximum value of reportable accounts during the calendar year and applies a $10,000 aggregate threshold. See FinCEN’s FBAR rules and instructions.
3. Compare the findings with the filed returns
For each year, make a short list of what the FBAR reported, what the return and its attachments reported, and what remains unresolved. Flag changes in trustee authority, employer contributions or rollovers, payments, and investments that may require further analysis. An interest in the fund can raise a Form 8938 question under rules that differ from the FBAR. If the arrangement is a foreign trust for U.S. purposes, review Forms 3520 and 3520-A and any applicable relief for that year. See the U.S. tax guide to Australian superannuation and SMSFs.
Preserve prior written advice along with the facts you provided to the adviser at the time. Record who gave the advice, which fund and years it covered, and when you first identified a possible gap. This helps reconstruct what happened if a correction procedure calls for an explanation.
4. Choose a correction procedure based on what the review finds
The next step depends on whether a required FBAR, an income-tax item, or another international form was missed. If you already filed an FBAR for the year, check whether it needs an amendment. If other returns or tax items are affected, evaluate the filings together and consider any prior IRS contact before choosing a procedure. The Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures have eligibility requirements, including a certification of non-willful conduct. See the IRS guidance on delinquent FBARs and the IRS Streamlined eligibility rules.
For help reviewing past filings, see Colorado Legal’s guides to FBAR filing and delinquent international information returns.
Example: A brokerage account opened before a move
In this fictional example, a U.S. citizen spent several years in Australia and was a director of the company that acted as the SMSF trustee. The fund opened a brokerage account while the member lived abroad. After the member moved to the United States, the brokerage updated its signing mandate. The member’s earlier FBARs listed a personal savings account.
The review starts with the original and updated mandates and the brokerage statements. They help establish when the member could direct transactions and which calendar years to examine. The member statements and filed returns then help determine whether any other U.S. tax or reporting questions need attention.
Review your SMSF and prior U.S. filings
Schedule a $500 Tax Attorney Consultation with Philip M. Falco, Attorney & CPA. Use the secure upload step to provide the deed, account statements, prior filings, and any written advice. The consultation covers up to one hour total for review, analysis, preparation, and the call. Any corrective filings or ongoing work require a separate engagement.