Responding to the recent uproar over learning that the revised instructions for the Foreign Bank Account Report (“FBAR”) form[1] may require reporting of interests in foreign private investment funds (e.g., foreign private equity and hedge funds),[2] the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued guidance yesterday extending the June 30, 2009 filing deadline to September 23, 2009 for certain taxpayers. Specifically, the IRS announced that taxpayers who reported and paid tax on all of their 2008 taxable income and who recently learned that they have an FBAR filing obligation but cannot gather the necessary information to file an FBAR form by June 30, 2009, should file a delinquent FBAR report according to the FBAR form instructions, together with a copy of their 2008 tax return, by the new September 23rd deadline. The IRS further stated that, in these situations, the IRS will not impose a penalty (normally $10,000 for non-willful violations and substantially more for willful violations) for failure to file an FBAR. Other taxpayers not covered by yesterday?s guidance must still file their FBAR forms on June 30, 2009.

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