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Husband & I, we have a foreign bank account with $100,000 in it, but less than $250,000 in it. I (wife) am the primary holder & husband is secondary holder.
All the interest in it is accrued in my name only. And I am the only one who files an Income Tax return in the Foreign country, not my husband.
How do we report this when we file the return? Do we both file & complete a T1135?
Or just I (wife) do it?
Do we split the amount on each T1135? Say account has $ 150,000 in it. Do we each show just $ 75,000 on each T1135 or the full $ 150,000 on each T1135? (Account is Joint)
What about the bank interest on the account - do we split the interest 50:50 on each return or show 100% on each return?
Thanks
Dear Aliki,
Thank you for reaching out with your question regarding the T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement. I’d be happy to clarify how you and your husband should report your joint foreign bank account.
Reporting the Foreign Bank Account on T1135
Since the account is jointly held, both you and your husband must file separate T1135 forms if your respective shares of the foreign property exceed $100,000 CAD at any time during the year. However, the reporting should reflect the full account balance on each form, rather than splitting it.
- You (the primary account holder) should report the full balance of the account on your T1135.
- Your husband should also report the full balance on his T1135 since the account is jointly held.
- The CRA does not require prorating or splitting the account value between joint owners.
Reporting the Foreign Interest Income
Since all the interest is accrued in your name and you are the only one filing a tax return in the foreign country, you should report 100% of the foreign interest income on your Canadian tax return. Your husband does not need to report any portion of the interest income on his return.