


The same goes for a QBU with the USD as their functional currency.įor example, Company B is only in the US and does nearly all of their transactions in the US. Usually, if your functional currency is the USD then you would translate each foreign transaction to USD at the transaction date’s spot rate. You must also make Payments to the IRS in USD. What rate do I use to convert foreign bank account reports, income, and foreign financials?Īmounts reported on the US tax return/informational filings must be in US dollars. It is possible to make an election for a QBU to use the USD as the functional currency if they:ġ) Keep the books and records in USD, ANDĢ) Use a method of accounting that approximates a separate transactions method. They would use the HK$ to determine the QBU’s earnings and profits and then translated to USD for reporting purposes using the appropriate exchange rate. When Person A considers the earnings and profits (E&P) for the year for US purposes, they don’t need to have converted every transaction to USD in order to report E&P. Person A has a business in Hong Kong that does all of the transactions in HK$ and keeps the books and records in HK$. That is unless you are dealing with a qualified business unit (QBU) who finds that a business conducts and records a significant part of the business activities in the currency of the business’ economic environment.įor example, Person A is a US person who lives in Hong Kong. Generally speaking, ‘functional currency’ is the dollar for US tax purposes.

Let’s review four of the most widely asked question regarding a taxpayer’s responsibility when dealing with foreign currency. Taxpayers who have transactions in foreign currencies often wonder what they need to report and how they get the foreign currency into US dollars.
Irs currency exchange rates how to#
Therefore, understanding how to deal with foreign currency is becoming even more relevant. More now than ever people travel, work, and live all around the world.
