What are the specified foreign assets that I need to report on form 8938?

If you are required to file Form 8938, you must report your financial accounts maintained by a foreign financial institution.  Examples of financial accounts include:

• Savings, deposit, checking, and brokerage accounts held with a bank or broker-dealer.

And, to the extent held for investment and not held in a financial account, you must report stock or securities issued by someone who is not a U.S. person, any other interest in a foreign entity, and any financial instrument or contract held for investment with an issuer or counterpart that is not a U.S. person.  Examples of these assets that must be reported if not held in an account include:

• Stock or securities issued by a foreign corporation;
• A note, bond or debenture issued by a foreign person;
• An interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap or similar agreement with a foreign counterpart;
• An option or other derivative instrument with respect to any of these examples or with respect to any currency or commodity that is entered into with a foreign counterpart or issuer;
• A partnership interest in a foreign partnership;
• An interest in a foreign retirement plan or deferred compensation plan;
• An interest in a foreign estate;
• Any interest in a foreign-issued insurance contract or annuity with a cash-surrender value. 

The examples listed above do not comprise an exclusive list of assets required to be reported.