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Topic · Corrections

Correcting a filed FBAR or Form 8938: a missing account, a wrong account number, a wrong maximum value

The two reports are corrected in two different ways. An FBAR is replaced by a complete amended FBAR; a Form 8938 can only travel with an amended income tax return. Which one your mistake needs — and whether it needs either — depends on what was actually wrong.

By Danilson Ramos · Founder, Atamatax

Updated October 2026

Check it for your own assets

Do you need to file Form 8938?

Four questions, no figures typed. The thresholds depend on where you live and how you file, so the module states your own pair before it asks.

Free, no account, nothing you answer leaves this page. Open the full FBAR / Form 8938 checker

Are you a U.S. citizen, green-card holder or U.S. tax resident?

Including dual citizens, residence from time spent in the U.S., and an election to be treated as a resident for a joint return — whether or not you have ever filed a U.S. return.

A threshold screen, not a filing determination. The thresholds come from the same rule the product uses; whether a specific asset is 'specified' is a question the full checker and the form's instructions answer.

The mistakes are mundane and common: an account typed with one digit wrong, a leading zero that a spreadsheet silently dropped, an account closed early in the year and forgotten, a maximum value taken from the wrong statement, a joint account listed twice, a Form 8938 that never made it into the return. None of them is fixed by doing nothing, and none of them is fixed by refiling everything. Each report has its own correction route.

Which correction fixes which mistake

What went wrongFBAR (FinCEN Form 114)Form 8938
An account was left off a filed FBARA complete amended FBAR that lists every account for that yearCheck separately whether the asset also belonged on that year's Form 8938
An account number is wrong — including a lost leading zeroA complete amended FBAR with the number exactly as the institution issues itWhether a Form 8938 with the same error warrants an amended return is a judgment made on the facts
A maximum value is wrongA complete amended FBAR with the corrected maximum valueForm 8938 reports its own values; check them on their own terms
The same account appears twice, or an owner's details are wrongA complete amended FBAR with the account listed once and the details correctedOnly if the filed Form 8938 carries the same error
Form 8938 was left off a filed returnNo FBAR change, unless the FBAR has an error of its ownThe form goes in with an amended return for that year — never on its own
The FBAR was never filed at allNot an amendment: a late FBAR—
Two reports, two agencies, two processes. The FBAR goes to FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing System; Form 8938 goes to the IRS with the income tax return it belongs to. The Form 8938 instructions say plainly that filing Form 8938 does not relieve you of the FBAR, so fixing one never fixes the other.

How an amended FBAR is filed

  1. Find the BSA Identifier of the FBAR you are correcting — it is in the acknowledgment you received when the original was filed electronically.
  2. Start a new FBAR in FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System and check “Amended” in Item 1.
  3. Enter the original's Prior Report BSA Identifier in the block provided. If it is not known, IRS guidance is to enter 00000000000000.
  4. Complete the report in its entirety using the amended information — every account for that year, including the ones that were already right.
  5. Enter account numbers as text, exactly as the institution issues them. Take them from the statement, not from a spreadsheet that may have turned them into numbers.
  6. Keep the amended acknowledgment with the original's. Together they are your record of what was reported, when, and what changed.

Form 8938 travels with the return

Form 8938 is an attachment, not a report of its own. The instructions say not to send a Form 8938 to the IRS unless it is attached to an annual return or an amended return, and that if you do not have to file an income tax return for the year, you do not have to file Form 8938 either. A corrected or omitted Form 8938 is therefore a question about amending that year's return — on Form 1040-X for an individual — and the amended return is recomputed as a whole, not only on the line that prompted it.

Account numbers are text, and missing digits are never guessed

An account or reference number such as 0100000 is a label, not a quantity. Opened in a spreadsheet, it can become 100000; a long one can become 1.23457E+15. Once that has happened the original digits are gone, and the correct fix is to take the number again from the bank or broker statement — not to pad it with zeros to a length that looks right. Atamatax stores and exports identifiers as text for exactly this reason, and an import that arrives already damaged is flagged rather than repaired.

Do I have to correct every year?

Each FBAR and each return is its own report for its own year. Only the reports that were actually wrong need correcting, and a year can need an FBAR correction, a return correction, both or neither. Whether a small discrepancy warrants a correction at all is a judgment on the facts, which is why this page does not tell you to ignore it, and does not tell you to amend everything.

What Atamatax does here: free case scoping reads what was filed and what was wrong, report by report and year by year, and tells you which corrections the facts point to. Where correction work is needed it is scoped and priced in writing before anything is charged. The amended FBAR is filed by you, or by the professional engaged for it — not by this page, and not automatically.

Describe what was wrong

Free case scoping: which years, which report, what was filed and what the statements show. A person reads it; nothing is charged and nothing is filed by starting.

Describe what was wrong

Authorities cited

Primary sources (Cornell Legal Information Institute for the US Code and CFR; IRS.gov for forms, procedures, and treaty documents). This page is general information, not individualized tax or legal advice.

Atamatax provides tax preparation support and educational resources. This website does not constitute legal or tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

How do I amend an FBAR?#
File a new FBAR through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System with “Amended” checked in Item 1, enter the Prior Report BSA Identifier of the original FBAR, and complete the whole report again with the corrected information — every account for that year, not only the one that was wrong.
What if I can't find the original FBAR's BSA Identifier?#
The identifier is in the acknowledgment of the original electronic filing. If it cannot be found, IRS guidance on amending a filed FBAR is to enter 00000000000000 as the Prior Report BSA Identifier and complete the amended report in full.
Can I send a corrected Form 8938 on its own?#
No. The Form 8938 instructions say not to send it to the IRS unless it is attached to an annual return or an amended return. Correcting a Form 8938 means amending the return for that year.
If I correct my Form 8938, is my FBAR corrected too?#
No. They are separate reports to separate agencies, and filing Form 8938 does not relieve you of the FBAR. Each one is checked and corrected on its own.
My spreadsheet removed a leading zero from an account number. What now?#
Take the number again from the bank or broker statement and enter it as text, exactly as issued. Do not reconstruct it by adding zeros to a guessed length; if the number on a filed FBAR was wrong, that FBAR is corrected with a complete amended report.
Is correcting an FBAR the same as the Streamlined procedures?#
No. An amendment corrects a report that was filed. Streamlined addresses returns and FBARs that were not filed, under its own conditions. A correction situation is not automatically a Streamlined case, and the route depends on what was and was not filed.

Related guides

Preparation · price before you start

If you want the return and the account reporting prepared

Which route fits depends on a few facts, not on the balances. These are the common situations and the route the same rules give each one. Nothing is charged until you generate a package or accept a written quote.

  1. Returns up to date, accounts over the thresholds, no non-US funds

    Simple · $299 · Self-serve preparation

    The threshold is met and no non-US fund is in play: the Simple package prepares the return with the FBAR and Form 8938 logic inside it.

    What arrives, who prepares and checks it, and who files

    A draft filing package for one tax year: Form 1040 and the supported schedules, Form 1116 inputs, FBAR/Form 8938 threshold logic and filing instructions — with every assumption disclosed.

    The Atamatax engine prepares a draft package from the figures you enter and confirm. No person prepares it.

    Nobody at Atamatax reviews it before you download it. A package generated with an open gap is stamped DRAFT — INCOMPLETE and lists what must be resolved, and every assumption is listed for you, or a professional you choose, to check.

    You file — the return with the IRS using the package's instructions, the FBAR on FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System — or a professional you engage files for you. Atamatax transmits nothing to the IRS or FinCEN.

    Start a Simple return

  2. Every return was filed; only the FBARs were missed

    Simple · $299 · Self-serve preparation

    Your returns appear current and only FBARs were missed. Late FBARs are filed with FinCEN directly, with the reason for filing late and a reasonable-cause statement, so the annual package covers the return side. The threshold is met and no non-US fund is in play: the Simple package prepares the return with the FBAR and Form 8938 logic inside it.

    What arrives, who prepares and checks it, and who files

    The Atamatax engine prepares a draft package from the figures you enter and confirm. No person prepares it.

    Nobody at Atamatax reviews it before you download it. A package generated with an open gap is stamped DRAFT — INCOMPLETE and lists what must be resolved, and every assumption is listed for you, or a professional you choose, to check.

    You file — the return with the IRS using the package's instructions, the FBAR on FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System — or a professional you engage files for you. Atamatax transmits nothing to the IRS or FinCEN.

    Start a Simple return

  3. The accounts hold non-US funds or ETFs

    PFIC Portfolio · $499 · Self-serve preparation

    Non-US funds mean Form 8621 wherever a holding is a PFIC. The PFIC package screens each one from its domicile and drafts the form only where it applies.

    What arrives, who prepares and checks it, and who files

    Everything in Simple plus up to 25 supported Forms 8621 with QEF / mark-to-market / §1291 inputs per holding, fund-domicile classification with confidence shown, and the assumption log — for one tax year.

    The Atamatax engine prepares a draft package from the figures you enter and confirm. No person prepares it.

    Nobody at Atamatax reviews it before you download it. A package generated with an open gap is stamped DRAFT — INCOMPLETE and lists what must be resolved, and every assumption is listed for you, or a professional you choose, to check.

    You file — the return with the IRS using the package's instructions, the FBAR on FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System — or a professional you engage files for you. Atamatax transmits nothing to the IRS or FinCEN.

    Prepare my PFIC portfolio

  4. Returns are missing too, not only the FBARs

    Streamlined Essential · $1,590 · Scoped by hand

    Wages, pensions or bank accounts with no non-US funds is the standard catch-up scope: three returns, six FBARs, and the certification package.

    What arrives, who prepares and checks it, and who files

    A Streamlined Foreign Offshore preparation package: up to three delinquent returns and six FBAR years as worksheets mapped to each year's official forms (official PDFs for the current filing year), a document completeness check, the Form 14653 organiser, and filing instructions — one scoped quote, one payment.

    A person at Atamatax prepares the three returns, the six FBAR years and the Form 14653 organiser from your documents, against the written scope, with the engine computing the figures. You write your own statement of facts.

    A person at Atamatax checks the package for completeness before release — an operational check, not a review by a credentialed tax professional. No EA or CPA review is included unless your written scope names one.

    You mail the returns to the IRS as the Streamlined instructions direct, and file the FBARs on FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. Atamatax transmits nothing to the IRS or FinCEN.

    Get a scoped quote

When a professional's judgment is needed. Missed years beyond the FBARs, a foreign pension whose US treatment is unsettled, or an IRS letter about the accounts are read by a person before a route is chosen — the account reporting is the easy part; what the accounts earned is the part that needs judgment.

In every route the signatures and the filing stay with you or the accountant you choose; nothing is filed on your behalf. Written questions to hello@atamatax.com reach a person — we aim to reply within one business day. Who does what in each route.

Free preliminary result · a few questions

Build your personalized US tax map

Answer a few questions. See which US filings may apply to your situation, what to gather, and what to do first.

Build my US tax mapNo signup. Answers stay yours.

Your next step · free

Do your accounts cross the threshold?

Enter each account's highest balance as a band. The checker runs the FBAR aggregate and the Form 8938 threshold for your filing status and where you live, and says which form — or both — the numbers point at. Free, no account.

Check my FBAR and Form 8938 thresholdsNever filed the FBAR? Late FBARs