Compliance · MOFU
FATCA Form 8938 vs FBAR: Which One(s) Do You File as a US Expat? (Thresholds Explained)
"Why are you even filing Form 8938?" is a fair question — a lot of expats file it when they don't have to. Here's how Form 8938 differs from the FBAR, and the thresholds that decide whether you actually owe it.
· 11 min read
Once you learn about the FBAR, you quickly run into its confusing cousin: Form 8938. They cover overlapping ground — foreign accounts and assets — so it's natural to assume they're the same filing under two names. They aren't, and conflating them leads people to either miss Form 8938 or, just as often, file it when they didn't need to.
This guide lays out exactly how the two differ, what counts as a "specified foreign financial asset," and the much higher Form 8938 thresholds that apply when you live abroad — the reason many expats correctly file an FBAR but not a Form 8938.
FBAR vs Form 8938: the core differences
They were created by different laws, for different agencies, and they don't share thresholds. The headline contrasts:
| FBAR (FinCEN 114) | Form 8938 (FATCA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Goes to | FinCEN (Treasury) | IRS, attached to your Form 1040 |
| Threshold (abroad) | $10,000 aggregate | $200,000+ (single) / $400,000+ (MFJ) |
| What it covers | Foreign financial accounts | Broader specified foreign financial assets |
| Signature-authority accounts | Reportable | Generally not reportable |
| Filed how | Separately, via BSA E-Filing | With your tax return |
The single most important takeaway: the FBAR triggers at $10,000, while Form 8938 triggers in the hundreds of thousands for expats. That gap is why the two filings so often don't move together.
The Form 8938 thresholds (and why they're higher abroad)
Form 8938 thresholds depend on both your filing status and whether you live abroad — and there are two tests: the value on the last day of the year, or the highest value at any time during the year. You file if you cross either.
| Situation | Last day of year | Any time during year |
|---|---|---|
| Living abroad — single / MFS | over $200,000 | over $300,000 |
| Living abroad — married filing jointly | over $400,000 | over $600,000 |
| Living in the US — single / MFS | over $50,000 | over $75,000 |
| Living in the US — married filing jointly | over $100,000 | over $150,000 |
Congress set the higher abroad thresholds on the logic that people who actually live overseas will naturally hold more abroad. The practical result: a typical expat with a local salary, a checking account, and a modest pension is very likely over the $10,000 FBAR line but well under the $200,000 Form 8938 line.
"Why are you filing Form 8938?" — the over-filing trap
That blunt forum question is actually good advice in disguise. Because tax software and well-meaning checklists often lump the two together, plenty of expats file Form 8938 every year despite being comfortably under the thresholds. There's no penalty for filing one you didn't owe, but it's needless work — and it can create confusion if your numbers don't line up year to year.
If you live abroad and your total foreign assets are nowhere near $200,000 (single) or $400,000 (MFJ), you most likely don't need Form 8938 at all — even though you still file the FBAR. Don't file it out of habit; file it because you cross the threshold.
What counts as a "specified foreign financial asset"?
Form 8938 reaches a broader set of assets than the FBAR. It includes your foreign financial accounts, but also certain assets held for investment that aren't in an account at all:
- Foreign financial accounts (the FBAR overlap).
- Foreign stock or securities held directly (not inside a brokerage account).
- Interests in foreign entities — partnerships, funds, certain trusts.
- Foreign financial instruments and contracts with a non-US counterparty.
What it leaves out mirrors the FBAR: directly held foreign real estate is not reported (owning an apartment abroad in your own name doesn't go on Form 8938), nor are directly held tangible assets like gold or art. Hold that same real estate through a foreign company, though, and the interest in the company can become reportable.
The overlap with other forms (so you don't report twice)
If you already report a foreign asset on certain other forms — such as Form 8621 for a PFIC, Form 5471 for a foreign corporation, or Form 3520 for a foreign trust — you generally don't re-detail it on Form 8938. Instead you note on Form 8938 how many of those other forms you filed. The asset is still counted toward the threshold; you just don't duplicate the full detail.
This matters most for expats with foreign funds: those PFICs count toward your Form 8938 threshold and are reported on Form 8621, but you won't list each one twice.
"Should I amend my return to fix a Form 8938 mistake?"
Because Form 8938 is filed with your Form 1040, correcting it means amending the return (Form 1040-X) with a corrected Form 8938 attached — unlike the FBAR, which you correct directly in the BSA E-Filing system. If the mistake also changed your income or tax, the amendment handles both at once. If it was purely an omitted or misstated asset with no tax effect, the amendment still puts the correct disclosure on record, which is what protects you.
Form 8938 penalties
- $10,000 for failure to file, rising up to $50,000 for continued failure after IRS notice.
- A 40% accuracy penalty on understatements of tax tied to undisclosed foreign assets.
- The statute of limitations on your whole return can stay open until you file the missing form — a quiet but serious consequence.
As with the FBAR, if you simply didn't know and were non-willful, the streamlined procedures bring you current without these penalties. The path back is the same one covered in our back-taxes guide — and the Streamlined eligibility checker tells you whether it fits.
File the right forms — and only the right forms
atamatax works out which disclosures you actually owe — FBAR, Form 8938, Form 8621 — based on your real balances and assets, then generates them in one flow alongside your return. No over-filing, no missed forms, no assembling it by hand.
Authoritative sources
- IRS — About Form 8938
- IRS — Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR Requirements
- IRS — Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets?
Reader questions that shaped this guide came from real US-expat discussions on r/USExpatTaxes. Last reviewed June 2026 — thresholds and penalties change, so verify current figures before filing.