I'm a US citizen in Europe with an old eToro EU account. What applies?

The account is a foreign financial account (FBAR + Form 8938 aggregates), and any UCITS ETFs in it are generally PFICs needing Form 8621 — from the year you became (or already were) a US person. How the account was opened doesn't change the reporting.

Are eToro Smart Portfolios PFICs?

The portfolio itself is a basket, not a fund, so each UCITS ETF inside it is generally its own PFIC while individual shares inside it are not. You need the basket's composition — it's in the portfolio breakdown.

Does eToro USA trigger the FBAR?

No — an account with eToro's US entity is not a foreign account for FBAR purposes, though European/UK eToro accounts are. People who moved countries can have both regimes in the same year.

Broker · Europe

eToro & PFICs for US expats

eToro serves US residents through a separate US entity — US expats on the European platform face the UCITS/PFIC question plus FBAR on the account.

By Danilson Ramos · Founder, Atamatax

Published July 2026 · Updated September 2026

Check it for your own holding

Could this investment be a PFIC?

Two questions and, if you have it, the ticker or ISIN. The read is immediate, nothing you enter leaves this page, and it names what would settle the rest.

Free, no account, nothing you answer leaves this page. Open the full portfolio scanner

What is it?

Ticker or ISIN (optional)

Screened against the fund registry on this page. It is never sent anywhere.

A screen. Whether a fund is a PFIC turns on its own annual income and asset facts under §1297; the read above says how far your answers go and what would settle the rest.

eToro runs distinct platforms: a US entity for US residents and European/UK entities for everyone else. Which entity holds your account decides most of the US tax analysis.

Which eToro are you on?

US residents are onboarded to eToro USA (a US account — not an FBAR account). A US citizen living in Europe generally can't open a fresh European eToro account as a US person (the onboarding screens for US status — confirm with eToro); the ones who hold European accounts usually opened them before acquiring US status or before the screening tightened.

On the European platform: the PFIC and FBAR questions

Holding at eToro (EU/UK)	What it is	US filing angle
European ETFs	UCITS funds	Likely PFIC → Form 8621 each year
US stocks (real shares)	Individual shares	Not PFICs; account still reportable
Smart Portfolios (copy baskets)	Baskets of instruments	Look through: each UCITS slice is its own PFIC
CFD positions	Derivatives on the underlying	Not PFICs, but gains are taxable; account reportable
Crypto	Crypto via eToro	FBAR treatment unsettled — flag it

Same look-through rule as everywhere: a Smart Portfolio is a basket, not a fund — but every UCITS ETF inside it is its own PFIC with its own Form 8621.

The European account itself counts toward the $10,000 FBAR aggregate and the Form 8938 thresholds at its maximum and year-end values.

What to export

The account statement for the year: positions, ISINs where shown, and values.
Which entity holds your account (it's in your terms/statements) — US vs European changes the analysis.
Maximum account value during the year for the FBAR.

Check your eToro holdings before you file

Paste your tickers or ISINs — the free checker flags likely PFICs and estimates your Form 8621 workload. This is general information, not individualised tax advice.

Check my holdings for PFICs

Platform policies and entities change — confirm yours with eToro. Atamatax provides preparation software and educational estimates, not individualised tax, legal, or investment advice.

From one fund to the whole case

What does your PFIC situation actually require?

Four questions — how many funds, for how long, whether Forms 8621 were ever filed, whether the returns are current — and a route into the preparation that fits, with what it costs. Nothing you answer leaves this page.

Free, no account, nothing you answer leaves this page. Open the full portfolio scanner

A routing read, not a determination. Whether a fund is a PFIC, whether an exception applies and what a prior year needs are established when the holdings are screened; the route above says where that happens and what it costs.

Authorities cited

IRC §1291 — IRC §1291 — Interest on tax deferral (excess-distribution regime)
IRC §1297 — IRC §1297 — Definition of a passive foreign investment company
IRS Form 8621 — About Form 8621 — Information Return by a Shareholder of a PFIC or QEF
31 CFR §1010.350 — 31 CFR §1010.350 — FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) filing requirement and $10,000 threshold
FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) — Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
IRS Form 8938 — About Form 8938 — Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets

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

I'm a US citizen in Europe with an old eToro EU account. What applies?#: The account is a foreign financial account (FBAR + Form 8938 aggregates), and any UCITS ETFs in it are generally PFICs needing Form 8621 — from the year you became (or already were) a US person. How the account was opened doesn't change the reporting.
Are eToro Smart Portfolios PFICs?#: The portfolio itself is a basket, not a fund, so each UCITS ETF inside it is generally its own PFIC while individual shares inside it are not. You need the basket's composition — it's in the portfolio breakdown.
Does eToro USA trigger the FBAR?#: No — an account with eToro's US entity is not a foreign account for FBAR purposes, though European/UK eToro accounts are. People who moved countries can have both regimes in the same year.

Related guides

Preparation · price before you start

If you want the Forms 8621 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.

Your returns are up to date and the non-US funds are the complication
PFIC Portfolio · $499 · Self-serve preparation
PFIC Portfolio covers portfolios of four to twenty-five likely PFICs, with a Form 8621 drafted per fund.
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
You already work with an accountant who files for you
CPA Export · $199 · Accountant handoff
You already have an accountant. CPA Export gives them the per-fund PFIC screen with its reasons and the threshold arithmetic, so the fund question is settled before the return is drafted.
What arrives, who prepares and checks it, and who files
A PDF hand-off for an accountant: the holdings and PFIC classification table, the potential Form 8621 workload, FBAR/Form 8938 threshold logic, worksheets mapped to form lines, and the assumption log — for one tax year.
The engine builds the PFIC analysis and the worksheets from the entries you confirm. Your accountant prepares the return from them.
Nobody at Atamatax reviews the export before you download it. Your accountant checks it — every classification and figure carries the assumption behind it.
Your accountant files the return, or you do; the FBAR is filed on FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. Atamatax transmits nothing to the IRS or FinCEN.
Build my CPA Export
Returns, FBARs or Forms 8621 are missing for earlier years
Streamlined Investor · $2,200 · Scoped by hand
The catch-up years include non-US funds or a personal foreign plan, so each back year needs PFIC work as well as the return and the FBAR.
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
More than twenty-five funds, or the fund facts are incomplete
Confirm the scope before choosing a package · Free to ask
More than twenty-five likely PFICs is past the included limit of every package; the scope is confirmed by hand before a price is named.
What arrives, who prepares and checks it, and who files
Free to ask. A person reads the facts and says whether Atamatax can take the case, and which route it would be.
A person at Atamatax reads the facts before any route is offered.
See whether Atamatax can take the case

When a professional's judgment is needed. A person reads the facts before any package is sold when the fund screen cannot finish, when there are more than twenty-five likely PFICs, or when a late QEF or mark-to-market election is in question — whether a late election can still be made turns on the facts and is a professional's call.

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 get a reply within one business day. Who does what in each route.

Free preliminary result · a few questions

Build your PFIC filing map

Know what PFIC reporting means for your own holdings: how many Forms 8621 are likely, whether the year produced tax or only reporting, and what else your situation pulls in.

Build my PFIC filing mapNo signup. Answers stay yours.

Your next step · free

Is the fund you hold a PFIC?

Search by ticker, ISIN or name. Where the domicile settles it the result says so; where it does not, it says that instead of guessing. Free, no account.

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