Topic · Switzerland
FATCA & Form 8938 for Americans in Switzerland
How FATCA affects U.S. persons with Swiss accounts, how Form 8938 differs from the FBAR, and what Swiss banks report.
By Danilson Ramos · Founder, Atamatax
Published June 2026 · Updated September 2026
Part of the Switzerland desk — every US tax topic for Switzerland in one place.
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
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.
FATCA is the U.S. law behind much of the reporting Americans abroad encounter. It has two sides: Swiss banks report U.S. account holders to the authorities, and U.S. persons may have to file Form 8938 with their tax return.
Why your Swiss bank asks if you're American
Under FATCA, Swiss financial institutions identify and report U.S. account holders. That's why you may have been asked to confirm your U.S. status or complete a form. It also means consistency between what your bank reports and what you file matters. If the letter asking for a U.S. tax number is in front of you now, what to do about the bank's request takes its three questions one at a time.
Form 8938 vs the FBAR
| FBAR (FinCEN 114) | Form 8938 (FATCA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed with | FinCEN, separately | Your tax return |
| Threshold | $10,000 combined peak | Higher; varies by filing status & residence |
| Scope | Financial accounts | Specified foreign financial assets |
If the letter arrives and the filings are not current
A FATCA letter from a Swiss bank is a request for your status, not an IRS examination — and that distinction matters, because an open examination closes the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, the published route for non-willful US persons abroad to file three years of returns and six years of FBARs. If your returns are filed and only FBARs were missed, the narrower route is filing the late FBARs with a reasonable-cause statement — the IRS withdrew its published Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures on July 1, 2026, and that page says what changed. The Streamlined filing from Switzerland page walks the Swiss specifics.
Authorities cited
- IRS Form 8938 — About Form 8938 — Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets
- IRC §6038D — IRC §6038D — Information reporting of specified foreign financial assets (Form 8938)
- FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) — Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
- 31 CFR §1010.350 — 31 CFR §1010.350 — FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) filing requirement and $10,000 threshold
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.