Bank accounts
Checking, savings and time deposits at any non-US bank, whatever the balance of the individual account.
FBAR · FinCEN Form 114FBAR filing for US expats.
FBAR filing for US expats.
The report, not a tax.
If your non-US financial accounts together crossed $10,000 at any point in the year, you generally have to file FinCEN Form 114 — even when you owe no US tax at all. Here is what counts, what it is not, and what to do about missed years.
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The short answer
What is the FBAR?
The FBAR — Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, filed as FinCEN Form 114 — is how a US person reports non-US financial accounts to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. It is not part of your tax return, it is not filed with the IRS, and it does not itself impose any tax.
You generally file when the combined value of your non-US accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the calendar year. Two details trip people up. First, it is a combined test across every account, not a per-account one. Second, it is the peak balance, not the balance on 31 December — so money that passed through an account and left still counts.
Because it is an information report rather than a tax form, the obligation is completely independent of whether you owe anything. Most Americans abroad owe no US tax after the foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credits, and a great many of them conclude — reasonably but incorrectly — that this means there is nothing to file.
For a non-willful failure to file one compliant annual FBAR, the Supreme Court held in Bittner v. United States (2023) that the statutory maximum applies on a per-report, not per-account basis. Willfulness and other penalty questions are fact-sensitive. Current figures: $16,536 for non-willful violations and $165,353 where willfulness is established.
Scope
What counts toward the $10,000 threshold.
The test is about where the account is held, not about what is inside it or what currency it is in. A non-US brokerage account holding only American stocks is still a foreign financial account.
Brokerage & investment accounts
Non-US securities accounts, including ones holding only US stocks. The account is foreign even when its contents are not.
Foreign fintech balances
Revolut, Wise, N26 and similar, where the account is held with a non-US institution.
Certain pension & vested-benefits accounts
Some occupational and vested-benefits accounts are reportable; treatment depends on the specific arrangement.
Accounts you only sign on
Signature authority counts — an employer or family account you can direct is reportable even if you own none of it.
Jointly held accounts
A joint account is generally reported in full by each US person on it, not split by ownership share.
Treatment of specific pension, insurance and vested-benefits arrangements depends on how the product is structured. This is general information, not advice for your facts.
The full FBAR guide
Work through the parts that apply to you.
The filing rules
Threshold, deadline, and how the FBAR differs from the FATCA form people confuse it with.
FBAR & Form 8938 threshold checkerEnter your balances and filing status to see which forms you cross.FBAR, definedWhat FinCEN Form 114 is and who FinCEN considers a US person.FATCA & Form 8938The tax-return form with higher thresholds that often applies alongside.FBAR deadline & extensionThe October cutoff and how it sits against the rest of the expat calendar.
Accounts that count
Bank, brokerage, fintech and pension accounts — the ones people forget are reportable.
Revolut on the FBARWhether a Revolut balance is a reportable foreign financial account.Wise on the FBARMulti-currency balances and what the FBAR asks you to report.PostFinance on the FBARSwiss retail accounts and the combined peak-balance test.Swiss bank accounts & US taxWhat a Swiss account means for reporting, beyond the FBAR itself.Swiss Pillar 2 & the FBARWhether occupational pension assets are reportable.Vested-benefits accountsFreizügigkeit accounts for a US person, reporting included.
By country
The same rules, against the accounts people actually hold locally.
Behind on filings
Missed years are common and there are established catch-up paths.
Catching up on missed FBARsDelinquent FBAR submission and where it fits against Streamlined.Streamlined Foreign Offshore ProceduresEligibility context, required years, current status and the preparation path.Streamlined eligibility checkerSeven questions to see which catch-up path your facts point to.
FBAR · FAQ
Common questions.
- What is the FBAR threshold?
- You generally file when the combined value of your non-US financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the calendar year. It is a combined peak across every account, not a per-account test and not a year-end balance — if you moved $10,000 between two accounts, both are reportable even though neither ever held more than that on its own.
- Is the FBAR the same as Form 8938?
- No. The FBAR is FinCEN Form 114, filed electronically with FinCEN separately from your tax return, with a $10,000 combined-peak threshold. Form 8938 is a FATCA form filed with your tax return, covering specified foreign financial assets, with higher thresholds that vary by filing status and whether you live abroad. Many US persons abroad file both.
- Do I file an FBAR if I owe no US tax?
- Yes — the FBAR is an information report, not a tax form, and the obligation does not depend on owing anything. This is the single most common reason people miss it: they correctly conclude that credits and exclusions wipe out their US tax, and assume nothing further is required.
- What is the FBAR deadline?
- The FBAR is due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15. It is filed electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing system, not with your tax return.
- What happens if I have missed FBARs?
- Missed FBARs are common and there are established pathways — a delinquent FBAR submission where returns are otherwise current, or the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures where past returns also need fixing. The right route depends on your facts and on whether the failure was non-willful. Atamatax provides preparation support; this is not legal advice, and for a case with any willfulness question you should get a professional opinion first.
- Does a joint account with a non-US spouse count?
- Generally yes. Your interest in a joint account is reportable, and the FBAR is generally filed on the full account value rather than your share. Whether a spouse can be included on a single filing depends on the accounts involved and how they are held.
Authorities cited
- 31 U.S.C. §5314 — 31 U.S.C. §5314 — Statutory basis for the FBAR (foreign financial account reporting)
- 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)
- 31 U.S.C. §5321 — 31 U.S.C. §5321 — Civil penalties for FBAR violations (§5321(a)(5))
- Bittner v. United States (2023) — Bittner v. United States, 598 U.S. 85 (2023) — the non-willful FBAR penalty applies per report, not per account
- 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 · FBAR
Find out which forms your accounts actually trigger.
Enter your balances and filing status — the free checker shows whether you cross the FBAR threshold, the Form 8938 thresholds, or both. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.