A threshold screen, not a filing determination. Three answers cannot establish whether a specific account is reportable; the full checker and the account's own terms can.
PostFinance is one of Switzerland's most widely held accounts. For U.S. citizens the key issues are reporting (FBAR and Form 8938) and, if you invest, PFICs.
Does PostFinance accept U.S. citizens?
PostFinance is generally reluctant to take on U.S.-citizen investment clients; a basic account may be possible while investment services often are not. (This is the widely reported experience — confirm your own situation with PostFinance.) Whatever the arrangement, the account is reportable.
Reporting your PostFinance account
FBAR (FinCEN 114): required when your combined non-U.S. accounts exceed $10,000 at any point in the year.
Form 8938 (FATCA): abroad thresholds are higher — more than $200,000 end-of-year / $300,000 any time (single), or $400,000 / $600,000 married filing jointly.
The account goes on your FBAR even if you never invested a franc — the $10,000 trigger is about the account balance, not investment gains.
If you do hold PostFinance funds
A conventional non-U.S. pooled fund commonly meets a PFIC test and can require Form 8621 analysis. A U.S.-organized fund cannot be a PFIC—but Swiss/EU institutions may rarely offer those funds to retail clients. Confirm the specific vehicle and reporting triggers.
Every PostFinance account is its own FBAR line
PostFinance gives each account its own IBAN. A private account, a savings account, a 3a retirement account and an e-trading custody account are four accounts on the FBAR, each with its own highest balance — not one PostFinance relationship.
Where a fund in the custody account is Swiss-domiciled (ISIN starting CH), its distributions carry the 35% Swiss withholding tax. The part a Swiss resident gets refunded through the tax return is not a creditable foreign tax on the US side.
See what you have to report
Check whether you cross the FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds — then check any funds for PFICs. This is general information, not individualised tax advice.
Bank policies change — confirm with PostFinance. Atamatax provides preparation software and educational estimates, not individualised tax, legal, or investment advice.
31 CFR §1010.350 — 31 CFR §1010.350 — FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) filing requirement and $10,000 threshold
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)
IRS Form 8621 — About Form 8621 — Information Return by a Shareholder of a PFIC or QEF
IRC §1297 — IRC §1297 — Definition of a passive foreign investment company
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.
Yes, if your combined non-U.S. financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year. That threshold is about the account balances, not whether you earned or invested anything.
PostFinance is generally reluctant to take on U.S.-citizen investment clients, though a basic account may be possible. Practices vary and change — confirm your options directly with PostFinance.
A conventional foreign pooled fund commonly meets a §1297 test and may require Form 8621, subject to the holder's reporting triggers and exceptions. Confirm the specific vehicle; a U.S.-organized fund cannot be a PFIC.
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.
Returns up to date, accounts over the thresholds, no non-US funds
Simple · $299 · Self-service software
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.
Every return was filed; only the FBARs were missed
Simple · $299 · Self-service software
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.
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 — line-mapped worksheets until independent validation of the official PDFs completes — 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.
Streamlined Essential · $1,590 · Done-with-you case preparation, scoped first
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 pre-filled PDFs only for tax year 2025), a document completeness check, the Form 14653 organiser, and filing instructions — one scoped quote, one payment.
A CPA or Enrolled Agent from the Atamatax team, assigned according to your case (its forms, countries and complexity), 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, and signs as paid preparer. They are named on your case once they accept. If no professional has been assigned 7 days after payment, you choose between waiting and a full refund. You write your own statement of facts.
The CPA or Enrolled Agent assigned to your case reviews and answers for the work they sign; a person at Atamatax checks the file is complete before it reaches you.
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.
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
See which foreign-account filings may apply to you
The FBAR and Form 8938 have different thresholds, different definitions and different penalties. A few questions show which one — or both — your accounts point at, and what else rides along.
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.