You must report foreign bank accounts over $10,000 to the IRS, and the process depends on whether you file a tax return

If you have a foreign bank account, savings account, money market account, or similar financial account with a balance over $10,000 at any point during the year, you are required to report it to the U.S. government. The IRS calls this the Foreign Bank Account Report, or FBAR. You file it separately from your tax return, using a different form and a different deadline. The threshold is $10,000 combined across all your foreign accounts — not $10,000 per account.

The reporting requirement applies to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and certain other people who live in the United States or abroad. If you own or have control over a foreign account, you must report it even if you do not live there and even if the account is held in someone else's name but you can access it or direct how it is used.

Key Takeaways

  • Foreign bank accounts totaling more than $10,000 must be reported on Form FinCEN 114 (the FBAR), filed by April 15 of the following year, with an automatic extension to October 15.
  • The FBAR is filed electronically through FinCEN's website, not with your tax return or the IRS.
  • You may also need to file Form 8938 with your tax return if your foreign financial assets exceed certain thresholds, which are lower than the FBAR threshold.
  • Failure to report a foreign account can result in civil penalties of $10,000 per violation, or criminal penalties if the IRS determines willful non-compliance.
  • If you have not reported a foreign account in past years, the IRS offers a voluntary disclosure process that may reduce or eliminate penalties.

Filing the FBAR: Form FinCEN 114

The form you file is called Form FinCEN 114, also known as the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. You file it electronically through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) website at bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov. You do not file it with your tax return or mail it to the IRS.

The deadline is April 15 of the year following the year you held the account. If you file your tax return late, the FBAR deadline does not automatically extend with it — you must request an extension separately. The automatic extension moves the deadline to October 15. To get the extension, you file a request through the FinCEN website before April 15.

On the form, you report the name of each foreign financial institution, the account number, the account type, and the maximum balance in the account during the year. You do not report the account balance on a specific date — you report the highest balance it reached at any point during the year.

Form 8938 and the FATCA threshold

In addition to the FBAR, you may need to file Form 8938 with your federal tax return if your foreign financial assets exceed a certain threshold. This form is part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The thresholds are lower than the FBAR threshold and depend on your filing status and whether you live in the United States.

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien filing as single and living in the United States, you must file Form 8938 if your foreign financial assets exceeded $200,000 on the last day of the year or $300,000 at any point during the year. If you are married filing jointly, the thresholds are $400,000 and $600,000. If you live abroad, the thresholds are higher: $400,000 for single filers and $600,000 for married filers.

Form 8938 is filed with your tax return, not separately. If you must file Form 8938, you must also file the FBAR — they cover overlapping ground but serve different purposes and go to different agencies.

What counts as a foreign financial account

A foreign financial account includes a bank account, savings account, money market account, certificate of deposit, or any other account held at a foreign financial institution where you can deposit or withdraw money. It also includes foreign investment accounts, brokerage accounts, and retirement accounts held outside the United States.

Accounts do not count if they are held by a U.S. financial institution, even if the money is invested abroad. A foreign pension account may be excluded if it meets certain conditions, and some retirement accounts have special rules. If you are unsure whether an account counts, the safest approach is to report it.

You must report an account if you own it, have a legal interest in it, or have authority to control it — even if someone else's name is on the account. For example, if your spouse holds a foreign account in their name but you can access it or direct how it is used, you must report it on your FBAR.

Penalties for not reporting

The civil penalty for failing to file an FBAR is $10,000 per violation. The IRS can assess this penalty for each year you did not file. If the IRS determines that the failure was willful — meaning you knew about the requirement and chose not to follow it — the penalty can be much higher: up to $100,000 or 50 percent of the account balance, whichever is larger.

Criminal penalties are also possible if the IRS believes you willfully violated the law. This can include fines and imprisonment. The IRS does not always pursue criminal charges for FBAR violations, but the possibility exists if the violation is part of a larger pattern of tax evasion or fraud.

Because the penalties are steep, it is important to file the FBAR if you have a foreign account over $10,000, even if you have not filed in the past.

Correcting past years: the voluntary disclosure process

If you have not reported a foreign account in previous years, you may be able to use the IRS's Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to correct your records without facing the full penalty. This process is designed for people who did not willfully evade taxes and are now coming into compliance.

Under the streamlined procedures, you file amended tax returns and FBARs for the past three years, along with a certification that your failure to file was not willful. You pay any back taxes owed plus interest, and you pay a reduced penalty of 5 percent of the highest account balance during the period you did not report. This is much lower than the standard 10 percent or 50 percent penalty.

To use the streamlined procedures, you must not have been contacted by the IRS about the account before you file. If the IRS has already started an examination or sent you a notice, you cannot use this process. You should consult a tax professional before filing under the streamlined procedures to make sure you meet all the requirements.

How to file the FBAR step by step

Go to bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov and create an account if you do not have one. You will need a username and password. Once you are logged in, select "File a New FBAR" and choose the year you are reporting for.

Enter your personal information, including your name, address, and Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Then enter information about each foreign financial account: the name of the institution, the account number, the account type, the country where the account is held, and the maximum balance during the year.

Review all the information for accuracy, then submit the form electronically. FinCEN will send you a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records. If you need to amend the FBAR after you file, you can log back in and file an amended version before the deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to report a foreign account if I did not earn any interest or income from it?

Yes. The FBAR requirement is based on the account balance, not on whether you earned income from it. If the account exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, you must report it, regardless of whether it earned interest or generated any income.

What if my foreign account is held in my spouse's name but I have access to it?

You must report it on your FBAR if you have authority to control the account or can direct how the money is used. The account does not have to be in your name. If both you and your spouse have authority over the account, you each file your own FBAR reporting the same account.

Can I file the FBAR on paper instead of electronically?

No. The FBAR must be filed electronically through FinCEN's website. Paper filings are no longer accepted. If you have difficulty filing online, FinCEN's help desk can assist you, but the form must go through the electronic system.

What happens if I miss the FBAR deadline?

You can still file a late FBAR, but you may face a penalty. If you file late and the IRS has not contacted you, you may be able to avoid the penalty by showing reasonable cause — for example, that you did not know about the requirement. File as soon as you realize you missed the deadline and keep documentation of why you filed late.

Do I need to report a foreign retirement account?

Most foreign retirement accounts must be reported on the FBAR if they exceed $10,000. However, some accounts may be excluded if they meet specific conditions under U.S. tax law. A foreign pension account that is not accessible to you until retirement may may have access to for an exclusion. Consult a tax professional if you are unsure whether your foreign retirement account counts.