If you are a US citizen or green card holder with a bank account outside the United States, two acronyms follow you wherever you live: FBAR and FATCA. Both exist to make foreign accounts visible to the US government. They are separate rules, with different forms, thresholds, deadlines and penalties, and many Americans abroad must deal with both.
The short version: the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is required once your foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year, and it goes to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, not to the IRS. FATCA has two halves. One is Form 8938, which you attach to your tax return when your foreign financial assets pass a much higher threshold. The other is a reporting duty placed on foreign banks, which send details about their American clients to the IRS.
Neither form creates tax by itself. They are disclosure forms, but the penalties for missing them can be far larger than any tax at stake.
Key takeaways
- The FBAR applies when your foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any point in the year. It is filed online with FinCEN by April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15.
- Form 8938 is the individual side of FATCA. For single filers living abroad, it starts above $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time.
- The two forms overlap, but filing one does not satisfy the other.
- A foreign account that holds only crypto is not currently reportable on the FBAR under FinCEN Notice 2020-2, but FinCEN has said it intends to change that.
- People who missed filings without willful intent may be able to catch up through the IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures.
Why Americans abroad deal with both
The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, as our guide to citizenship-based taxation explains. The FBAR and FATCA sit on top of that system. Their job is not to collect tax but to give the IRS and FinCEN a view of money held outside the country.
The FBAR comes from the Bank Secrecy Act and is administered by FinCEN, a bureau of the Treasury. FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, was enacted by Congress in 2010, according to the US Treasury. It added a broader reporting form for individuals and pushed foreign banks to report on their US clients.
The FBAR: FinCEN Form 114
Who must file
According to the IRS, a US person must file if they have a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, at least one foreign financial account, and the aggregate value of those accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. US persons include citizens, resident aliens such as green card holders, and US entities like corporations, partnerships, LLCs, trusts and estates.
The $10,000 test is about the total, not each account. An American in Spain with a Spanish account that peaked at $6,500 and a Mexican account that peaked at $4,000 has no single account above $10,000, but the total is, so an FBAR is due and both accounts are listed. Values are converted to US dollars using the Treasury exchange rate for the last day of the calendar year.
What counts as a foreign financial account
The IRS lists these, among others, as reportable on the FBAR:
- Bank accounts, such as current, savings and term deposit accounts at foreign institutions
- Securities and brokerage accounts held abroad
- Foreign mutual funds
- Foreign life insurance or annuity contracts with a cash value
- Accounts at a foreign branch of a US bank
- Accounts where you have signature authority only, such as an employer's account you can sign on, subject to exceptions
- Accounts held through an entity in which you own more than 50%
Assets held directly, not in an account, are generally outside the FBAR. That includes foreign real estate you own in your own name, foreign currency kept in cash and precious metals held directly.
How and when to file
The FBAR is filed electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. It is not attached to your tax return. It is due April 15 following the calendar year, and filers receive an automatic extension to October 15 without asking for one. The IRS says to keep account records, including the maximum value during the year, generally for five years from the FBAR due date.
FATCA: Form 8938 and bank reporting
Form 8938 for individuals
Form 8938, the Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, is filed with your income tax return. It covers foreign accounts plus some assets the FBAR does not reach, such as foreign stock held outside an account, foreign partnership interests and foreign hedge and private equity funds.
The thresholds depend on where you live, according to the IRS comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements.
| Filer | Living in the US | Living abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Single or married filing separately | More than $50,000 on the last day of the year, or more than $75,000 at any time | More than $200,000 on the last day of the year, or more than $300,000 at any time |
| Married filing jointly | More than $100,000 on the last day of the year, or more than $150,000 at any time | More than $400,000 on the last day of the year, or more than $600,000 at any time |
To use the higher "living abroad" thresholds, the Form 8938 instructions require a tax home in a foreign country and either bona fide residence abroad for an uninterrupted period that includes a full tax year, or presence in a foreign country for at least 330 full days in any 12 consecutive months ending in the tax year. These mirror the tests used for the foreign earned income exclusion, covered in our comparison of the FEIE and the foreign tax credit. If you are not required to file an income tax return, you do not need to file Form 8938.
Reporting by foreign financial institutions
The other half of FATCA is aimed at banks. Foreign financial institutions report information on accounts held by US taxpayers to the IRS, either directly or under an intergovernmental agreement between the US and their home country. The Treasury lists agreements with more than 100 jurisdictions.
This is why a foreign bank may ask whether you are a US person during onboarding. Some accept American clients only with extra paperwork, and some decline them. Our guide to bank accounts for digital nomads explains why accounts get reviewed or closed after a move.
FBAR vs Form 8938 at a glance
| Feature | FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) | Form 8938 (FATCA) |
|---|---|---|
| Filed with | FinCEN, through BSA E-Filing | IRS, attached to Form 1040 |
| Basic threshold for someone living abroad | Over $10,000 combined at any time | Over $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time (single) |
| Due date | April 15, automatic extension to October 15 | Same as your tax return, including extensions |
| Signature authority only | Reportable, subject to exceptions | Not reportable |
| Foreign stock held outside an account | Not reportable | Reportable |
| Foreign real estate held directly | Not reportable | Not reportable |
| Required if you have no tax return to file | Yes, if the threshold is met | No |
Where crypto fits in
In FinCEN Notice 2020-2, FinCEN said the FBAR regulations do not currently define a foreign account holding virtual currency as a reportable account. A foreign account holding only virtual currency is therefore not reportable on the FBAR at this time, unless it also holds other reportable assets, such as a fiat currency balance. In the same notice, FinCEN said it intends to propose changing the regulations to include virtual currency. Filers would check whether that change has been made.
A wallet you control yourself is not an account held at a financial institution, which is a different situation from a balance on a foreign exchange. Our overview of bitcoin self-custody for nomads covers the practical side. There is less specific official guidance on how Form 8938 applies to crypto held on foreign platforms, so this is a point people often raise with a tax adviser.
The tax side of crypto does not change with your address: the IRS treats digital assets as property wherever you live. Our guide to crypto taxes when you move abroad covers this.
Penalties
FBAR penalties
FBAR civil penalties are indexed for inflation. Under the statute, the base amounts were up to $10,000 for a non-willful violation and, for a willful violation, the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the account balance. FinCEN's most recent published adjustment, which took effect on January 17, 2025, set those caps at $16,536 for non-willful violations and $165,353 or 50% of the balance for willful violations, according to the Federal Register notice. Criminal penalties can also apply in serious cases.
In Bittner v. United States, decided on February 28, 2023, the Supreme Court held that the non-willful penalty applies per report, not per account. The statute also allows the non-willful penalty to be waived where there was reasonable cause.
Form 8938 penalties
According to the Form 8938 instructions, failing to file a complete and correct form can lead to a $10,000 penalty. If you still have not filed 90 days after an IRS notice, an extra $10,000 can apply for each 30-day period, up to $50,000 more. A 40% accuracy-related penalty can apply to an underpayment of tax linked to an undisclosed foreign asset.
There is also a hidden cost: if you fail to file Form 8938 or leave out a required asset, the statute of limitations for that return may stay open until three years after you finally file the form.
If you missed filings
Many Americans abroad learn about the FBAR years late. The IRS has formal paths for this, and the right one depends on the facts.
For people living outside the US, the main option is the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures. The IRS lists these conditions and steps:
- In at least one of the three most recent years for which the tax return due date has passed, a US citizen or green card holder had no US abode and was physically outside the US for at least 330 full days.
- The failures to report income, pay tax and file FBARs were non-willful, meaning they came from negligence, mistake or a good-faith misunderstanding of the law.
- The taxpayer files delinquent or amended returns for the three most recent years, with any required information returns such as Form 8938.
- The taxpayer files delinquent FBARs for the six most recent years through BSA E-Filing.
- The taxpayer pays the tax and interest due and signs Form 14653, a certification of non-willful conduct.
The IRS says taxpayers who qualify and follow these instructions will not face failure-to-file, accuracy-related, information return or FBAR penalties for those years. That protection can be lost if the IRS later finds fraud or willful violations. Separate procedures exist for people who only missed FBARs but reported all their income. People in this position usually speak with a cross-border tax professional before choosing a path.
Keeping the paperwork manageable
Most problems come from forgotten accounts, so a running list of every foreign account, including joint accounts and accounts you can sign on for an employer, does a lot of the work. Saving statements that show each account's highest balance, not only the year-end figure, makes the FBAR quick to complete. People who rely on the 330-day test for Form 8938 also keep a record of their travel days, and our free day counter can help with that. Anyone planning a bigger change can read our checklist for moving out of the US. Reporting duties generally continue until citizenship and tax status formally change.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to file an FBAR if my foreign accounts never exceeded $10,000?
No. The FBAR is required only when the combined value of your foreign accounts exceeds $10,000 at some point in the calendar year.
Is the FBAR filed with my tax return?
No. The FBAR goes to FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing System. Form 8938, by contrast, is attached to your income tax return and goes to the IRS.
Does FATCA mean I pay more tax?
Not by itself. Form 8938 and bank reporting are disclosure tools. The tax you owe depends on your income and the normal US rules. The cost of FATCA usually shows up as paperwork, penalties for missed forms and banks that limit services for US clients.
Do green card holders living abroad have to file?
Generally yes. The FBAR applies to US persons, which includes resident aliens. Green card holders who move abroad often remain US tax residents until their status formally ends, so they usually keep the same reporting duties as citizens.
Important: This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Rules change often and depend on your personal circumstances. Speak with a qualified professional in each relevant country before you act.