FBAR filing requirement: who files FinCEN 114 and when

What is the FBAR?

The FBAR, formally the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is FinCEN Form 114. It comes from the Bank Secrecy Act, not from the tax code, and it is filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the Treasury Department separate from the IRS. FinCEN delegated civil enforcement of the FBAR to the IRS, which is why both agencies publish guidance on it.

It is a report, not a tax. Filing it does not create a bill, and the IRS notes that whether an account produced taxable income has no effect on whether it is a foreign financial account for FBAR purposes. Income from foreign accounts is a separate matter that belongs on your tax return.

Who must file an FBAR?

You must file if three things are true for the calendar year:

1. You are a U.S. person. That includes U.S. citizens, residents, and entities created in the United States such as corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts and estates. For individuals, residence follows the tax definition, so green card holders and people who meet the substantial presence test are generally included.
2. You have a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, at least one financial account located outside the United States.
3. The aggregate value of those foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the year. This is a combined figure. The IRS gives the example of two accounts whose combined balance passes $10,000 at any one moment: both have to be reported, even if neither one alone reached that amount.

Each owner of a joint account reports the entire value of the account. Spouses can avoid filing separately when all of the non-filing spouse's foreign accounts are jointly owned with the filing spouse, both complete and sign FinCEN Form 114a, and the filing spouse reports the joint accounts on a timely FBAR.

What counts as a foreign financial account?

FinCEN's regulation at 31 CFR 1010.350 defines reportable accounts broadly:

• Bank accounts: savings, checking and other deposit accounts with a bank.
• Securities accounts: accounts with a firm that buys, sells, holds or trades stock or other securities.
• Other financial accounts: an insurance or annuity policy with a cash value, a mutual fund or similar pooled fund available to the public, and accounts with a futures or options broker.

Location is what matters. According to the IRS comparison table, an account at a foreign branch of a U.S. bank is reportable on the FBAR, while an account at a U.S. branch of a foreign bank is not. Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the other listed U.S. territories are not foreign countries for this purpose.

You can also have a financial interest in accounts that are not in your name: accounts held for you by an agent or nominee, and accounts owned by a corporation in which you hold more than 50% of the vote or value, or a partnership in which you hold more than 50% of profits or capital. Some accounts are excluded, such as foreign accounts held by a U.S. IRA or by certain U.S. retirement plans in which you participate, and accounts of government entities.

What does signature authority mean?

Signature or other authority means you can control the money in an account, alone or together with someone else, by giving instructions directly to the bank or institution that holds it. You do not need to own any of the balance. For example, you may be an authorized signer on a parent's account in your home country, or you may be able to move funds in the account of a family business or an employer abroad.

An account you report only because of signature authority is treated the same way: it is part of the $10,000 test and it is listed on your FBAR. Certain officers and employees of regulated financial institutions and other specified entities have exceptions, and the IRS notes that FinCEN keeps extending the due date for certain employees and officers who have signature authority but no financial interest. Those rules are narrow, so they deserve a careful reading before relying on them.

When and where is the FBAR filed?

• Due date: April 15 of the year after the calendar year being reported, with an automatic extension to October 15. You do not need to request it. For accounts held during 2026, that means April 15, 2027, or October 15, 2027 with the automatic extension.
• Where: electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. Individuals can file their own FBAR there without registering for an account. It is not filed with your federal tax return.
• Someone filing for you: a CPA, attorney or enrolled agent who files for a client registers as a BSA E-Filer and files as an institution. You authorize that person with FinCEN Form 114a, which you keep for your records instead of submitting it.
• Records: keep the name on the account, the account number, the bank's name and address, the type of account and the maximum value during the year, generally for five years from the FBAR due date.

Maximum values are reported in U.S. dollars, converted at the exchange rate for the end of the calendar year. If a declared disaster affected you, relief notices published on FinCEN's FBAR page can extend the deadline further.

How is the FBAR different from Form 8938?

Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, comes from the tax code (section 6038D) and goes to the IRS with your income tax return. The IRS says plainly that filing Form 8938 does not replace or affect the FBAR obligation. Many people file both.

For married couples filing jointly and living in the United States, the Form 8938 threshold is more than $100,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $150,000 at any time during the year.

What are the FBAR penalties today?

FBAR penalties can be civil and, in serious cases, criminal. The IRS states that assertion depends on facts and circumstances and that civil maximums are adjusted every year for inflation. As of October 3, 2026, the table in 31 CFR 1010.821 lists these maximums for penalties assessed on or after January 17, 2025:

• Non-willful violation: up to $16,536 (the statutory $10,000, adjusted for inflation). After the Supreme Court decision in Bittner v. United States, the IRS manual treats the failure to file a legally compliant FBAR as a single reporting violation, so the non-willful penalty applies per report rather than per account. The law also provides a reasonable cause exception for non-willful violations.
• Willful violation: up to the greater of $165,353 (the statutory $100,000, adjusted) or 50% of the account balance at the time of the violation.

If you missed a year and the IRS has not contacted you, and you are not under civil or criminal investigation, the IRS says to file late FBARs as soon as possible to keep potential penalties to a minimum; the form asks you to explain the reason for filing late. If foreign income also went unreported, the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures may be relevant, and that choice is worth reviewing before you file anything.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

General information, not tax, legal or immigration advice for your situation. Figures and dates were checked on official sources on the date shown and can change; a licensed CPA has not yet reviewed this draft. MTroncone CPA is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency.