FBAR Explained: Who Must Report Foreign Bank Accounts

It catches more people than you'd think: freelancers paid into an overseas account, founders with a company account abroad, and employees who can sign on their employer's foreign account. Here's what the IRS and FinCEN pages say.

Who must file an FBAR

A U.S. person, which includes a citizen, resident, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust and estate, must file when both of these are true:

1. They have a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, at least one financial account located outside the United States.
2. The aggregate value of those foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.

Two details matter. The test is the combined value of all your foreign accounts, not each one on its own. And whether the account earned taxable income has no effect: an account at a financial institution outside the United States is generally a foreign financial account either way.

Accounts you don't have to report

• Correspondent or nostro accounts
• Accounts owned by a governmental entity or an international financial institution
• Accounts maintained on a U.S. military banking facility
• Accounts held in an IRA you own or are a beneficiary of
• Accounts held in a retirement plan you're a participant in or beneficiary of
• Accounts in a trust you're a beneficiary of, if a U.S. person for the trust files an FBAR reporting them

You also don't need your own FBAR if all your accounts are on a consolidated FBAR, or if you jointly own all of them with your spouse, you've signed FinCEN Form 114a authorizing your spouse to file for you, and your spouse reports them on a timely signed FBAR. Your income tax filing status, joint or separate, has no effect on that exception.

FBAR deadline

Item	Rule
Reporting period	The calendar year
Due date	April 15 following the year reported
Extension	Automatic to October 15, no request needed
Disaster relief	The government may extend the date further for people affected
Where it's filed	FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, not with your tax return

That automatic extension is the opposite of an income tax extension, where you have to ask with something like Form 4868. With the FBAR, October 15 applies whether you ask or not.

How to file the FBAR

1. List every foreign account you had an interest in or could sign on during the year.
2. Find each account's maximum value during the year from your statements.
3. Add the values. If the combined total ever went over $10,000, you file.
4. File FinCEN Form 114 online through the BSA E-Filing System.
5. If someone else, such as an accountant, files for you, sign FinCEN Report 114a and keep it. You don't submit it with the FBAR.

Paper filing is the exception. You'd have to call FinCEN's Resource Center and ask for an exemption from e-filing, and the IRS won't accept a printed Form 114 or the old TD F 90-22.1.

Records to keep

For each account you report, keep the name on the account, the account number, the name and address of the foreign bank, the type of account and the maximum value during the year. Bank statements or a copy of the filed FBAR count if they hold that information. Keep them for five years from the FBAR due date.

Employees who report signature authority over an employer's foreign account don't need to keep personal records of it: the employer keeps them. If you run a foreign-owned U.S. company, our Form 5472 guide covers a separate IRS filing that often comes up at the same time.

Late or missed FBARs

Filing late, or not at all, is a violation and can bring civil and criminal penalties, depending on the facts. The IRS says civil maximums are adjusted for inflation each year. Its advice is plain: if the IRS hasn't contacted you and you're not under investigation, file the late FBARs as soon as possible and explain why they're late, or use a compliance option such as the Streamlined filing compliance procedures.

You can also authorize someone to represent you on FBAR matters with Form 2848, entering FinCEN Form 114 as the form number, or with a general power of attorney under state law.

Signature authority without ownership

You don't have to own an account to be caught by the FBAR. Signature or other authority over an account, such as being able to sign on your employer's or a client's foreign account, is enough on its own. The IRS notes that the government keeps extending the FBAR due date for certain employees or officers who have signature authority over, but no financial interest in, certain foreign financial accounts, so if that's your position, read the most recent FinCEN notice for financial professionals before you assume April 15 applies to you.

The verdict

If you have any account outside the U.S., add up the highest balance of each one for the year. If the total passed $10,000 even for a day, file the FBAR online by April 15, or October 15 at the latest. It's a short online form, and skipping it costs far more than the time it takes to file.

Another filing duty is covered in our BOI reporting guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the FBAR threshold?

You file when the aggregate value of your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.

When is the FBAR due?

April 15 following the calendar year reported, with an automatic extension to October 15. You don't need to request the extension.

Do I file the FBAR with my tax return?

No. It's filed electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, separately from your tax return.

Does a business have to file an FBAR?

Yes. A U.S. person includes a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust and estate.

Do I report an account that earned no income?

Yes. Whether the account produced taxable income has no effect on whether it counts for FBAR purposes.

How long should I keep FBAR records?

Generally five years from the due date of the FBAR.