FBAR & FATCA Compliance for US Expats

Author: Randall Brody, Enrolled Agent | Licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury | Last Reviewed: July 2026

Key Takeaways

FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is required for any US person with foreign financial accounts exceeding $10,000 in aggregate value at any point during the year.
FATCA (Form 8938) is a separate but related reporting requirement with higher thresholds and different filing rules.
FBAR and FATCA are not the same — you may be required to file both.
Non-willful FBAR penalties are up to $10,000 per violation per year. Willful violations carry penalties up to the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the account balance.
Expats with unreported foreign accounts may qualify for penalty-free resolution through the IRS Streamlined Procedures.
Foreign financial institutions now report US account holders directly to the IRS — non-compliance is increasingly detectable.

Foreign Accounts and the US Reporting Web

If you are a US citizen or green card holder living abroad with a foreign bank account, brokerage account, pension fund, or other financial account, you almost certainly have reporting obligations to the US government — beyond your annual tax return.

These obligations exist because the US tax system is based on citizenship, not residency. The Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) are the two primary mechanisms the US government uses to identify and tax income held in foreign financial accounts. Since 2010, foreign financial institutions worldwide are required to report the accounts of US persons directly to the IRS — meaning the government increasingly already knows about accounts that have not been reported.

The penalties for failing to meet these obligations are severe. Understanding what you are required to file — and doing so correctly and on time — is not optional.

FinCEN Form 114

Who Must File

You must file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if you are a US person — including citizens, green card holders, and certain residents — who has a financial interest in, or signature authority over, one or more foreign financial accounts with an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any point during the calendar year. The $10,000 threshold applies to the total of all foreign accounts combined, not each account individually.

What Counts as a Foreign Financial Account

Foreign bank accounts (checking, savings, money market)
Foreign brokerage accounts
Foreign mutual funds
Foreign-issued life insurance policies with cash value
Foreign pension and retirement accounts
Offshore hedge funds and private equity funds

Filing Deadline

The FBAR is due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15. It is filed electronically through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) BSA E-Filing System — not with the IRS and not attached to your tax return.

Form 8938

FBAR vs. FATCA — Key Differences

	FBAR (FinCEN 114)	FATCA (Form 8938)
Filed with	FinCEN (separate from IRS)	IRS (attached to tax return)
Threshold (single, abroad)	$10,000 aggregate	$200,000 on last day / $300,000 at any point
Threshold (joint, abroad)	$10,000 aggregate	$400,000 on last day / $600,000 at any point
Penalty (non-willful)	Up to $10,000 per violation	$10,000 + $10,000/month (up to $50,000)
Covers	Foreign financial accounts	Foreign financial assets (broader scope)

What Non-Compliance Actually Costs

FBAR penalties are among the most severe in the tax code, and unlike income tax penalties, they can exceed the value of the account itself.

Non-willful violation: Up to $10,000 per account per year. A taxpayer with three foreign accounts who has not filed for five years faces potential penalties of up to $150,000 — for accounts that may have contained no more than that amount.
Willful violation: The greater of $100,000 or 50% of the account balance per violation per year. Willful violations can also result in criminal prosecution.
Interest: Interest accrues on unpaid penalties from the date they are assessed.

Resolving Unreported Foreign Accounts

Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedure (SFOP)

If you are an expat currently living abroad and your failure to file FBARs was non-willful, you may qualify for the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedure. Under the SFOP, you file six years of delinquent FBARs with no FBAR-specific penalties. This is the most favorable resolution available to qualifying expats.

Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures

If you have unreported foreign accounts but your tax returns were filed correctly and you have no unreported income, you may be able to file delinquent FBARs without penalty under a specific IRS procedure. This option is narrow and requires careful assessment — Tax Samaritan will determine whether you qualify.

Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedure (SDOP)

If you are no longer living abroad, the SDOP provides a path to compliance with a 5% miscellaneous offshore penalty — significantly less than standard FBAR penalties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The FBAR filing requirement is based on account balance, not income earned. If the aggregate value of your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, you are required to file — regardless of whether you received any interest, dividends, or other income from the accounts.

Yes, in most cases. Signature authority over a foreign account triggers an FBAR filing requirement even if you have no financial interest in the account. There are limited exceptions — for example, for certain employees of publicly traded corporations — but the default rule is that signature authority requires reporting.

Both FBAR and FATCA require reporting of foreign financial assets, but they are separate requirements filed with different agencies, with different thresholds and different penalties. FBAR is filed with FinCEN and covers foreign financial accounts. FATCA (Form 8938) is filed with the IRS as part of your tax return and covers foreign financial assets more broadly. Many expats are required to file both.

Your options depend on whether your failure to file was non-willful or willful, and whether you are currently living abroad or in the US. If your failure was non-willful and you are still abroad, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedure likely provides a penalty-free path to compliance. Tax Samaritan will assess your situation in full before recommending a course of action.

Yes. Since 2010, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires foreign financial institutions to report the accounts of US persons to the IRS. This reporting is now active across more than 100 countries. Banks in those countries identify US account holders and transmit account information to the IRS annually. Non-compliance is increasingly detectable and the risk of discovery is not theoretical.

Most foreign pension accounts held by US expats must be reported on FBAR if the aggregate value of all foreign accounts exceeds $10,000. Depending on the type of pension and the country, additional reporting on Form 8938 (FATCA), Form 3520, or Form 8621 may also be required. Foreign pension reporting is one of the most complex areas of expat tax law — Tax Samaritan will identify all applicable requirements.

Tax Samaritan handles FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) and Form 8938 (FATCA) preparation and filing as part of your annual compliance engagement. For clients with unreported accounts, we assess eligibility for the streamlined procedures, prepare all back FBARs required, draft the non-willfulness certification, and manage the submission process. We also identify any related reporting obligations — such as Form 3520 for foreign trusts or Form 8621 for PFICs — that may apply to your situation.

Work With an FBAR Specialist

FBAR and FATCA compliance is not an area where errors or delays are manageable. The IRS has significantly increased international enforcement, and foreign banks are actively reporting US account holders.

Randall Brody is an Enrolled Agent licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Tax Samaritan has helped hundreds of expats come into full FBAR and FATCA compliance — including clients with multiple years of unreported accounts who qualified for penalty-free resolution under the streamlined procedures.

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