FBAR 2026: who must file and how

Any US person, whether citizen, resident or company, must file the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if the combined value of their foreign financial accounts went over $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. The threshold is therefore not tested account by account or on December 31: two accounts each reaching $6,000, even on different dates, pass it. The report goes online to FinCEN, separately from the tax return, by April 15 of the following year, with an automatic extension to October 15 that needs no request. It creates no tax to pay, but forgetting it can be costly: up to $16,536 per non-willful violation on the 2025 table, and for a willful violation the greater of $165,353 or 50% of the balance. The simulator below applies the threshold to your accounts, and shows whether IRS Form 8938 may apply as well.

FBAR (FinCEN 114)

File it

Your total balances against the FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds
Total of highest balances$11,000
FBAR threshold$10,000
Form 8938 (IRS)Below thresholds
8938 thresholds, year end / any time$200,000 / $300,000

A foreign currency account converts at the US Treasury’s year-end rate. Form 8938 assumes you file a return and also counts other assets: this does not replace checking your own case.

How we calculate

What counts towards the threshold

Foreign bank accounts, securities accounts and certain other financial accounts all count, including those over which you only have signature authority. The total adds up each account's highest balance during the year, without asking when they were high together. A foreign currency account converts at the year-end rate published by the US Treasury.

FBAR or Form 8938: both can apply

The IRS states that Form 8938 does not replace the FBAR. It follows other thresholds: for a single person living in the United States, $50,000 at year end or $75,000 at any time; living abroad, $200,000 or $300,000; for a couple filing jointly abroad, $400,000 or $600,000. It goes with the tax return and covers more assets. Living abroad means meeting the IRS test, including 330 days of presence in 12 consecutive months.

The penalties in detail

FinCEN's amounts date from January 2025. An OMB memo of April 2026 cancelled the 2026 adjustment across the federal government, as other agencies have reported; we read no notice specific to FinCEN for 2026. According to the IRS manual, no penalty should apply to a non-willful violation due to reasonable cause if the missing or corrected FBARs are filed, and the government must prove willfulness.

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Questions

What is the FBAR threshold?

$10,000 in the combined value of all your foreign accounts, at any moment in the calendar year. Once that total is passed, every account concerned must go on the form, even those with small balances. If the total never reaches that amount, no report is required for the year, even with several accounts.

When is the FBAR due?

April 15 after the year concerned, with an automatic extension to October 15 that does not have to be requested. The report goes through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing system, not through the tax return. Paper filing needs an exemption from FinCEN, which an individual will rarely have any reason to seek.

What is the penalty for not filing an FBAR?

The January 2025 table caps a non-willful violation at $16,536. For a willful violation the cap is the greater of $165,353 or 50% of the balance. The IRS manual limits total non-willful penalties to 50% of the highest combined balance. Criminal charges remain possible in serious cases.

Do Americans living abroad have to file?

Yes. Being a US person is what counts, wherever you live, and a local current account, a securities account or a cash-value insurance policy can all be in scope. Living abroad changes the Form 8938 thresholds, not the FBAR's $10,000. A US tax professional can confirm borderline cases.

Sources

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Figures 2026, checked on