Do I have to report my foreign bank accounts after moving to the US (FBAR)?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Yes, if the combined value of your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. US residents must then file an FBAR, FinCEN Form 114, electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, separately from the tax return. It is due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15.

Key facts

What	The rule	Source
Who must report	A “United States person”, which includes a US resident: an individual who is a resident alien under 26 U.S.C. 7701(b)	31 CFR 1010.350(a)–(b)
What triggers it	A financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, at least one account outside the US, when the accounts together exceeded $10,000 at any time in the calendar year	IRS, FBAR; FinCEN, Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
Which accounts	Bank accounts, brokerage accounts and mutual funds, among others; whether the account earned taxable income doesn’t matter	IRS, FBAR
Form	FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR)	IRS, FBAR
How to file	Electronically, through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System; not with your tax return	IRS, FBAR
Due date	April 15 after the calendar year reported; automatic extension to October 15, no request needed	IRS, FBAR
Records	Name on the account, account number, bank name and address, account type, maximum value during the year; keep generally 5 years from the FBAR due date	IRS, FBAR

Who has to file

The regulation requires every “United States person” with a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, a financial account in a foreign country to report it. A US person includes a resident, defined as a resident alien under the tax residency rules of 26 U.S.C. 7701(b) (with a slightly different definition of “United States”). So once you are a US tax resident, the FBAR rules apply to you as they do to citizens.

The IRS and FinCEN say the filing threshold is an aggregate value of more than $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, across all your foreign financial accounts together.

Accounts you don’t report

The IRS lists exceptions, including accounts held in an IRA you own or benefit from, accounts in a retirement plan you participate in, and accounts owned by a governmental entity or international financial institution. A spouse doesn’t need a separate FBAR if all accounts are jointly owned with the other spouse, the other spouse files a timely FBAR reporting them, and you signed FinCEN Form 114a authorising them. The IRS says income tax filing status has no effect on this exception.

Filing late

The IRS says filing late or not at all is a violation that may bring civil and/or criminal penalties, and that civil penalty maximums are adjusted annually for inflation. If the IRS hasn’t contacted you and you aren’t under investigation, the IRS says you should file late FBARs as soon as possible, with an explanation of why they are late.

Foreign assets may also have to be reported on IRS Form 8938 with your tax return; that has separate, higher thresholds (see the Form 8938 page).

Sources

31 CFR 1010.350, Reports of foreign financial accounts (eCFR, current) checked 2026-10-25
IRS: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) checked 2026-10-25
FinCEN: Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts checked 2026-10-25

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

This is general information, not legal advice, and Lumen is not a law firm. Rules change and offices differ: check the official sources above before you act. Found something wrong or out of date? Write to support@lumen.observer.