FinCEN Form 114 · Form 8938 · 2026
Do You Need to File an FBAR?
Savings at home, a fixed deposit, an account your parents added you to. Whether you report them to the US depends first on your tax status, then on what they were worth.
Example: a resident in 2026, with savings at home
You file an FBAR for 2026
- FBAR: your accounts at their highest, against more than $10,000$14,000
- Form 8938: on December 31, against more than $50,000$12,000
- Form 8938: at any time, against more than $75,000$14,000
The highest values of your accounts add up to more than $10,000 for 2026, so you file FinCEN Form 114. It is filed online with FinCEN, not with your tax return, by April 15, 2027, with an automatic extension to October 15, 2027. You do not need to ask for it.
No Form 8938: your foreign assets stayed within both of its thresholds. The FBAR and Form 8938 come from different laws, so filing one does not take care of the other.
If you file Schedule B with a Form 1040, it asks about foreign accounts (line 7a in 2025); its instructions say to check Yes even if you do not have to file an FBAR.
For individuals, for 2026. Not covered: a dual-status year, which Form 8938 assets count, and who counts as living outside the US; the Form 8938 instructions set those out. This is information, not tax advice. Checked against IRS sources on . How we research.
Who files an FBAR?
A US person, which includes a resident alien, whose foreign accounts together were worth more than $10,000 at any time in the year. A nonresident alien does not file one.
For the FBAR you are a resident if you meet the green card test, the substantial presence test or the first-year choice. Most F-1 and J-1 students are nonresident aliens in their exempt years, so the FBAR usually starts to matter the year that ends.
Is Form 8938 the same as the FBAR?
Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, goes with your income tax return and has higher thresholds. US citizens, resident aliens and certain nonresident aliens may have to file it. The full guide to the FBAR and FATCA for students.
Sources
- IRS: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
- IRS: Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements
- Internal Revenue Manual 4.26.16
- 31 CFR 1010.350; Internal Revenue Code section 6038D
01Do F-1 students file an FBAR?
Not while they are nonresident aliens. The FBAR is filed by US persons, and a nonresident alien is not one. The question is decided year by year, so check again for the year you become a resident alien.
02What counts toward the $10,000?
All of your foreign accounts together: the FBAR is due when their combined value was more than $10,000 at any time in the year. Add the highest value of each account during the year, counting joint accounts and accounts you can sign on, each converted to dollars at the Treasury reporting rate for the last day of the year.
03When is the FBAR for 2026 due?
April 15, 2027, with an automatic extension to October 15, 2027. You file it online with FinCEN, not with your tax return, and you do not need to ask for the extension.
04What are the Form 8938 thresholds?
Living in the US: more than $50,000 on the last day of the year or $75,000 at any time, unmarried or married filing separately; $100,000 or $150,000 filing jointly. Living outside the US: $200,000 or $300,000, and $400,000 or $600,000 jointly.
05If I file Form 8938, do I still need an FBAR?
Yes, if you meet the FBAR's own test. They come from different laws, so filing one does not take care of the other.
06Does a joint return or a treaty change my FBAR status?
No. For the FBAR you are a resident under the green card test, the substantial presence test or the first-year choice. A choice to file a joint return under section 6013(g) or (h) does not make you a US person for the FBAR, and a treaty tie-breaker claim does not change your status.
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