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FBAR Filing: Deadline, How to File and Late Options
Short answer: File an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if your foreign accounts together exceeded $10,000 at any time in the year. It is due April 15 of the following year, with an automatic extension to October 15. You file it online with FinCEN, not with your tax return.
Key takeaways
The test is the combined value of all your foreign accounts, at any time in the calendar year.
The due date is April 15, and the October 15 extension is automatic. You do not apply for it.
The FBAR is filed only electronically, through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System.
If you missed a year, file the late FBAR and pick the reason on the form. Streamlined procedures are a separate route for some people.
We prepare and file FBARs for current and past years, remotely, in English or Spanish.
Who must file an FBAR
A US person must file. That means a citizen, a resident, or a US entity, trust or estate. You file if you have a financial interest in, or signature authority over, foreign financial accounts, and the combined value of those accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.
Two points catch people out. First, the $10,000 is a total across every account, not a per-account test. Second, it does not matter whether the account earned taxable income. An account that paid you nothing can still be reportable.
Some accounts do not go on the FBAR:
Correspondent or nostro accounts.
Governmental-entity accounts.
International financial institution accounts.
US military banking facility accounts.
IRA and retirement-plan accounts.
Certain trust accounts that a US person already reports.
If you and your spouse own accounts only jointly, one of you can file for both, provided FinCEN Form 114a authorizes it and your spouse files a timely signed FBAR.
The FBAR deadline and the automatic extension
The FBAR for a calendar year is due April 15 of the next year. The IRS gives an automatic extension to October 15, and you do not need to ask for it. For the 2025 calendar year, that means April 15, 2026, extended to October 15, 2026.
The extension has applied since the FBAR for calendar year 2016. It is separate from any extension of your income tax return, so a tax-return extension does not change the FBAR date.
How the FBAR is filed
The FBAR is filed only electronically, through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. It is not attached to your tax return, and paper filing needs a FinCEN exemption.
Individuals can file through BSA E-Filing without registering for an account. A professional filing for a client registers as a BSA E-Filer.
What to gather before you file
A list of every foreign account you own, share or can sign on, including ones you rarely use.
For each account, the bank's name and address and the account number.
The highest value each account reached during the year.
Statements for the year, so the amounts can be checked.
Each amount converted to US dollars.
Any account where you only have signature authority, such as one you manage for an employer or a relative.
Your spouse's details and Form 114a, if you are filing jointly-owned accounts through one spouse.
Add up the highest values if you are unsure whether you cross $10,000. Several small accounts can cross it together.
Filing a late FBAR
If you did not file a required FBAR, are not under a civil or criminal IRS investigation, and have not been contacted about the missing reports, the route is to file the late FBARs as soon as possible. If you file after October 15 of the following year, the electronic form asks why. Pick a reason from the drop-down list, or choose "Other" and explain in the text box, which allows 750 characters.
The IRS manual says no penalty is asserted for an account if the failure was non-willful, due to reasonable cause, and the account is properly reported on the delinquent FBAR.
The streamlined procedures fit a different situation. They are for people whose failure to report foreign assets and pay tax was non-willful, and they cover returns as well as FBARs. The foreign offshore version, for example, takes delinquent or amended returns for the most recent 3 years plus delinquent FBARs for the most recent 6. If tax returns were also missed or understated, that is the route to look at. For the full steps, read our guides on what to do about an unreported foreign bank account and the streamlined foreign offshore procedures.
If your conduct may have been willful, the IRS points people to its Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice instead of the streamlined procedures. Get advice before you file.
FBAR penalties
The penalty rules come from 31 U.S.C. 5321. For a non-willful violation, the civil penalty is capped at $10,000, and there is no penalty if the violation was due to reasonable cause and the balance was properly reported. For a willful violation, the cap is the greater of $100,000 or 50 percent of the account balance at the time of the violation.
FinCEN's most recent inflation adjustment (January 2025) lists $16,536 for the non-willful cap and $165,353 for the willful dollar figure. The 50 percent alternative is not indexed. The Supreme Court has held that the non-willful cap applies per report, not per account.
What it costs to file
Fees differ by preparer and by how many years and accounts are involved. We quote a flat fee in writing before any work starts, after the free review.
How we help
Sabih Shafi is an IRS Enrolled Agent, federally licensed to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all 50 states. We work remotely with Americans in the US and abroad, in English or Spanish. We can:
Work out whether you must file, and for which years.
Prepare and file your FBAR for the current year and for past years.
Prepare it alongside your US return, so the numbers match.
Review a missed year and tell you whether a late FBAR or the streamlined procedures fits.
The free review is 20 minutes. Call or text (323) 900-0305, or book your free 20-minute tax review.
General information, not tax advice for your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the FBAR due this year?
For the 2025 calendar year, the due date is April 15, 2026, with an automatic extension to October 15, 2026. No request is needed.
Can I file the FBAR online myself?
Yes. The FBAR is filed through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, and individuals can file without registering for an account. A preparer filing for you registers as a BSA E-Filer.
Is there a minimum balance for filing the FBAR?
The trigger is a combined total above $10,000 across all your foreign accounts at any time in the calendar year. One account does not need to exceed that figure on its own.
Do I file the FBAR with my tax return?
No. It goes to FinCEN electronically, not with your return. Form 8938 is a separate IRS form attached to your return, and we compare the two in our FBAR vs FATCA guide.
Do I report an account that earned no interest?
Yes, if it is a reportable account and your combined total passes the threshold. Whether it produced taxable income has no effect on reporting.
Can you file FBARs for years I missed?
Yes. We prepare late FBARs and, where the facts fit, the streamlined procedures. We start by reviewing why the years were missed.
Last reviewed: October 2026 by Sabih Shafi, EA
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This article is general information, not individual tax advice. If you want to talk through your own IRS or state balance, book a free 20-minute review or call or text us directly.
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