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FBAR and Panama Bank Accounts: What US Citizens Must Report

US citizens, green-card holders, and US tax residents with Panamanian bank accounts have the same FBAR obligation as anyone with foreign financial accounts. The five banks below are among the largest in the country by assets. This post is education-only -- it explains the rule and names the banks; it does not estimate any penalty or guarantee any outcome. An Enrolled Agent can review your specific situation.

Sabih Shafi, EA - Enrolled Agent

The Panamanian banks US filers report most often

These five institutions are among the largest banks in the country by assets:

  • Banco General -- the largest bank in Panama by assets.

  • Banco Nacional de Panama -- a state-owned bank with nationwide presence.

  • BAC International Bank -- a regional bank operating across Central America, headquartered in Panama.

  • Banistmo -- a major Panamanian bank, part of the Grupo Financiero Banistmo.

  • Global Bank -- one of the largest privately owned banks in Panama.

Use these exact names when you enter account information on FinCEN Form 114. Do not translate them, shorten them, or substitute an English version -- the form wants the bank's name as it appears on your statements.

The FBAR rule, plainly

FBAR is FinCEN Form 114, and the trigger is aggregate. The rule is not per-account and not per-bank. You must file when the combined maximum value of ALL your foreign financial accounts exceeds USD 10,000 at any point during the calendar year. "All" means every account in every country -- your Banco General checking, a BAC International Bank savings, a Banistmo investment account, and any account anywhere else, all summed together.

Two details catch people off guard every year:

  • Maximum value, not year-end balance. FBAR asks for the highest balance each account reached at any moment during the year. A year-end statement is not enough. You may need monthly statements or the bank's own max-balance figure.

  • Filed separately from your tax return. The FBAR is filed through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing system, not with your Form 1040. The deadline is April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15 -- no extension request is needed, the extension is built in.

How Panama shares account information with the IRS

Panama participates in the automatic exchange of financial account information with the United States. This means Panamanian financial institutions report account information to Panamanian tax authorities, which transmit that data to the IRS. The practical effect is that the IRS can receive account-balance and payment information from Panamanian banks, which makes non-filing visible to both governments.

FBAR and FATCA are separate regimes with separate purposes, but they overlap on the same accounts. Filing the FBAR does not satisfy FATCA reporting, and FATCA reporting does not replace the FBAR.

Start with the full picture

For a broader look at how foreign bank reporting works and how to pull the right numbers from your statements, read our main post on the topic, anchored to Banco General:

Call or text (323) 900-0305.

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