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Unreported Foreign Bank Account: What to Do About a Missed FBAR
Updated: Oct 6
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Short answer: Your options depend on why the account went unreported. A non-willful miss can use the late FBAR procedure or the IRS streamlined procedures. If your conduct may have been willful, the streamlined procedures are not for you. Gather statements for every year first.
Key takeaways
An FBAR is due if all your foreign accounts together exceeded $10,000 at any time in the year, by April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15.
If the IRS has not contacted you, the late FBAR procedure is to file the missing FBARs electronically as soon as possible and state the reason.
The streamlined procedures are for non-willful cases only, and they come in a foreign and a domestic version.
A streamlined submission can still be audited, and penalties can follow if the failure was willful or fraudulent.
If you are worried your conduct was willful, the IRS points you to a different program.
First question: willful or non-willful?
The streamlined procedures are only for people whose failure to report foreign assets and pay tax was non-willful: negligence, inadvertence, mistake or a good-faith misunderstanding. That is a question about facts, and it is worth reviewing before you file anything.
You cannot use the streamlined procedures if you are under a civil examination for any year or a criminal investigation. You also need a valid taxpayer identification number: an SSN, or a complete ITIN application if you cannot get an SSN.
Option 1: the late FBAR procedure
This is for people who did not file required FBARs, are not under civil or criminal IRS investigation, and have not been contacted about them. You file the late FBARs electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, as soon as possible, and give the reason. On the electronic form, you pick a reason from the drop-down list, or choose "Other" and explain.
The IRS manual says a penalty will not be asserted for an account if the IRS determines the failure was non-willful, due to reasonable cause, and the account is properly reported on the delinquent FBAR.
Option 2: Streamlined Foreign Offshore
This is for people who meet the non-residency test. For a US citizen or green-card holder, that means that in at least one of the most recent 3 years with a passed return due date, you had no US abode and were outside the US at least 330 full days.
You file delinquent or amended returns for each of those 3 years with all required information returns, plus delinquent FBARs for each of the most recent 6 years, and you pay the full tax and interest. You sign Form 14653 and attach it to each return. The package is mailed on paper, and the FBARs are e-filed.
The IRS says no failure-to-file, failure-to-pay, accuracy-related, information-return or FBAR penalties apply, unless an examination finds fraud or a willful FBAR violation. Penalties already assessed are not abated.
Option 3: Streamlined Domestic Offshore
This is for people who fail the non-residency test, already filed returns for the last 3 years, and left out income from foreign assets. You file amended returns with information returns for 3 years and delinquent FBARs for 6 years, and you pay a Title 26 miscellaneous offshore penalty. That penalty is 5 percent of the highest aggregate year-end balance or value of the foreign financial assets subject to it across the covered years. You sign Form 14654.
What the streamlined procedures do not do
Streamlined returns are processed like any other return and are not acknowledged. There is no closing agreement, so they can still be audited. For every step and form, read our full guide to the streamlined foreign offshore procedures.
If it may have been willful
Do not use the streamlined procedures. The IRS directs people worried about willful conduct to the IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice. The older OVDP closed on September 28, 2018. Get advice before you file.
For context, the statutory cap on a non-willful FBAR penalty is $10,000 ($16,536 in FinCEN's current inflation-adjusted table), accruing per report. For willful violations the cap is the greater of $100,000 or 50 percent of the account balance ($165,353 inflation-adjusted for the dollar figure).
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 abroad and in the US, in English or Spanish. We can:
Review whether the facts point to non-willful conduct, and which option fits.
Prepare the returns and FBARs that the option requires.
You get a flat fee, quoted in writing before any work starts. 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
How many years of FBARs do I need to file late?
Under the streamlined procedures, delinquent FBARs for each of the most recent 6 years for which the due date has passed. Under the late FBAR procedure, you file the FBARs that were required and missed.
Can I just file the FBAR and say nothing?
You should state the reason on the form. The late FBAR procedure asks you to mark why you are filing late. Whether that route fits depends on your facts, so review them first.
Does forgetting to report mean it was willful?
Not by itself. The streamlined procedures define non-willful conduct as negligence, inadvertence, mistake or a good-faith misunderstanding.
Can I use the streamlined procedures if the IRS already contacted me?
Not if you are under a civil examination for any year or a criminal investigation. The late FBAR procedure is also for people who have not been contacted about the missing FBARs.
Is a late FBAR filed electronically?
Yes. FBARs are filed only through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, and individuals can e-file without registering.
Last reviewed: October 2026 by Sabih Shafi, EA
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Talk to an Enrolled Agent
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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