Your foreign bank account comes with a US reporting rule that starts at $10,000 combined
Quick quiz: how much money can you park in a foreign bank account before the US government wants a report? Less than most people moving abroad expect.
The line is $10,000, and it’s a combined total. If your foreign accounts together go over that amount at any point during the calendar year, you may owe the US an FBAR.
Before you keep reading: if “moving abroad” has been a someday thought, I turned everything I wish I’d known into one guide. Visas, jobs, country picks — check it out.
The $10,000 is a combined total, and one day is enough
Add up every foreign account you own or have a financial interest in. If the combined value exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, the reporting requirement kicks in.
“At any time” is the sneaky part. One big transfer for a security deposit, sitting there for a single afternoon, can be enough. Yes, really.
It also doesn’t matter whether the account earns taxable income. A checking account paying zero interest still counts, which feels a little unfair, but that’s the rule.
Here’s the one people miss: you don’t have to own an account for it to land on your list. The rule covers accounts where you have signature or other authority, not just the ones in your name.
So if you help manage someone else’s account abroad, flag it. There is a spouse exception, though. If you jointly own all of your foreign accounts with your spouse, you signed FinCEN Form 114a authorizing your spouse to file for you, and your spouse timely files a signed FBAR reporting them, you don’t have to file your own.
It’s not part of your tax return (my least favorite part)
The FBAR is FinCEN Form 114, and you file it electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System. You do not file it with your federal tax return. Paper filing requires an exemption from FinCEN, and printed forms won’t be accepted.
Here’s my hot take: a report that lives on a different website than your tax return is a trap for anyone who thinks “I filed, I’m done.” Put it on your calendar as its own task.
The due date is April 15 following the calendar year you’re reporting. There’s an automatic extension to October 15, and you don’t need to request it.
Keep your records, because five years is a long time
The IRS says to keep the account name, account number, bank name and address, account type, and maximum value for five years from the FBAR due date. Boring? Absolutely. A simple spreadsheet is a small price.
Penalties are where it stops being boring. The IRS says civil and criminal penalties may apply to reporting or recordkeeping violations, depending on the facts and circumstances.
This is general information, not tax advice, so check the IRS page on FBAR filing or talk to a pro who handles expat returns before you file.
So, what’s your plan: one account abroad, or a few scattered across countries? If getting set up overseas has you curious, my Live Abroad section has more.
