Plain English
FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report, FinCEN Form 114) is a US filing requirement for any US person who had $10,000 or more aggregate in foreign financial accounts at any point during the year. Filed annually, separately from your tax return, by April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15.
How it actually works
The FBAR is informational, not a tax return — you do not owe tax based on the FBAR itself. But the penalties for failing to file are severe: $10,000+ per non-willful violation, or up to 50% of account balances per willful violation. Foreign financial accounts include bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and in some interpretations, foreign-domiciled crypto exchange accounts. Self-custody wallets generally are not reportable under current guidance.
What it means for you
For US-citizen expats, FBAR compliance is non-negotiable. The penalties for missing it are punitive. Members operating across multiple jurisdictions need a documented system for tracking all foreign accounts and filing annually.
Our DeFi-for-Expats pillar walks through FBAR compliance for HNW members: account inventory, threshold calculations, and the coordination with FATCA and the rest of US-citizen reporting.
Educational content only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.