What is the FBAR?

Last reviewed: 2026 · Reading time: ~7 minutes

The FBAR is an annual report that certain U.S. persons must file to disclose their foreign financial accounts to the U.S. government. Although it is closely associated with taxes, it is technically an information report — not a tax return — and it is submitted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) rather than being attached to your Form 1040.

FBAR in one sentence

“FBAR” stands for Foreign Bank Account Report. Its official name is the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, and the form used to submit it is FinCEN Form 114. If you are a U.S. person and the combined value of your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, you generally must file it.

Why does the FBAR exist?

The FBAR requirement comes from the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), a U.S. law first enacted in 1970. The BSA was designed to help the government detect and deter money laundering, tax evasion, and other financial crimes by improving transparency around the movement of money — including money held in accounts outside the United States.

Because foreign financial institutions are not required to report account information to the U.S. government the way domestic banks are, the FBAR shifts part of that reporting responsibility onto the account holder. In other words, the government asks U.S. persons to voluntarily disclose the foreign accounts they control.

Who administers the FBAR?

Two agencies are involved, which is a frequent source of confusion:

• FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, part of the U.S. Treasury) owns the FBAR form and operates the electronic filing system used to submit it.
• The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has been delegated authority to enforce FBAR compliance, including examining filings and assessing penalties.

So while you file the FBAR with FinCEN, it is the IRS that generally handles enforcement.

How the FBAR differs from your tax return

The single most important concept for newcomers is that the FBAR is separate from your federal income tax return. Here is a side-by-side comparison:

What counts as a “foreign financial account”?

The term is broad. Commonly reportable accounts include:

• Checking, savings, and time-deposit (fixed-deposit) accounts at a foreign bank
• Foreign securities, brokerage, and investment accounts
• Certain foreign mutual funds and pooled funds
• Foreign-issued life insurance or annuity policies with a cash value
• Accounts held at a foreign branch of a U.S. bank

“Foreign” refers to the location of the account, not the nationality of the institution. An account at the London branch of a U.S. bank is foreign; an account at the U.S. branch of a foreign bank is domestic. We cover the details of covered and excluded accounts in Who Must File.

A brief history

For decades the FBAR was a little-known paper form. Enforcement intensified after 2009, when high-profile investigations into offshore accounts prompted the government to prioritize foreign-account transparency. In 2013, paper filing was retired and the FBAR moved to mandatory electronic filing through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, where it remains today.

Key takeaways

• The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) discloses foreign financial accounts; it is not a tax.
• It stems from the Bank Secrecy Act and is filed with FinCEN, but enforced by the IRS.
• It is separate from — and in addition to — your income tax return.
• The core trigger is having foreign accounts worth more than $10,000 in aggregate at any point in the year.

This article is general educational information and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Requirements and figures can change; verify details with official government sources and a qualified professional. See our full disclaimer.