Specialized Returns for Individuals · International information reporting

Filing and reporting requirements and due dates (e.g., FBAR, Form 8938, Form 8865, Form 5471, Form 3520)

Verification 2026 Verified
tax year · reviewed 2026-08-21 · Draft for I. Ohu review

International information reporting catches ordinary people. A client who inherited a bank account abroad, married someone with family money overseas, or worked a few years in another country can be sitting on two or three filing obligations that have nothing to do with owing tax. Each form has its own trigger, its own threshold and its own deadline, and the one that catches people hardest is not a tax form at all — the FBAR is filed with a bureau of the Treasury that is not the IRS, on a different system, under a different title of the United States Code.

The rule

The FBAR. an aggregate value greater than $10,000 at any time during the calendar year^TY2026 It is due received by 15 April following the calendar year reported, with an automatic 6-month extension to 15 October that need not be requested — filed electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System and never with a federal tax return^TY2026 And what it reports is the maximum value of each account during the year, taken from periodic account statements in the currency of the account and converted at the end-of-calendar-year exchange rate — the maximum balance, not the closing balance^TY2026

Form 8938. Required of an individual holding an interest in a specified foreign financial asset above a threshold that depends on filing status and residence: exceeding $50,000 on the last day of the taxable year, or $75,000 at any time during the year^TY2026 exceeding $100,000 on the last day of the taxable year, or $150,000 at any time during the year^TY2026 — and abroad, exceeding $200,000 on the last day of the taxable year, or $300,000 at any time during the year, for a specified individual who is a qualified individual under IRC § 911(d)(1)^TY2026 exceeding $400,000 on the last day of the taxable year, or $600,000 at any time during the year^TY2026 It is attached to the annual income tax return and due on the date of that return, including any applicable extensions — it is not a standalone filing (IRC § 6038D(a); IRS Form 8938 and FBAR comparison)^TY2026 What it reports is the maximum value of each specified foreign financial asset, at fair market value in United States dollars in accordance with the Form 8938 instructions, converted at the end-of-taxable-year exchange rate^TY2026

And the statute understates it. $50,000 of aggregate value is the figure IRC § 6038D(a) prints, subject to 'such higher dollar amount as the Secretary may prescribe' — the four threshold pairs that actually apply are regulatory, so the section alone understates the requirement for every filer but an unmarried one living in the United States^TY2026

Forms 5471 and 8865. Both rest on IRC § 6038, which requires a United States person controlling a foreign business entity to furnish prescribed information. furnished for the annual accounting period of the foreign business entity ending with or within the United States person's taxable year, at the time and in the manner the Secretary prescribes — in practice with the income tax return (IRC § 6038(a)(2))^TY2026

Forms 3520 and 3520-A. Two obligations under IRC § 6048 that people conflate. on or before the 90th day after a reportable event, or such later day as the Secretary prescribes — the creation of a foreign trust by a United States person, a transfer of money or property to one including by reason of death, and the death of a citizen or resident in the circumstances the section sets out (IRC § 6048(a))^TY2026 Separately, a United States person treated as the owner of any portion of a foreign trust must submit the prescribed information and is responsible for ensuring the trust itself files a return with a full accounting of its activities, names its United States agent, and furnishes information to United States owners and beneficiaries (IRC § 6048(b))^TY2026

Foreign gifts. aggregate foreign gifts received by a United States person during the taxable year exceeding $10,000 — a foreign gift being any amount received from a non-United States person that the recipient treats as a gift or bequest, excluding a qualified transfer (IRC § 6039F(a), (b))^TY2026 This is reported on Form 3520 as well, which is why a client who has received a large inheritance from abroad and has no foreign trust at all may still have a Form 3520 obligation.

Current figures

Item	Rule
FBAR threshold	an aggregate value greater than $10,000 at any time during the calendar year^TY2026
FBAR due date	received by 15 April following the calendar year reported, with an automatic 6-month extension to 15 October that need not be requested — filed electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System and never with a federal tax return^TY2026
FBAR valuation	the maximum value of each account during the year, taken from periodic account statements in the currency of the account and converted at the end-of-calendar-year exchange rate — the maximum balance, not the closing balance^TY2026
FBAR exclusions	7 categories the IRS lists as not reportable — correspondent or Nostro accounts, accounts owned by a governmental entity, accounts owned by an international financial institution, accounts maintained on a U.S. military banking facility, accounts held in an IRA of which the person is owner or beneficiary, accounts held in a retirement plan of which the person is participant or beneficiary, and accounts held in a trust of which the person is a beneficiary where a U.S. person files an FBAR reporting them^TY2026
Form 8938, single or separate	exceeding $50,000 on the last day of the taxable year, or $75,000 at any time during the year^TY2026
Form 8938, joint	exceeding $100,000 on the last day of the taxable year, or $150,000 at any time during the year^TY2026
Form 8938, living abroad	exceeding $200,000 on the last day of the taxable year, or $300,000 at any time during the year, for a specified individual who is a qualified individual under IRC § 911(d)(1)^TY2026
Form 8938, joint and abroad	exceeding $400,000 on the last day of the taxable year, or $600,000 at any time during the year^TY2026
Form 8938 due date	attached to the annual income tax return and due on the date of that return, including any applicable extensions — it is not a standalone filing (IRC § 6038D(a); IRS Form 8938 and FBAR comparison)^TY2026
Form 8938 valuation	the maximum value of each specified foreign financial asset, at fair market value in United States dollars in accordance with the Form 8938 instructions, converted at the end-of-taxable-year exchange rate^TY2026
Statutory floor in § 6038D(a)	$50,000 of aggregate value is the figure IRC § 6038D(a) prints, subject to 'such higher dollar amount as the Secretary may prescribe' — the four threshold pairs that actually apply are regulatory, so the section alone understates the requirement for every filer but an unmarried one living in the United States^TY2026
Forms 5471 and 8865 timing	furnished for the annual accounting period of the foreign business entity ending with or within the United States person's taxable year, at the time and in the manner the Secretary prescribes — in practice with the income tax return (IRC § 6038(a)(2))^TY2026
Form 3520 event notice	on or before the 90th day after a reportable event, or such later day as the Secretary prescribes — the creation of a foreign trust by a United States person, a transfer of money or property to one including by reason of death, and the death of a citizen or resident in the circumstances the section sets out (IRC § 6048(a))^TY2026
Form 3520-A owner duty	a United States person treated as the owner of any portion of a foreign trust must submit the prescribed information and is responsible for ensuring the trust itself files a return with a full accounting of its activities, names its United States agent, and furnishes information to United States owners and beneficiaries (IRC § 6048(b))^TY2026
Foreign gift threshold	aggregate foreign gifts received by a United States person during the taxable year exceeding $10,000 — a foreign gift being any amount received from a non-United States person that the recipient treats as a gift or bequest, excluding a qualified transfer (IRC § 6039F(a), (b))^TY2026
Form 8938 penalty	$10,000, plus $10,000 for each 30-day period or fraction of one during which the failure continues more than 90 days after the Secretary mails notice, to a maximum continuation penalty of $50,000^TY2026
Section 6038 penalty	$10,000 for each annual accounting period, plus a further $10,000 for each 30-day period beginning 90 days after the Service mails notice, capped at $50,000 of continuation penalty^TY2026

How it works in practice

Ask the screening questions of every client, not just the ones who look international. Do you have any account outside the United States, including one you do not use? Do you have signature authority over anyone else’s — a parent’s, an employer’s? Have you received money or property from someone overseas? Do you hold shares in a company organised abroad? Each maps to a different form, and none depends on the client owing any tax.

Separate the two systems. The FBAR is a Bank Secrecy Act filing made to FinCEN. Form 8938 is a tax form attached to the return. They have different thresholds, different valuation rules, different deadlines and different penalties, and filing one has never satisfied the other. A client filing jointly and living in the United States, with a single account abroad between the two thresholds, files an FBAR and no Form 8938.

Get the FBAR valuation right. The report asks for the maximum value during the year, taken from periodic statements in the account’s own currency and converted at the end-of-year rate. An account that peaked at a large balance in June and was empty by December is reported at the June figure.

Treat the 90-day clock as real. The § 6048(a) notice of a reportable event runs from the event, not from the year end. A client who funds a foreign trust in March has a deadline in June, and the annual return does not cure a missed notice.

Do not overlook the foreign gift report. A client who receives an inheritance from a foreign relative has a § 6039F obligation once the aggregate for the year passes the threshold, even though the receipt is not income, no tax is due, and no trust is involved.

And check the residence thresholds before concluding no Form 8938 is required. The figures for a client living abroad are four times the domestic ones, which cuts both ways: an expatriate client with substantial assets may be under the threshold, and a client who moved back mid-year may not be.

The account that needed one form and not the other

A married couple filing jointly and living in Ohio hold a single savings account in Portugal. Its balance peaked at $118,000 in July and closed the year at $94,000. They have no other foreign assets.

They must file an FBAR: the aggregate exceeded the threshold at a point in the year, and the reported figure is the July maximum converted at the year-end rate, not the December balance. They need no Form 8938: the joint domestic thresholds are $100,000 on the last day of the year — $94,000, under it — or $150,000 at any time, which the July peak does not reach. One form, not two, and the arithmetic turns on which balance each form asks for.

The trust funded in March

A client transfers $400,000 to a trust she established in Jersey on 12 March. She mentions it to her preparer in January of the following year, when gathering documents for the return.

The § 6048(a) notice was due on or before the 90th day after the transfer — in June. The obligation is event-driven and does not wait for the tax year to close, and filing the annual return correctly does not repair the missed notice. This is the single most common way an otherwise compliant client acquires an international reporting failure.

The inheritance that was not income

A client receives €310,000 from his late aunt’s estate in Spain. It is not income, no United States tax is due on it, and he has no foreign accounts once the money is transferred home.

He has a Form 3520 obligation. IRC § 6039F requires a United States person to report aggregate foreign gifts above the threshold, and a bequest from a non-United States person is a foreign gift for this purpose. Nothing about the transaction is taxable, and the reporting failure penalty regime is the same as if it were.

The threshold that was in the wrong place

A preparer reads IRC § 6038D(a), sees $50,000 of aggregate value, and applies that figure to a married couple living in Singapore.

The statutory figure is a floor subject to “such higher dollar amount as the Secretary may prescribe”, and the operative thresholds for that couple are $400,000 on the last day of the year or $600,000 at any time. Reading the section alone produces a Form 8938 for a couple who did not need one — and, on different facts, would produce confident advice that a domestic couple at $120,000 must file when the last-day test is what decides it.

Treating the FBAR as a tax form. It is a Bank Secrecy Act report to FinCEN, filed on a separate electronic system and never with a federal tax return.

Reporting the closing balance on the FBAR. The report asks for the maximum value during the year.

Assuming one filing covers both. Form 8938 and the FBAR overlap heavily and satisfy each other not at all.

Applying the § 6038D(a) figure to everyone. $50,000 of aggregate value is the figure IRC § 6038D(a) prints, subject to 'such higher dollar amount as the Secretary may prescribe' — the four threshold pairs that actually apply are regulatory, so the section alone understates the requirement for every filer but an unmarried one living in the United States^TY2026

Missing the 90-day event notice. IRC § 6048(a) runs from the reportable event. The annual return is a separate obligation and does not cure it.

Forgetting that a foreign gift is reportable. IRC § 6039F applies to amounts the recipient treats as a gift or bequest, whether or not any tax arises.

Assuming the automatic FBAR extension needs requesting. It does not — the extension to 15 October applies without any filing.

Using the domestic Form 8938 thresholds for a client living abroad. They are four times higher, and the residence test is its own enquiry.

How this has changed

The architecture here was assembled in layers. The FBAR requirement dates from the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 and lived in obscurity for decades. Sections 6038 and 6046 are older still. Section 6039F arrived in 1996, § 6048 took its modern form in the same Act, and § 6038D — the newest of them — came in with FATCA in 2010, which is why Form 8938 duplicates so much of what the FBAR already collected.

Pub. L. 119-21 amended none of them. The most consequential recent change is administrative rather than statutory: the FBAR deadline moved from 30 June to 15 April with an automatic six-month extension, aligning it with the income tax return. That removed the trap that had caught the largest number of people — a June deadline nobody’s calendar contained — and replaced it with a softer one, since the automatic extension means a missed 15 April is not itself a failure.

What has not changed is the mismatch between the two regimes. Every attempt to rationalise Form 8938 and the FBAR into a single filing has failed, and the practical consequence is that the comparison table on the Service’s own website is the working tool for this topic rather than either statute.

Exam focus

Expect a threshold question. Know the FBAR figure and that it is an aggregate tested at any time during the year, and know the four Form 8938 pairs — the domestic and abroad thresholds, single and joint, each with a last-day figure and an any-time figure.

Expect a due date question. Form 8938 goes with the return and follows its extensions; the FBAR is due 15 April with an automatic extension to 15 October that requires no request.

The § 6048(a) 90-day event notice is the reliable distinguishing item, as is the fact that a foreign gift above the § 6039F threshold is reportable even though nothing about it is taxable.

Check yourself

1. A taxpayer’s foreign accounts totalled $9,000 for most of the year but reached $11,400 for two weeks in May. Is an FBAR required?

Answer: Yes. The test is whether the aggregate value of the foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported, and the reported figure is the maximum value.

2. When is Form 8938 due?

Answer: It is attached to the annual income tax return and due on the date of that return, including any applicable extensions (IRC § 6038D(a)). It is not a standalone filing.

3. A United States person transfers property to a foreign trust on 1 October. By when must notice be given?

Answer: On or before the 90th day after the reportable event, or such later day as the Secretary prescribes (IRC § 6048(a)(1)) — so around 30 December, not with the following year’s return.

4. A client receives a $600,000 bequest from a non-resident alien relative. Is it reportable?

Answer: Yes. IRC § 6039F requires a United States person receiving aggregate foreign gifts above $10,000 in a taxable year to report them, and a bequest treated as such by the recipient is a foreign gift. That the receipt is not income and produces no tax is irrelevant.

5. A married couple living abroad and filing jointly hold foreign assets worth $310,000 throughout the year. Must they file Form 8938?

Answer: No. For a married couple filing jointly and living abroad the thresholds are more than $400,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $600,000 at any time during it, and neither is met.

Change log

2026-08-21Initial draft. Sets out the trigger and the clock for each of the international information returns an individual may face — the FBAR under the Bank Secrecy Act, Form 8938 under IRC § 6038D, Forms 5471 and 8865 under § 6038, Forms 3520 and 3520-A under § 6048, and the foreign gift report under § 6039F — with the valuation rules that differ between the FBAR and Form 8938 and the § 6038D(a) statutory floor that understates every regulatory threshold but one.