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    Business & Individual Taxes

    FBAR and FATCA Compliance

    FBAR and Form 8938 filing for families with accounts abroad, plus late filings and IRS streamlined submissions for the years that were missed.

    We file FBARs and Form 8938 for families who kept accounts in the country they came from, and we fix the years that were missed. Typically that means a savings account and fixed deposits in India, a pension from a first job in the UK, an account in Canada they still use when they visit, sometimes a joint account a parent added them to. Once you are a US taxpayer, the US taxes your worldwide income and expects those accounts to be reported every year, on the FBAR to the Treasury and, above higher thresholds, on Form 8938 with your tax return. Very few people are told this when they arrive, and the penalties for missing it can be heavy.

    We handle both sides. For the current year, we work out which of your accounts and assets are reportable, whether you owe the FBAR, Form 8938 or both, and we file them at the same time as your return. For earlier years, we establish what was missed and whether the income from those accounts was reported, and then choose the route that fits: late FBARs with a documented reasonable cause explanation, or the IRS streamlined filing compliance procedures with amended returns and a single, defined penalty. Since the IRS took down its Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures page in July 2026, that choice and the explanation that goes with it matter more than they used to.

    As enrolled agents we represent clients before the IRS in all 50 states, including in FBAR examinations, and as a Certified Acceptance Agent office we can prepare the ITIN application a streamlined submission needs when a family member does not have a Social Security number. Everything is handled from our Naperville office, in one engagement.

    Is this your situation?

    • You have bank accounts, fixed deposits, investments or a pension outside the United States
    • You only recently learned about the FBAR or Form 8938 and have not filed them for past years
    • Interest or income from a foreign account never made it onto your US tax return
    • Your foreign accounts together pass $10,000 at some point in the year, even if each one is small
    • You have received an IRS letter about foreign accounts or an FBAR examination

    How We Resolve It

    1. 1

      Account inventory.

      We list every foreign account and asset you have an interest in or authority over, with its highest balance each year, and test each year against the FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds.

    2. 2

      Check the returns.

      We establish whether the income from those accounts was reported and taxed. That answer decides which route is open.

    3. 3

      Choose the route.

      Current-year filing only, late FBARs with a reasonable cause explanation, or the streamlined domestic or foreign procedures, compared on cost and risk before anything is filed.

    4. 4

      Prepare and file.

      FBARs through the BSA E-Filing System, Form 8938 with your returns, and for streamlined cases the amended or late returns, the Form 14654 or Form 14653 certification and, for US residents, the penalty computation.

    5. 5

      Stay compliant.

      We test and file both forms every year after, so a missed year does not happen again.

    How We Help

    • FBAR and Form 8938 handled together, by the same licensed team, every year
    • Missed years fixed by the route that fits your facts, compared before filing
    • Reasonable cause explanations written with the care the 2026 IRS change now demands
    • ITIN applications prepared in house when a family member needs one
    • A No-Obligation Tax Resolution Case Evaluation with a licensed enrolled agent

    Frequently Asked Questions

    If the combined value of all your foreign accounts passed $10,000 at any time during the year, yes, and every account is listed, including small ones. Our FBAR filing requirements guide explains the test.

    Only if your foreign financial assets are above the Form 8938 threshold, which starts at $50,000 at year end or $75,000 at any time for a single filer living in the US, and only in a year you must file a tax return. Many people owe the FBAR but not Form 8938. See FBAR vs Form 8938.

    Not automatically. FBAR penalties depend on facts and circumstances, and a non-willful failure due to reasonable cause, with the accounts properly reported on late FBARs, should not draw one. Where income was not reported, the streamlined procedures replace FBAR penalties with a single defined penalty. Our late FBAR filing guide compares the options.

    An IRS program for taxpayers whose failure to report foreign income and accounts was non-willful. US residents amend three years of returns, file six years of FBARs and pay a 5% penalty on the highest year-end foreign asset total. Those who qualify as living abroad pay no such penalty.

    Individuals living in the United States whose failure to report foreign income, pay the tax and file FBARs or information returns was non-willful, who filed their original returns for the most recent three years, and who are not under IRS civil examination or criminal investigation. People who qualify as living abroad use the streamlined foreign offshore procedures instead.

    Yes. Under FATCA, foreign financial institutions generally report accounts held by US taxpayers to the IRS, and the IRS says streamlined submissions may be checked against information received from banks, financial advisors and other sources. Coming forward before the IRS contacts you keeps the most options open.

    Yes. Once an examination has started the streamlined procedures are closed, and the case is worked through the examination. We represent clients in FBAR examinations under Form 2848. Contact us before you respond to the IRS.

    Get Help Now

    Speak with a licensed tax professional about your fbar and fatca compliance case. Book a no-obligation tax resolution case evaluation.

    (331) 215-7663Book a No-Obligation Tax Resolution Case Evaluation
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