Form 8938: Reporting Foreign Financial Assets to the IRS
Published November 5, 2026
Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, reports foreign assets you own when their total value is above a set threshold. You attach it to your income tax return. It is a separate filing from the FBAR. IRS: About Form 8938
Who must file
You file Form 8938 if you are a specified person and the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than the threshold for your situation. Most U.S. citizens and resident aliens are specified individuals. You may have to file even if none of the assets changes the tax you owe. IRS: Instructions for Form 8938 (2025)
The thresholds
The threshold depends on where you live and how you file. These are the figures in the instructions:
- Single, living in the United States: more than $50,000 on the last day of the year, or more than $75,000 at any time during the year.
- Single, living abroad: more than $200,000 on the last day of the year, or more than $300,000 at any time.
- Married filing jointly, living in the United States: more than $100,000 on the last day of the year, or more than $150,000 at any time.
- Married filing jointly, living abroad: more than $400,000 on the last day of the year, or more than $600,000 at any time.
Living abroad uses the IRS presence tests. For married filing separately, use the instructions, because those rules are different. IRS: Instructions for Form 8938 (2025)
What counts
The form has two parts for foreign assets. Part I covers foreign deposit and custodial accounts, such as bank and brokerage accounts. Part II covers other foreign assets, such as stock or securities issued by a foreign company, an interest in a foreign entity, and some financial instruments held for investment. The IRS says values are converted to U.S. dollars using the rules in the instructions. IRS: Form 8938
How it differs from the FBAR
The FBAR, FinCEN Form 114, is a separate report filed with FinCEN, not with your tax return. It has its own thresholds and its own rules. The IRS instructions point to FinCEN Form 114 for that filing, so check both requirements. Read FBAR basics to see how the two compare. IRS: Instructions for Form 8938 (2025)
Penalties
If you do not file a complete and correct Form 8938 by the due date, including extensions, you may owe a $10,000 penalty. If you still have not filed within 90 days after the IRS mails you a notice, an extra $10,000 can apply for each 30-day period. The IRS says the maximum extra penalty for continuing failure is $50,000. IRS: Instructions for Form 8938 (2025)
No penalty applies if the failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. You must show the facts that support that claim. Penalties can also apply to an underpayment that results from an undisclosed foreign asset. IRS: Instructions for Form 8938 (2025)
How long the IRS can look back
If you do not file Form 8938, or do not report an asset that you should have reported, the statute of limitations for your return may stay open. It can stay open for all or part of the return until 3 years after you file Form 8938. If you leave out more than $5,000 of income that relates to these assets, the IRS can assess tax within 6 years after you file your return. IRS: Instructions for Form 8938 (2025)
Steps to follow
- List each foreign account, investment, and other foreign asset you held during the year.
- For each asset, note its value on December 31 and its highest value during the year.
- Add the values, and compare the totals with the threshold for your situation.
- If you pass the threshold, complete Form 8938 and attach it to your return by the due date.
- Check whether you also need to file an FBAR.
General information, not advice for your situation.
Sources: Sources: IRS, About Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets (https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8938); IRS, Instructions for Form 8938 (2025) (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8938.pdf); IRS, Form 8938 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8938.pdf) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.
