FATCA: what your bank tells the IRS, and what you still must.
FATCA has two halves. Foreign financial institutions report US-person accounts to the IRS, and US persons report their own foreign assets on Form 8938. Both run in parallel, which is how mismatches surface.
Figures on this page are stated for tax year 2025/26 UK · 2025 US. Thresholds change annually.
Form 8938, and its thresholds
Form 8938 files with your tax return and reports specified foreign financial assets: accounts, foreign shares held outside an account, interests in foreign entities, pensions and some insurance products. For taxpayers living abroad the thresholds are $200,000 single or $400,000 joint at year end, with higher mid-year triggers.
It overlaps heavily with the FBAR but is not a substitute for it. Different agency, different threshold, different asset definitions — and filing one never excuses missing the other.
- Expat thresholds: $200,000 single / $400,000 joint at year end
- $10,000 penalty for failure, rising to $60,000 for continued non-compliance
- An unfiled 8938 holds the statute of limitations open on the whole return
Your bank has already reported
UK financial institutions identify US-person accounts and report them via HMRC to the IRS annually under the intergovernmental agreement. That is what the 'are you a US person?' letters are about, and answering evasively creates a far worse problem than answering honestly.
Because the data flows automatically, undisclosed accounts eventually surface without anyone doing anything. Where years are missing, the Streamlined procedures close the gap — penalty-free on the Foreign route if you live abroad and qualify — but only before the IRS makes contact.
Questions we get about this
FBAR is FinCEN Form 114, filed separately, triggered by $10,000 aggregate across foreign accounts. FATCA is Form 8938, filed with your return, with much higher thresholds and a broader asset definition.
Most people abroad file the FBAR every year and Form 8938 only once their assets grow. Many file both.
Generally yes - foreign pensions are specified foreign financial assets, reported at their year-end value.
Reporting it does not make it taxable; the treaty deals with the tax separately. This is disclosure, not a charge.
Answer it accurately. It is the bank meeting its own obligation, not an IRS enforcement action.
If it has revealed a filing obligation you did not know about, deal with that on your own terms now - the routes back are only open before the IRS contacts you.
Yes. The $10,000 failure-to-file penalty applies to the form itself, regardless of whether any tax was owed on the assets.
That is the pattern across all the disclosure forms: the cost is in the silence, not the income.
Related pages
- Service
Form 8621 (PFICs)
Form 8621 PFIC reporting: which UK funds qualify, excess distribution treatment, QEF and mark-to-market elections, and annual filing requirements.
- Glossary
FBAR: definition
The Foreign Bank Account Report — FinCEN Form 114 — and its $10,000 aggregate trigger.
- Pillar guide
Tax specialists for US and UK
What US and UK tax specialists handle that a general accountant does not: residence tests, treaty relief, FBAR, PFICs, pensions, property and catch-up filings.
- Service
FBAR & FATCA reporting
FBAR (FinCEN 114) and FATCA (Form 8938) preparation: thresholds checked, accounts aggregated, and both reports filed alongside the return they belong to.
- Guide
FBAR & FATCA thresholds
FBAR and FATCA thresholds explained: which accounts count, how the $10,000 aggregate works, Form 8938 limits and fixing missed filings.
- Free tool
Streamlined eligibility checker
Free checker: answer six questions to see whether the Streamlined Foreign or Domestic Offshore route fits your catch-up - and what each would cost.
Further reading
- Form 8938 vs the FBAR: two reports, one set of accounts
Same accounts, two different reports, two different agencies. Here is what separates the FATCA form from the FBAR, and why many expats file both.
- FBAR filing cost: what's free, what isn't, and what drives fees
The government charges nothing to file an FBAR. So where do the fees come from, when is paying someone worth it, and what does skipping it cost?
Last reviewed · Figures stated for tax year 2025/26 UK · 2025 US. Thresholds and rates change annually — check figures against the current tax year before relying on them.
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