FBAR filing for foreign-owned U.S. companies
Your U.S. company is a U.S. person for FinCEN Form 114, even when every owner lives abroad. We work out who files, which accounts count, and how to fix missed years. Mandarin and English.
Reviewed by Max Lin, CPA · November 2026
What is the FBAR?
The FBAR, or Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FinCEN Form 114), is a yearly report a U.S. person files with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury, when the combined value of their accounts outside the U.S. passes $10,000 at any time in the calendar year. It is filed online through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, separately from the tax return. It reports accounts, not income, and no tax is paid with it.
Who has to file an FBAR?
The FBAR follows the U.S. person, not the owner's passport. A company formed in a U.S. state is a U.S. person from the day it is formed.
The U.S. company
An LLC or corporation formed in the U.S. is a U.S. person for the FBAR, including a single-member LLC that is disregarded for income tax. If it has an account in China, Hong Kong or anywhere outside the U.S. in its own name, it files its own FBAR under its EIN.
Accounts of a foreign subsidiary
When the U.S. company owns more than 50% of a foreign company, it has a financial interest in that company's accounts and reports them too. A U.S. holding company with an operating company in China is the common case.
People who can sign on a foreign account
A U.S. person with signature authority over a foreign account files even without owning it, such as a U.S.-resident manager who can move money in the parent's account. Some officers and employees are exempt, so we check which rule applies.
The owner
An owner living in China is a nonresident alien and does not file for personal accounts, and owning the U.S. company does not change that. Once you hold a green card or meet the substantial presence test, your personal accounts abroad count toward the $10,000 test.
Which accounts count toward $10,000
Add up the highest balance of every foreign account during the year. If the total passes $10,000 even for one day, every account is reported, small ones included.
Usually reported
- Checking, savings and time deposits at a bank outside the U.S., including a foreign branch of a U.S. bank
- Brokerage and securities accounts, and mutual funds held abroad
- Insurance and annuity policies with a cash value
- Accounts of a subsidiary owned more than 50%, and accounts you can sign on
Usually not reported
- Accounts at a bank in the U.S., including the U.S. branch of a foreign bank
- Cryptocurrency held on its own, for now; FinCEN has said it plans to add it
- Real estate, shares held directly in your name, and cash, which are not accounts
- A foreign parent's accounts that you neither own through the U.S. company nor sign on
FinCEN's guidance does not address payment-app balances such as WeChat Pay or Alipay directly. We look at how the balance is held and lean toward reporting when the facts are unclear.
FBAR vs Form 8938, Form 5472 and Form 3520
These four reports are often confused. They come from different laws, go to different places and can all apply to the same family in the same year.
| FBARFinCEN Form 114 | Form 8938FATCA, with the return | Form 5472Related-party transactions | Form 3520Foreign gifts and trusts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it reports | Foreign financial accounts | Foreign financial assets, including accounts and shares held directly | Transactions between the U.S. company and a foreign owner or related party | Large gifts or inheritances from foreign persons, and foreign trusts |
| Who files | U.S. persons and U.S. companies over the threshold | U.S. taxpayers over the threshold; most operating companies are not covered | U.S. corporations 25% foreign-owned, and foreign-owned single-member LLCs | The U.S. person who receives the gift |
| Threshold | $10,000 combined, at any time in the year | Living in the U.S., single: $50,000 at year end or $75,000 at any time; double for joint filers | Any reportable transaction | More than $100,000 a year from a foreign individual |
| Filed with | FinCEN, online, separate from the tax return | The IRS, attached to the income tax return | The IRS, attached to Form 1120 | The IRS, separately, by the return due date |
| Penalty if missed | Over $16,000 a year if non-willful; far more if willful | $10,000, plus up to $50,000 more after IRS notice | $25,000 per form | 5% of the gift for each month late, up to 25% |
Owners often need more than one. A U.S. resident with $80,000 in a Chinese bank files both the FBAR and Form 8938, listing the same accounts on each. The company's filings are on our foreign-owned company page and in the Form 5472 guide.
FBAR deadlines and records
The FBAR runs on the calendar year, whatever the company's tax year.
- All year
Track the highest balance
Record the highest balance of each account during the year. Statements are usually enough, but a balance that spikes mid-month still counts.
- December 31
Convert at the Treasury rate
Convert each maximum value to U.S. dollars at the Treasury's year-end Reporting Rate of Exchange, not the bank's own rate.
- April 15
FBAR due
Due April 15 of the following year, filed online with FinCEN. A CPA can file for you once you sign Form 114a, which we both keep on file.
- October 15
Automatic extension
Every filer gets an automatic extension to October 15. There is no form to request it.
- 5 years
Keep the records
Keep the bank name, account number and maximum value of each account for five years from the due date.
FBAR questions
Do I need to file an FBAR if I am a foreign owner living outside the U.S.?
Not for your personal accounts. A nonresident alien is not a U.S. person for the FBAR. Your U.S. company is, though, so it files if its foreign accounts, or those of a foreign subsidiary it owns more than 50% of, total more than $10,000.
Does a foreign-owned single-member LLC file an FBAR?
Yes, if it has foreign accounts over the threshold. The LLC is a U.S. person for the FBAR even though it is disregarded for income tax, so it files its own FinCEN Form 114 under its EIN. This is separate from the Form 5472 and pro forma Form 1120 it already files.
Is the $10,000 threshold per account?
No. It is the combined maximum value of all your foreign accounts. Two accounts that each peaked at $6,000 put you over the line, and then both are reported.
Where is the FBAR filed, and is it part of my tax return?
It is filed online with FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing System, not with the IRS, and it is not attached to Form 1040 or Form 1120. It is due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15.
Do I file both the FBAR and Form 8938?
Often, yes. They come from separate laws with separate thresholds. A U.S. resident over both thresholds lists the same accounts on each, and filing one does not satisfy the other.
Do WeChat Pay or Alipay balances count?
FinCEN has not addressed them directly. Whether a balance is a reportable account depends on how it is held, for example in a linked bank account or a stored-value wallet. We review the facts and lean toward reporting when they are unclear.
I missed FBARs for past years. What should I do?
If the income from those accounts was on your tax returns and the IRS has not contacted you, the Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures usually let you file late without a penalty. If income was missed, the Streamlined procedures may apply. Deal with the past years before filing this year's report.
Can a CPA file the FBAR for me?
Yes. You sign FinCEN Form 114a to authorize us, we both keep a copy, and we file the report electronically. We work in English and Mandarin.
Ask a CPA about your FBAR
Tell us where the accounts are and where the owners live. We answer in English or Chinese.
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