Form 8938 vs. FBAR: What's the Difference?

Form 8938 (filed with your tax return) and FBAR/FinCEN 114 (filed separately with FinCEN) both require you to report foreign financial accounts, but they have different thresholds and go to different agencies. The FBAR applies if your foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, while Form 8938 has higher thresholds — $50,000 on the last day of the year or $75,000 at any time during the year for single filers living in the US. Expats living abroad get even higher Form 8938 thresholds: $200,000 on the last day of the year or $300,000 at any time. Filing one does not satisfy the other — if you meet both thresholds, you must file both. The penalties for failing to file either form are steep, so it pays to understand which rules apply to you.