Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, part of FATCA) is attached to your Form 1040. If you live abroad, you only file it when your foreign financial assets are worth more than $200,000 on December 31 or $300,000 at any time ($400,000 / $600,000 if married filing jointly).
It overlaps with the FBAR but doesn't replace it. Many people file both.
Thresholds for people living abroad
These higher thresholds apply if you pass the IRS's presence-abroad test: you are a US citizen who was a bona fide resident of another country for an uninterrupted period that includes the whole tax year, or you were in another country for at least 330 full days in a 12-month period ending in the tax year. Most Americans who live in Canada year-round qualify.
You file if either test is met: the year-end value or the highest value during the year. If you don't have to file a US tax return at all, you don't file Form 8938.
What counts
"Specified foreign financial assets" include Canadian bank and investment accounts, registered accounts (RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, FHSA, RESP), and your interest in a foreign pension plan, such as an employer pension. Canadian government benefits like CPP, QPP and OAS are excluded: the instructions treat foreign social security as not reportable.
Values are converted at the Treasury rate for the last day of the year, the same rates used for the FBAR. Assets you already report on time on certain other forms aren't repeated: a TFSA or FHSA covered by Forms 3520 and 3520-A, or a fund covered by Form 8621. Instead, Part IV of Form 8938 lists how many of those forms you file. They still count toward the threshold.
FBAR or Form 8938?
| FBAR (FinCEN 114) | Form 8938 | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed with | FinCEN, online only | Your Form 1040 |
| Threshold (living abroad) | Over $10,000 combined, any time | Over $200,000 year end or $300,000 any time (single) |
| Spouse who isn't a US person | Doesn't file | Doesn't file |
| CPP / OAS | Not reported | Not reported |
| Pension plan interests | Accounts are reported | Reported in Part VI |
Penalties
The penalty for not filing a required Form 8938 is $10,000, with up to $50,000 more if you still don't file after the IRS notifies you. Catch-up filers include any missing Forms 8938 with their Streamlined returns.