FBAR Eligibility

Forum|Forum|2 months ago
March 31, 2026
1 reply
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Hi,

- I have transferred US income to a foreign bank account (more than 10,000). Do I have to complete the FBAR form? The income is not generated outside the US; it is US income.

- I have transferred income to an account overseas for investment purposes, does that income and capital gains also need to be reported on FBAR?

Thank you

ThomasM125

Level 15

Yes, you do need to complete an FBAR return since your foreign bank account balance exceeded $10,000 during the year. It doesn't matter where the income was generated. You don't need to report the income on the FBAR, just the maximum investment balances. You can learn more here in this IRS article.

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ed671890Author

Level 2

Thank you.

- So for example, for a mutual funds investment account, I can only share the amount invested and not the capital gains on it?

- I also was wondering for life insurance accounts, how is that reported? It is not accessible money, as in I will not get a payout soon. Does that have to be reported too? If so, is it the money I will receive as a payout later or the money currently in the account for 2025.

DaveF1006

Level 15

There is a slight misunderstanding in the premise of your first question. On the FBAR, you do not just report the "amount invested" (your principal). You must report the Maximum Account Value during the calendar year.

Whether you need to report a life insurance policy depends entirely on the type of policy you have.

Term Life Insurance: Generally no. Since term life has no "cash value" (it’s just a payout if you pass away), it is not considered a financial account for FBAR purposes.
Whole/Universal/Permanent Life: Yes. If the policy has a cash surrender value, it is reportable.

If your cash surrender amount is more than $10,000, it must be reported on your return.

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