FinCEN and Form 8938

delphier · ‎January 23, 2026

Hello,

I hope to get guidance what my husband and I should do.

I, taking my daughter, moved to the US since 2016 (filed as head of household until my husband's here in 2019), my employer hired PwC at that time, and I believe they prepared/submitted everything which was required. I worked outside the country from Jun 2023 to Sep 2024, the salary was not in US dollars, so I opened a foreign bank account. It exceeded $10K and the money are still there. I claimed the income when I did my 2024 & 2025 tax return.

My husband, who moved to the US since 2019, had and is still having a bank account outside the country. I filed the tax return as married filing jointly; I don't remember if I claimed his bank account or how much in it if yes, because I had no idea about that. What I'm sure is the money is more than $10K as old money (he had no income since 2019). End of last year, my husband did a $34K wire transfer from his foreign bank to the US bank.

We had no idea about FinCEN or Form 8938 before and were not aware that our foreign bank accounts might be something related to it. So, my question is, what should we next to avoid a fine by IRS?

Thank you

MaxA1

The filing thresholds for needing to file Form 8938 are different from the filing thresholds for an FBAR. For married couples filing jointly, the filing threshold is $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or $75,000 at any time during the tax year. For more information on Form 8938 see, Do I need to file Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets?

I would recommend to start filing as soon as you realize you need to file. The FBAR has the same due date as the federal income tax return, including extensions. See Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts for more information on FBARs.

Also see Delinquent FBAR submission procedures and Streamlined filing compliance procedures, for more information about filing delinquent FBARs.