FATCA Form 8938 Calculator — Reporting Threshold Check

Form 8938 is required under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), enacted in 2010. It is filed with your Form 1040 and reports specified foreign financial assets to the IRS. Unlike the FBAR, which is filed separately to FinCEN, Form 8938 is an IRS form attached to your tax return. Authority: IRC §6038D and Treas. Reg. §1.6038D-2.

They are separate obligations that often overlap:

• Filing location: Form 8938 is filed with the IRS (attached to Form 1040); FBAR is filed with FinCEN via the BSA E-Filing System.
• Thresholds: FATCA thresholds range from $50,000 to $600,000 depending on status and residence; FBAR threshold is $10,000 aggregate.
• Covered assets: FATCA covers a broader range of “specified foreign financial assets” including interests in foreign entities; FBAR covers financial accounts only.
• Both can apply: Meeting the FATCA threshold does not relieve the FBAR obligation, and vice versa.

US persons (citizens, residents, certain nonresidents) whose specified foreign financial assets exceed the applicable threshold. The four threshold cells for 2025:

• Single / MFS / HoH / QSS — US: >$50,000 year-end or >$75,000 any-time
• MFJ — US: >$100,000 year-end or >$150,000 any-time
• Single / MFS / HoH / QSS — Abroad: >$200,000 year-end or >$300,000 any-time
• MFJ — Abroad: >$400,000 year-end or >$600,000 any-time

Form 8938 uses a dual-threshold test. The year-end test checks the total value of your specified foreign financial assets on December 31. The any-time test checks the maximum total value at any point during the tax year. Filing is required if either threshold is exceeded — so even if your year-end balance is below the limit, a high mid-year balance can still trigger the obligation.