Keeping the company in good standing · A term for founders abroad
What is an FBAR?
FinCEN Form 114. The yearly report to FinCEN of accounts outside the US, filed by a US company when they held over $10,000 between them at any time in the year.
Checked against the IRS's instructions and the states' own rules. Reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
Term 33 of 105 in the glossary, filed under F.FinCEN: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
FBAR, for a founder abroad.
The FBAR, or Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, goes to FinCEN, not the IRS. A US person files one for any year in which the accounts it owns or can sign on outside the US held more than $10,000 between them at any time. It lists each account and its highest balance in the year, and no tax is paid with it.
A company formed in the US counts as a US person here, however it's taxed. So a single-member LLC that the IRS treats as a disregarded entity still files its own FBAR when it passes the test. A common case is a Wyoming LLC with a euro account in the company's name at a bank in the owner's home country. If all the company's accounts are at US banks, there's no FBAR to file.
It's due 15 April for the year before. The extension to 15 October is automatic, so there's nothing to ask for. It's filed online through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, separately from any tax return.
Sources: FinCEN: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts; IRS: report of foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR).
Read next · guide · 5 minForm 5472 and the pro forma 1120, explained for a foreign-owned LLCWhat founders ask next.
- Does my US LLC need to file an FBAR?
- Only if it owns or can sign on accounts outside the US that held more than $10,000 between them at any time in the year. A company that banks only in the US files none.
- Do I file an FBAR personally as a non-resident?
- No. The FBAR is for US persons. Your company may have to file one; you, living abroad and not a US person, don't.
- When is the FBAR due?
- 15 April for the year before, with an automatic extension to 15 October. It's filed online through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System.
03 · See also
- Keeping the company in good standingFinCENThe US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which ran beneficial ownership reporting, receives the FBAR and sets the rules banks follow.Read the term
- US tax for an owner abroadDisregarded entityA single-member LLC the IRS ignores for income tax, treating its income as the owner's; it still files Form 5472 if the owner is foreign.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsForm 5472The yearly IRS information return a foreign-owned US company files to report transactions with its foreign owner, with a $25,000 penalty for missing it.Read the term
- Keeping the company in good standingBeneficial ownership reportThe FinCEN filing that named a company's owners under the Corporate Transparency Act, permanently ended for US-formed companies in August 2026.Read the term
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