“I had foreign accounts in India and was three years behind on FBAR. Clark walked me through Streamlined Filing. Zero penalties.”
Briefly tell us your situation below.
The basics, explained plainly
If you have foreign bank or financial accounts that exceeded $10,000 (combined, at any single moment) during a calendar year, U.S. law requires you to file FinCEN Form 114, the FBAR. Here are the answers to the questions almost every client asks us first.
Any U.S. person, citizens, green card holders, and U.S. tax residents, with a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign accounts whose aggregate value exceeded $10,000 at any time during the year. The threshold applies to the combined balance of all accounts, not each one individually. Joint accounts, custodial accounts, and even accounts you can sign for at work all count.
Bank accounts, brokerage accounts, mutual funds, certain insurance policies with cash value, and most foreign retirement accounts (some treaty-exempt accounts excluded). Crypto held on a foreign exchange may qualify in certain cases. If you have any account at a non-U.S. institution, assume it counts and let us confirm.
$10,000 per non-willful violation, per form, per year. Willful failure to file can reach $129,210 per violation or 50% of the account balance, whichever is greater, plus possible criminal exposure. Penalties accrue annually for each missed year, so a five-year gap on three accounts is exposure on the order of $150,000 before willfulness is even considered.
Two paths exist for non-willful filers: Delinquent FBAR Submission (used when only the FBAR is missing and all foreign income was reported, usually $0 penalty) and the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (used when foreign income was also unreported, $0 penalty for non-residents and a 5% miscellaneous offshore penalty for U.S. residents). We confirm eligibility before you commit, file the certification (Form 14653 or 14654), and handle the catch-up returns.
FBAR is a Treasury filing (FinCEN, e-filed via BSA) covering accounts. Form 8938 is an IRS filing (attached to your 1040) covering broader foreign financial assets including some non-account holdings. Thresholds differ: FBAR is $10,000 aggregate; Form 8938 ranges from $50,000 to $600,000 depending on filing status and residency. Many people owe both.
Free, no-obligation, same-day reply.
Sound Familiar?
Do not wait until you receive a notice. Get compliant now and protect your assets.
FBAR is due April 15 with automatic extension to October 15. Missed it and unsure what to do.
Our Fix
Filed through IRS Delinquent FBAR or Streamlined Procedures. Most non-willful cases face no penalties.
Multiple years of foreign accounts unreported. Penalties could exceed $10,000 per account per year.
Our Fix
Streamlined Offshore Procedures catch up 6 years at once with reduced or zero penalties.
You have foreign accounts but are unsure if they exceed the $10,000 threshold or qualify.
Our Fix
We audit every account, apply aggregate rules correctly, and file only what is required.
You know you owe one of them but not which, or you owe both but got the threshold wrong.
Our Fix
We file FBAR and Form 8938 correctly with the right thresholds for your filing status and residency.
You received a CP15, letter 3709, or FBAR penalty notice and need to respond fast.
Our Fix
Penalty abatement, First-Time Abate, or reasonable cause response that resolves the notice.
Foreign trusts, PFICs, foreign mutual funds, and crypto exchanges with overlapping forms.
Our Fix
FBAR, Form 8938, Form 3520, and Form 8621 filed together across your whole international picture.
What We Handle
Every filing, every form, handled by specialist CPAs.
FinCEN Form 114 prepared and e-filed for the current tax year. Includes all qualifying foreign accounts (checking, savings, investment, retirement) at any foreign financial institution.
Full preparation and filing for the IRS Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures. Six years of FBAR catch-up, three years of amended returns, non-willful certification. Penalties typically reduced to zero.
Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) attached to your Form 1040. Thresholds from $50,000 to $600,000 depending on filing status and residency.
For non-willful filers who have not previously filed FBARs. Submitted under the Delinquent Submission Procedures. Most clients face no penalties.
Penalty abatement requests, First-Time Abate applications, reasonable cause letters, and appeals for FBAR and FATCA penalties. 99% resolution rate.
FBAR, Form 8938, Form 3520 (foreign trusts), Form 8621 (PFICs), and Schedule B prepared together with cross-form reconciliation.
Not sure which service you need?
Speak to an International Tax ExpertClient Stories
Common situations and how we resolved them
“I had foreign accounts in India from before I moved to the US, and nobody had ever explained FBAR to me. By the time I found out, I was three years behind. Clark walked me through the Streamlined Filing process, we submitted everything, and I ended up with zero penalties. Worth every dollar just for the peace of mind.”
Priya S.
Streamlined Filing
“Living in Singapore for work, my previous CPA kept botching the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and I kept getting surprise tax bills. Clark actually understands Form 2555 and the foreign housing exclusion. First year working with him, I saved about $14,000 on my federal return.”
David H.
Expat Tax Returns
“I set up a UK Ltd for my consulting work and had no idea I was supposed to file Form 5471 every year. TS CPA caught it in our first meeting and got me compliant before the IRS noticed. They handle the annual GILTI and Subpart F calculations now, and the fee is flat, not hourly. I know what I'm paying each year.”
Marcus L.
Foreign Corporation
“My mother passed away in Korea and I inherited around $400,000. I had no idea Form 3520 existed. Two other CPAs told me they couldn't help. Clark had the filing drafted within a week and walked me through every line in plain English. No IRS letters, no stress.”
Jennifer K.
Foreign Inheritance
“I have a rental property in Guadalajara and a consulting job in California. Between FBAR, FATCA, Mexican tax credits, and the rental income, my return was a mess every year. Clark untangled all of it, got me the foreign tax credits I'd been missing, and I got a refund for the first time in four years.”
Ana R.
Dual Citizen Filings
“I came back to California after six years in Germany with a stack of European mutual funds that apparently are all PFICs. Two prior CPAs quietly ignored them. Clark identified them, ran the QEF elections, and put together a clean filing. He also caught a treaty position I'd been missing, and that saved me about $9,000.”
Sophia T.
PFIC Filings
Start with a free, no-obligation conversation. Most clients hear back within 3 hours.