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I'm moving back to the U.S. What happens to my European accounts on the FBAR?

Updated

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Short answer

Report every European account on the FBAR for the year you move, including accounts you close, if your foreign accounts together exceeded $10,000.⁠Source 1⁠Source 2

Closed accounts drop off from the following year. Any account you keep open, such as a pension or a savings account, stays on your FBAR each year.⁠Source 1

Step by step

The FBAR covers the whole calendar year, so the year of your move counts accounts you held before you left.⁠Source 1

  1. Download records before closing

    Save statements for the year and earlier years, and the closure confirmations. Online access often ends at closure, and records are kept for five years.⁠Source 3

  2. Note each account's peak

    Record each account's highest value before it closed. Don't use the zero balance at closure.⁠Source 4

  3. Decide what stays open

    A pension or account you keep in Europe remains a foreign account after you move. It stays on your FBAR in every year your foreign accounts together exceed $10,000.⁠Source 5⁠Source 1

  4. Convert at the December 31 rate

    Use the Treasury rate for December 31 of the year of your move, even for accounts closed months earlier.⁠Source 4⁠Source 6

  5. File by April 15

    The FBAR for the year of your move is due April 15 of the next year, with an automatic extension to October 15.⁠Source 7

Example

Example

Tyler moves from Copenhagen to Denver

Tyler moved in July and closed his Danish current account after it peaked at DKK 95,000 in June. At an illustrative rate of 6.50 kroner per dollar, that is $14,616.⁠Source 4

He files an FBAR for that year listing the closed account and his Danish savings account, which he kept. The next year, only the savings account remains.⁠Source 1⁠Source 5

Common mistake

Skipping the FBAR for the year of the move because the accounts are closed by December 31. Accounts held at any time in the year are reported.⁠Source 1⁠Source 4

More on this question

Do U.S. accounts I opened after moving count?

No. Accounts at banks in the United States are not foreign accounts.⁠Source 5

Do I need to tell anyone that I closed the accounts?

No closure notice is filed. The accounts appear on the FBAR for the year they closed and not after.⁠Source 1

The money went from my European account to my new U.S. account. Does that matter?

Only the European account is reported, at its highest value before the transfer.⁠Source 4⁠Source 5

Related questions

Full rules and more examples: Closed foreign accounts

Sources

Official sources used for this page.

  1. Source 1: IRS, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) (opens in a new tab)

    U.S.-person and $10,000 tests, spousal exception, irrelevance of income-tax filing status and extensions for certain employees and officers.

    irs.govChecked Back to text

  2. Source 2: IRS, Internal Revenue Manual 4.26.16 — FBAR (opens in a new tab)

    Financial interests, signature authority, U.S. residency (including 6013(g)/(h) elections and treaties), family attribution, spousal filing, Form 114a parts and amended-FBAR identifiers.

    irs.govChecked Source updated Back to text

  3. Source 3: FinCEN, Record Keeping (opens in a new tab)

    Records each filer must keep and the employee exception.

    fincen.govChecked Back to text

  4. Source 4: FinCEN, Reporting Maximum Account Value (opens in a new tab)

    Maximum account value for cash and nonmonetary assets, account-by-account values and currency conversion, including another verifiable rate with its source.

    fincen.govChecked Back to text

  5. Source 5: eCFR, 31 CFR § 1010.350 — Reports of foreign financial accounts (opens in a new tab)

    Who has a reportable financial interest in accounts, the rule for owners of record and the definition of signature authority.

    ecfr.govChecked Back to text

  6. Source 6: U.S. Treasury, Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange (opens in a new tab)

    Year-end exchange rates used for the FBAR.

    fiscaldata.treasury.govChecked Back to text

  7. Source 7: FinCEN, Due date for FBARs (opens in a new tab)

    April 15 due date and automatic extension to October 15.

    fincen.govChecked Back to text