Do I need Form 8938 as well as an FBAR?

Often, yes. They are separate reports with different thresholds. The FBAR is required once your non-US accounts exceed $10,000 combined at any point in the year. Form 8938 is filed with your US tax return and applies above higher thresholds — for an unmarried person living abroad, $200,000 at year-end or $300,000 at any time. Filing one does not satisfy the other.

Who needs to file an FBAR?

Any US person — a US citizen, green card holder or US tax resident, wherever they live — with a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign accounts whose combined highest balances exceeded $10,000 during the calendar year. For Americans in the UK that usually means current accounts, savings, ISAs, investment accounts and many pensions.

Is a UK pension reportable on the FBAR or Form 8938?

Usually both, depending on the type and value. Personal pensions and SIPPs are generally treated as financial accounts for the FBAR and as specified foreign financial assets for Form 8938. Defined benefit schemes and the State Pension are treated differently; the position should be checked for each scheme.

What are the penalties for not filing?

Both reports carry penalties for failure to file, and Form 8938 failures also keep the IRS assessment period open for the related return. Where the failure was non-wilful there are IRS procedures — the Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures and the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures — that allow you to catch up; we confirm which applies before anything is filed.

FBAR vs FATCA Form 8938: What US Expats in the UK Need to Know

Most Americans living in the UK learn about one of these reports and assume it covers the other. It doesn't. The FBAR and Form 8938 report overlapping information to two different parts of the US government, under two different laws, with different thresholds. Many people in the UK must file both every year.

The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)

The FBAR is a report to the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, not to the IRS, and it is not part of your tax return. You file it online through the BSA E-Filing System.

Who files: any US person with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, non-US financial accounts.
Threshold: the combined highest balances of all your foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point in the calendar year. It is an aggregate test, so once you cross it, every account is listed, including small ones.
What counts: UK current and savings accounts, cash and stocks-and-shares ISAs, investment platforms, most personal pensions and SIPPs, joint accounts (the full balance), and accounts you can sign on for an employer or relative.
Deadline: 15 April, with an automatic extension to 15 October. No request is needed.

Form 8938 (FATCA)

Form 8938, the Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, is filed with your Form 1040 under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. It goes to the IRS as part of your return.

Who files: US taxpayers whose specified foreign financial assets exceed the threshold for their filing status and residence.
Thresholds for someone living abroad: unmarried or married filing separately, $200,000 at year-end or $300,000 at any time; married filing jointly, $400,000 at year-end or $600,000 at any time. For someone living in the US the thresholds are much lower ($50,000 / $75,000 single; $100,000 / $150,000 joint).
What counts: the same accounts as the FBAR, plus assets held outside accounts, such as shares in a UK company, an interest in a foreign partnership, and some pension and insurance interests. Property held directly is not reported.
Deadline: with your return, including extensions.

Side by side

	FBAR (FinCEN 114)	Form 8938 (FATCA)
Filed with	US Treasury (FinCEN), online	IRS, attached to Form 1040
Threshold	$10,000 combined, any point in year	$200,000 / $300,000 abroad (unmarried); higher if joint
Signature authority counts	Yes	No
Shares in a UK company	No	Yes
Deadline	15 April, auto-extended to 15 October	With the return

The three situations we see most

Over $10,000, under $200,000. FBAR only. This covers many salaried Americans in the UK with a current account, savings and a workplace pension.
Over both thresholds. FBAR and Form 8938, listing the same accounts twice with different valuation rules. A house deposit in a savings account is a common trigger.
A UK company or pension. Shares in your own UK limited company go on Form 8938 (and Form 5471), not the FBAR, while the company's bank account you sign on goes on the FBAR. Pensions need checking scheme by scheme.

If you have missed years

Neither report is a tax, but both carry penalties for non-filing, and a missing Form 8938 keeps the IRS assessment period open for that year's return. If your income was reported and only the forms were missed, the IRS has procedures for late information returns; if returns were not filed at all, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures usually apply. The route matters more than the speed, so confirm which applies before filing anything.

How we handle it

We prepare the FBAR and Form 8938 from the same account list each year, with values converted at the Treasury year-end rate, so the two reports agree with each other and with your return. Fixed fee, quoted in writing, as part of your annual US filing or on its own.