FBAR vs Form 8938 for Americans in France: Which Form Covers Which French Account or Asset and at What Threshold (2026)
By Aurelio Maurici Co-Founder, Master of Business Law, Aix-Marseille Université III
Published
An American in France can owe two separate reports on the same French bank account: the FBAR, filed with FinCEN, and Form 8938, attached to the tax return. They have different thresholds, different assets and different deadlines, and filing one does not replace the other. This guide puts them side by side, then goes through the French accounts and assets an American typically holds and says which form the IRS table assigns to each.
The Short Answer
| Form 8938 | FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed with | Your annual return, to the IRS | FinCEN, electronically; not with a tax return |
| Threshold | More than $200,000 on the last day of the year or $300,000 at any time (unmarried, living abroad); $400,000 and $600,000 if married filing jointly | Aggregate value of foreign financial accounts above $10,000 at any time in the calendar year |
| What is counted | Maximum value of specified foreign financial assets, including accounts and certain other investment assets | Maximum value of financial accounts at a financial institution physically located abroad |
| Due | With the return, including extensions | April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15 |
| Penalty the page states | Up to $10,000, plus up to $10,000 for each 30 days after IRS notice, to a potential maximum of $60,000; criminal penalties may apply | Civil penalties adjusted each year for inflation; criminal penalties may apply |
Source: irs.gov, comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements (19 September 2026).
The wider picture of an American’s taxes in France is in the guide to US taxes when you live in France. This page is the one to open when the question is only: which form do my French accounts go on?
Who Files Which
The IRS comparison page says Form 8938 is filed by specified individuals who hold specified foreign financial assets above the threshold, and that specified individuals include U.S. citizens, resident aliens and certain nonresident aliens. The FBAR is filed by U.S. persons, which include citizens, resident aliens, trusts, estates and domestic entities, who have an interest in foreign financial accounts above the threshold.
The IRS Q&A adds two limits on Form 8938: taxpayers who are not required to file an income tax return are not required to file it, and once you meet the threshold you must report all your specified foreign financial assets, including those of small value.
The Thresholds and What “Living Abroad” Means
The IRS comparison page and the Form 8938 instructions give the same figures for a specified individual who lives outside the United States:
| Your situation | Last day of the tax year | At any time during the year |
|---|---|---|
| Unmarried, or married filing separately | More than $200,000 | More than $300,000 |
| Married, filing jointly | More than $400,000 | More than $600,000 |
Source: irs.gov, comparison page and Form 8938 instructions.
The higher figures apply only if you meet the presence-abroad test. The instructions say your tax home must be in a foreign country, and you must be one of two people: a U.S. citizen who has been a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, or a U.S. citizen or resident who was present in a foreign country or countries at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months that ends in the tax year being reported. The IRS FATCA summary page gives only the 330-day test, so the instructions are the fuller source. If you do not meet the test, the thresholds for taxpayers living in the United States apply: $50,000 and $75,000 for an unmarried person, $100,000 and $150,000 for a joint return.
The summary page also says the joint thresholds apply even if only one spouse lives abroad, and that spouses filing jointly file a single Form 8938 covering the assets either of them holds.
For the FBAR the threshold is simpler: the IRS says the aggregate value of your financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, and it is cumulative. With two accounts whose combined balance exceeds $10,000 at any one time, both would have to be reported.
Which French Accounts and Assets Go on Which Form
This is the IRS comparison page’s table, applied to what an American in France holds. Where the page does not say, I say so rather than guess.
| What you hold | Form 8938 | FBAR |
|---|---|---|
| Checking, savings or other deposit account at a French bank | Yes | Yes |
| A securities or custody account at a French institution | The account is reported; its contents do not have to be listed separately | The account is reported; its contents do not have to be listed separately |
| Shares or securities held outside a financial account | Yes | No |
| An interest in a foreign partnership | Yes | No |
| Foreign mutual funds | Yes | Yes |
| Foreign-issued life insurance or annuity contract with a cash value | Yes | Yes |
| Foreign real estate held directly | No | No |
| Foreign real estate held through a foreign entity | No, but the entity is itself a specified foreign financial asset and its maximum value includes the real estate | No |
| A French account at a foreign branch of a U.S. financial institution | No | Yes |
| An account at a U.S. branch of a foreign institution | No | No |
| An account you only have signature authority over | No, unless you also have an interest in it | Yes, subject to exceptions |
| Foreign currency held directly, precious metals, art, cars | No | No |
| Benefits from a foreign government’s Social Security-type program | No | No |
Source: irs.gov, comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements (19 September 2026).
Three points on that table.
- Life insurance. If your French life insurance contract, an assurance-vie, is a foreign-issued life insurance or annuity contract with a cash value, the IRS lists it on both forms. Confirm the terms of your own contract with a tax preparer. Assurance-vie for Americans in France covers the contract itself.
- A property company. The page says real estate you hold through a foreign entity is not itself reportable on Form 8938, but the entity is, with a value that includes the real estate. How a given French company is classified is a question for a preparer.
- Foreign pensions. The IRS Q&A says that if you have an interest in a foreign pension or deferred compensation plan, you report it on Form 8938 if the value of your specified foreign financial assets is above the threshold. It does not say for the FBAR, and I do not state a rule. The same Q&A says that the right to the foreign equivalent of Social Security is not reportable.
For a French savings account, the guide to the Livret A for Americans looks at what it means for the FBAR in practice, and the guide to investing as an American in France covers the investment products and the other forms they can trigger.
How Each Is Valued and Converted
Both forms report a maximum value and convert it to U.S. dollars at the year-end exchange rate. The IRS comparison page says Form 8938 uses fair market value in dollars under the form’s instructions, converted at the end of the taxable year exchange rate, and that the FBAR uses periodic account statements to find the maximum value in the account’s currency, converted at the end of the calendar year exchange rate. The valuation rules for a foreign pension plan are in the Form 8938 instructions, which I did not read on that point.
Deadlines and Where to File
Form 8938 goes with your return and is due when the return is due, with extensions. The IRS Q&A says that if you forgot to attach it, you file Form 1040-X, an amended return, with Form 8938 attached.
The FBAR is received by April 15, with an automatic 6-month extension to October 15, and is filed electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System. It is not filed with a federal tax return.
If you have missed years, the guide to US back taxes and the streamlined procedure covers the IRS route for people whose failures were not willful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I file both the FBAR and Form 8938?
Possibly. The IRS Q&A says filing Form 8938 does not relieve you of the separate requirement to file the FBAR if you are otherwise required to, and vice versa, and that certain foreign accounts may need to be reported on both.
Is the Form 8938 threshold really $200,000 for Americans in France?
For a specified individual who meets the presence-abroad test and is unmarried, or married filing separately, the IRS says more than $200,000 on the last day of the year or more than $300,000 at any time. For a joint return it is $400,000 and $600,000.
Who counts as living abroad for Form 8938?
The instructions say your tax home must be in a foreign country, and you must be either a U.S. citizen who has been a bona fide resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, or a U.S. citizen or resident who was present abroad at least 330 full days in a 12-month period ending in the tax year.
Do I report my French state pension?
The IRS says payments or rights to the foreign equivalent of Social Security are not specified foreign financial assets and are not reportable on Form 8938, and its comparison table lists them as not reportable on the FBAR.
Do I report French real estate I own directly?
The IRS comparison table says no for both forms. If you hold it through an entity, the entity is a specified foreign financial asset for Form 8938, valued with the real estate in it.
Where is the FBAR filed?
Electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System, not with your tax return, and it is due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15.
What if I forgot Form 8938 on a return I already filed?
The IRS Q&A says to file Form 1040-X with Form 8938 attached.
Conclusion
The FBAR and Form 8938 are two reports with different thresholds, different filing places and partly different lists of assets. The FBAR starts at $10,000 of foreign accounts in total; Form 8938 starts at $200,000 or $400,000 for people who meet the presence-abroad test. French bank accounts and foreign life insurance with a cash value go on both; directly held real estate and a French state pension go on neither. Check your own accounts against the table, keep your year-end and highest balances, and ask a tax preparer about anything the table does not settle.
What worries you most about the move?
Written by
Aurelio Maurici
Co-Founder, EasyFranceNow
Aurelio Maurici is a French entrepreneur and co-founder of EasyFranceNow. His work focuses on the intersection of French administration, banking constraints affecting U.S. nationals, tax residency and cross-border reporting, healthcare enrollment, and the procedural realities Americans encounter while settling in France.
