Late, delinquent or amended FBAR: how to fix FinCEN Form 114

Missing an FBAR is common among Americans in the UK: many people simply never hear that a UK current account, ISA or workplace pension has to be reported to the US Treasury. The good news is that the IRS has a clear route for putting it right, and for most people who acted in good faith the outcome is a set of late filings with no penalty. The route you use depends on one question: did you also leave income off your US tax returns?

Which route fits

Your situation	Usual route
Returns filed and all income reported (or tax paid), only the FBARs were missed	Delinquent FBAR submission procedures
FBARs missed and income from those accounts left off US returns, or returns not filed at all	Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (if you meet the non-residency test)
You filed an FBAR but it was wrong or incomplete	Amended FBAR
The IRS has already contacted you about FBARs, or you are under examination	Not these procedures — take advice before filing anything

Delinquent FBAR procedures

This route is for people who do not need Streamlined or voluntary disclosure, are not under civil examination or criminal investigation, and have not already been contacted by the IRS about the missing FBARs.

1. Gather the highest balance of each non-US account for each missing year.
2. File each late FBAR electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. FBARs are never filed with the tax return.
3. On the first page of each late FinCEN Form 114, select the reason for filing late. Choosing "Other" opens a box for a written explanation of up to 750 characters.
4. Keep a copy of every submission and its BSA identifier.

According to the IRS manual, a penalty is not asserted where the failure was not wilful, was due to reasonable cause, and the account is properly reported on the late FBAR. The IRS can still review a late filing, so the explanation should be factual and specific, for example that you did not know a UK account had to be reported.

Amending an FBAR

If an FBAR you filed left out an account or showed a wrong balance, file a corrected FBAR through BSA E-Filing, mark it as an amendment and enter the BSA identifier of the original. Complete the whole report again with every account, not only the change. Correcting a mistake promptly is treated very differently from leaving a known error on file.

When Streamlined is the better answer

If interest or dividends on UK accounts, ISA growth or other income from those accounts was not reported on your US return, late FBARs alone do not fix the problem. The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures cover the last three years of US returns and six years of FBARs together, with a certification of non-wilful conduct on Form 14653 and no penalty for those who qualify. Check the non-residency test with our Streamlined eligibility checker.

How FBAR penalties work

• Penalties are set by statute and adjusted for inflation each year; the non-wilful penalty is a fixed maximum per report, while wilful penalties are far higher.
• In Bittner v. United States (2023) the Supreme Court held that the non-wilful penalty applies per report (per year), not per account.
• Penalties are not automatic. Reasonable cause, a clean compliance history and coming forward before the IRS makes contact all weigh heavily.

Practical points for UK accounts

• ISAs, Premium Bonds, workplace and personal pensions, joint accounts and accounts you only have signing authority over can all count towards the US$10,000 aggregate.
• Convert each year's maximum balance at the US Treasury rate for 31 December of that year.
• If a UK bank has asked you for a W-9 or a US tax identification number, it may already be reporting the account to HMRC for exchange with the IRS under FATCA. That does not replace your own FBAR.

Frequently asked questions

How many years of late FBARs do I need to file? Under the Delinquent FBAR procedures, file every year you missed within the six-year limitation period. Under Streamlined, file the most recent six years.

Is there a fee or penalty to use the Delinquent FBAR procedures? There is no IRS fee. Where the conditions are met and the failure was non-wilful with reasonable cause, the IRS generally does not assert a penalty.

Can I file the late FBARs myself? Yes. Many people ask us to prepare them because the account list, balances and late-filing explanation need to be consistent with the US returns.