Form 8938 is officially the Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets. It's an IRS form that certain U.S. taxpayers must attach to their annual federal income tax return to disclose foreign financial assets whose total value crosses a threshold set by law. Unlike the FBAR, it is genuinely part of your tax filing — it goes to the IRS, along with your Form 1040.
In short: if you are a "specified person" holding "specified foreign financial assets" whose combined value exceeds the applicable reporting threshold — which depends on your filing status and whether you live in the U.S. or abroad — you generally must file Form 8938, even if the assets produced no income and even if you owe no additional tax.
The single most misunderstood fact about Form 8938
Form 8938 is a disclosure, not a tax calculation. It doesn't compute anything you owe. Many filers have no additional tax as a result of it — they still must file if they're over the threshold, because the form's purpose is transparency: giving the IRS an independent picture of your offshore holdings to cross-check against the information foreign banks report under FATCA.
Why does Form 8938 exist?
Form 8938 is a product of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), enacted in 2010 as part of the HIRE Act. FATCA had two halves. One half requires foreign financial institutions to report accounts held by U.S. persons directly to the IRS. The other half — the part that affects individuals — requires those U.S. persons to independently report the same kinds of assets on their own returns. Form 8938 is that individual-reporting piece. When both sides report, the IRS can match them and spot gaps.
Form 8938 first applied to tax years beginning after March 18, 2010 (so, generally, 2011 returns filed in 2012). Read the full backstory in our article: FATCA Explained: How the 2010 Law Created Form 8938.
Who is a "specified person"?
The filing obligation falls on two groups:
- Specified individuals — U.S. citizens, resident aliens for any part of the year, and certain nonresident aliens who elect to be treated as residents or who are residents of a U.S. territory.
- Specified domestic entities — certain closely-held domestic corporations, partnerships, and trusts formed or used to hold specified foreign financial assets (a rule that took effect for tax years beginning after 2015).
For the full breakdown with examples, see Who Must File.
What counts as a "specified foreign financial asset"?
The category is broader than just bank accounts. It generally includes:
| Asset type | Typically reportable? |
|---|---|
| Foreign bank and brokerage accounts | Yes |
| Foreign stock or securities held outside a financial account | Yes |
| Interests in foreign entities (e.g. a foreign partnership or corporation) | Yes |
| Foreign-issued financial instruments and contracts with a non-U.S. counterparty | Yes |
| Foreign pensions and deferred compensation plans | Usually |
| Directly held foreign real estate | No |
| Directly held tangible assets (art, jewelry, cars, gold bars) | No |
| Foreign currency held directly (cash) | No |
| Assets held in a U.S. financial institution's account | No |
The full list, including the tricky in-between cases, is in Specified Foreign Financial Assets.
Form 8938 is part of your tax return — that's the key difference from FBAR
This is where Form 8938 and the FBAR diverge most cleanly. Your Form 8938 is attached to your Form 1040 and filed with the IRS on the normal tax timeline. The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is filed separately with FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing System. They cover overlapping — but not identical — assets, have different thresholds, and are governed by different agencies. Filing one does not satisfy the other.
Form 8938 vs. the FBAR
Many people who file Form 8938 also have to file an FBAR, and vice versa — but not always. The thresholds, covered assets, and filing mechanics all differ. See our full comparison: Form 8938 vs. FBAR.
Next steps
- Who Must File — confirm whether you're a specified person
- Reporting Thresholds — find your exact dollar figures
- How to File — a step-by-step walkthrough of the form