Are You Required to File the Form 8938?
We get a lot of inquiries about the Form 8938. The Form 8938 is used to report overseas financial assets over a certain threshold. The threshold amount varies by type of person.
For 2017, here are the filing requirements:
Unmarried taxpayers living inside the United States with financial assets outside of the United States that are more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any point during the tax year are required to file the Form 8938.
The amounts for married taxpayers filing a joint income tax return who are required to file are those with specified foreign financial assets that are more than $100,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than $150,000 at any time during the tax year.
Married taxpayers filing separate income tax returns are required to file if specified foreign financial assets are more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year.
If you are an unmarried tax payer living outside of the United States, you are required to file the Form 8938 if the total value of your specified foreign assets is more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than $300,000 at any time during the tax year.
Married taxpayers filing a joint income tax return living outside the United States are required to file of the total value of the specified financial assets are more than $400,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than $600,000 at any time during the tax year.
Married taxpayers filing separate income tax returns have to file if the specified financial assets are more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year, or more than $300,000 at any time during the tax year.
You satisfy the presence abroad test if you are a U.S. citizen who has 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 that has been in a country at least 330 full days over a 12 month period.
For more detailed information about what a specified financial asset is, or information on specified domestic entities, or other requirements to file, go to The 2017 Instructions for Form 8938 here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8938.pdf