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The joint bank account in London seemed simple when you opened it. You're a U.S. citizen working abroad. Your British spouse handles the household finances. You're both signers on the account with £85,000 balance. Your spouse files UK taxes. You file U.S. taxes. Neither of you reports the account anywhere because it's "joint" and you assume your spouse's reporting covers it and that's wrong.
The IRS notice arrives three years later. You failed to file FBAR form (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) for a jointly-owned foreign account exceeding $10,000. Penalty: $30,000 for three years of non-willful violations. You owe this penalty despite owing zero U.S. tax on the account—the penalty is purely for not filing a form you didn't know existed.
FBAR reporting for joint accounts covers whether you must file for accounts you co-own with spouses or family members, how to calculate the $10,000 threshold when you have multiple joint and individual accounts. It helps you determine whether to report the full account balance or just your percentage ownership, and how to file properly with a spouse to avoid duplicate filings or penalties.
We have created this article for you to learn exactly who must file for jointly-owned foreign accounts, how to properly calculate and report joint account balances, and the correct procedure for spouses filing jointly vs separately.
What is FBAR and when is it required?
FBAR form (FinCEN Form 114) is the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts filed annually with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), not with your tax return.
The $10,000 aggregate threshold
You must file FBAR form if you had a financial interest in or signature authority over at least one foreign financial account AND the aggregate maximum value of all such accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.
The $10,000 threshold applies to the combined total of all your foreign accounts—not $10,000 per account. If you have five foreign accounts with balances of $3,000, $2,500, $1,800, $4,200, and $900, the aggregate total is $12,400—you must file FBAR reporting even though no single account exceeds $10,000.
"At any time during the calendar year"
If your combined foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 for even a single day during the year, you must complete FBAR filing. The accounts don't need to exceed $10,000 on December 31—what matters is the highest aggregate balance at any point during the year.
Example: Your foreign accounts totaled $12,500 on February 3 due to a large deposit, then dropped to $7,000 for the rest of the year. You must file FBAR form because the accounts exceeded $10,000 on February 3.
What accounts must be reported
Foreign bank accounts (checking, savings, time deposits), foreign brokerage and securities accounts, foreign mutual funds, foreign pension accounts where you have current access, and accounts where you have signature authority even if you don't own them all require FBAR reporting.
Joint accounts: Financial interest vs signature authority
FBAR filing requires reporting when you have either "financial interest" or "signature authority" over foreign accounts. For joint accounts, understanding this distinction is critical.
What is Financial interest?
You have a financial interest in an account if you are the owner of record or holder of legal title, OR the owner of record is your agent or representative acting on your behalf, OR you have a sufficient interest in the entity that owns the account.
For jointly-owned accounts where you're listed as a co-owner, you have financial interest in the account.
What is Signature authority?
You have signature authority if you have authority to control the disposition of assets in an account by direct communication to the financial institution maintaining the account. This includes being an authorized signer even if you own none of the funds.
Example: You're added as an authorized signer on your elderly parent's foreign account to help manage their finances. You own 0% of the funds, but you have signature authority and must report the full account balance on your FBAR form.
Joint accounts trigger both financial interest AND signature authority
When you're a joint owner of a foreign account, you typically have both financial interest (you're a co-owner) and signature authority (you can control the account). You must report the account on FBAR form based on your financial interest.
How to report joint account balances on FBAR
The most common joint account mistake is reporting only your "share" of the account value. This is wrong according to FBAR form instructions.
Report the full account balance, not your percentage share
Each joint owner must report the maximum value of the entire jointly-owned account during the year—not just their ownership percentage when completing FBAR filing.
Example: You and your spouse jointly own a UK account with maximum balance of £50,000 (approximately $65,000). You own 50% of the account. You must report $65,000 on your FBAR form—not $32,500.
This rule applies even if you contributed nothing to the account. If your spouse deposited all funds but you're a joint owner, you report the full balance.
Why report 100% when you only own 50%?
FBAR form is an information report, not a tax form. FinCEN wants visibility into all foreign accounts U.S. persons can access, regardless of ownership percentages. The IRS can later determine tax liability based on actual ownership and who earned the income—but FBAR reporting requires reporting full balances for all accounts you can control.
Joint account with multiple co-owners
If three people jointly own an account with $90,000 balance, all three people report $90,000 on their respective FBAR filing (if they're all U.S. persons required to file).
FBAR filing options for married couples with joint accounts
Married couples have two options for FBAR reporting jointly-owned foreign accounts: file a single joint FBAR form using Form 114a, or each spouse files a separate FBAR form.
Option 1: File one joint FBAR (recommended for most couples)
One spouse can file a single FBAR form reporting all foreign accounts (joint and individual) if both spouses complete and sign Form 114a (Record of Authorization to Electronically File FBARs).
Process:
- Both spouses complete and sign Form 114a
- One spouse files a single FBAR form electronically reporting all accounts
- The spouse filing uses their PIN to sign electronically
- Both spouses retain signed Form 114a (don't send to FinCEN—keep for records)
What gets reported: All jointly-owned accounts plus each spouse's individual accounts. The single FBAR filing reports everything.
Example: You and your spouse have:
- Joint account A: $85,000
- Joint account B: $12,000
- Your individual account: $22,000
- Spouse's individual account: $18,000
One FBAR form reports all four accounts totaling $137,000.
Option 2: Each spouse files separate FBAR
If you don't complete Form 114a, each spouse must file their own FBAR form following FBAR form instructions.
What each spouse reports:
- Full value of all jointly-owned accounts (not split)
- Full value of their own individual accounts
- NOT the other spouse's individual accounts
Example using same accounts above:
Your FBAR form reports:
- Joint account A: $85,000
- Joint account B: $12,000
- Your individual account: $22,000
- Total: $119,000
Spouse's FBAR form reports:
- Joint account A: $85,000
- Joint account B: $12,000
- Spouse's individual account: $18,000
- Total: $115,000
Note: Both FBAR filing submissions report the full value of joint accounts—not half.
When separate filing is required
You must file separately (cannot use joint FBAR filing) if either spouse missed the April 15 deadline and is filing late, OR if one spouse has individual accounts the other spouse doesn't share signature authority over.
Joint accounts with non-U.S. citizen spouses
Having a joint account with a non-U.S. citizen spouse creates a common source of confusion in FBAR reporting.
U.S. person must file FBAR for joint accounts
If you're a U.S. citizen or resident alien and you jointly own a foreign account with your non-U.S. citizen spouse, you must file FBAR form if the aggregate balance exceeds $10,000.
Your non-U.S. citizen spouse has no FBAR filing requirement (unless they're a U.S. resident alien for tax purposes).
Report the full joint account balance
You report the entire balance of jointly-owned accounts on your FBAR form—even if your non-U.S. spouse earned all the income and contributed all funds according to FBAR filing instructions.
Example: You're a U.S. citizen married to a French citizen. You have a joint French account with €60,000 (approximately $65,000). Your spouse earned all the funds working in France. You report the full $65,000 on your FBAR form. Your spouse doesn't file FBAR because they're not a U.S. person.
Your spouse's individual accounts
You do NOT report your non-U.S. spouse's individual accounts (accounts where you're not listed as joint owner or authorized signer) on your FBAR form—you have no financial interest or signature authority.
Example: Your non-U.S. spouse has an individual account with €50,000 that predates your marriage. You're not listed as joint owner or signer. You don't report this account on your FBAR filing.
Joint accounts with parents, siblings, or other family members
Joint accounts with family members follow the same FBAR form instructions as marital joint accounts but without the Form 114a joint filing option.
Report full account balance regardless of who contributed funds
If you're a joint owner of a foreign account with your parent, sibling, adult child, or other relative, you must report the full account balance if the aggregate of all your foreign accounts exceeds $10,000.
Example: You're joint owner on your elderly mother's foreign account to help manage her finances. The account balance is $200,000. Your mother contributed all funds. You contributed zero. You must report $200,000 on your FBAR reporting because you have financial interest and signature authority as joint owner.
Both U.S. persons must file separately
If both joint owners are U.S. persons, both must file separate FBAR filing submissions reporting the full account balance. There's no joint filing option for non-spouses.
Example: You and your adult sibling jointly own a foreign account containing $75,000. Both of you are U.S. citizens. Both of you file separate FBAR form submissions, each reporting $75,000 for that account.
Your parent's individual accounts
If you're joint owner or authorized signer on your parent's account, you report it. If you have no signature authority or ownership interest in their other accounts, you don't report those accounts.
How to calculate the $10,000 threshold with joint accounts
Determining whether you meet the $10,000 FBAR filing threshold requires careful calculation when you have multiple joint and individual accounts per FBAR filing instructions.
Step 1: List all foreign accounts where you have financial interest or signature authority
Include individual accounts you own, joint accounts where you're a co-owner, and accounts where you have signature authority only (even if you own 0%).
Step 2: Determine the maximum balance for each account during the year
For each account, identify the highest balance at any point during the calendar year—not the December 31 balance, not the average balance.
Step 3: Convert all balances to U.S. dollars
Use the U.S. Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service exchange rate as of December 31 of the reporting year. All foreign currency amounts must be converted to USD.
Step 4: Add all maximum balances
Sum the maximum USD values of all accounts. For jointly-owned accounts, use the full account balance, not your ownership percentage.
Step 5: Compare aggregate total to $10,000
If the aggregate total exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year, you must complete FBAR reporting.
Example calculation
Your foreign accounts:
- Individual account (UK): Maximum balance £8,000 = $10,400 USD
- Joint account with spouse (Canada): Maximum balance CAD $15,000 = $11,100 USD
- Joint account with parent (India): Maximum balance ?250,000 = $3,000 USD
Aggregate total: $10,400 + $11,100 + $3,000 = $24,500
You must file an FBAR form because the aggregate exceeds $10,000.
FBAR filing deadlines for 2025
FBAR filing for calendar year 2025 foreign accounts is due April 15, 2026 with automatic extension to October 15, 2026.
April 15, 2026 deadline with automatic October 15 extension
The FBAR filing deadline is April 15, 2026 for reporting 2025 calendar year accounts. However, all filers receive an automatic extension to October 15, 2026—no extension request form required.
This differs from tax return extensions where expats must file Form 4868 to extend beyond June 15. FBAR filing automatically extends to October 15 for everyone.
FBAR files separately from tax return
FBAR form must be filed electronically through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System (https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html). You cannot file FBAR form with your Form 1040—it's a completely separate filing system.
Many joint account mistakes occur when taxpayers assume their CPA filed FBAR form with the tax return. You must specifically ensure FBAR filing is completed separately through FinCEN.
FBAR penalties for joint account non-compliance
FBAR reporting penalties are severe—often exceeding the actual account balance for willful violations.
Non-willful violations
Up to $16,536 per violation for 2025 (adjusted annually for inflation). Each year of non-filing is a separate violation—three years of missed FBAR filing could result in penalties exceeding $49,000.
Non-willful violations occur when you didn't know about the FBAR form requirement or made innocent mistakes like reporting 50% of joint account instead of 100%.
Willful violations
Greater of $165,353 or 50% of the account balance at the time of violation for 2025 (adjusted annually). Willful violations occur when you knew about FBAR reporting requirements and intentionally failed to file, or showed reckless disregard for the requirement.
Example: Joint account with $200,000 balance, willful violation penalty could be $100,000 (50% of balance) for a single year.
How penalties apply to joint account holders
If an account is jointly owned by multiple people, penalties are assessed separately for each co-owner based on their percentage of ownership. If ownership percentages cannot be determined, the penalty is divided equally among co-owners.
Example: You and your sibling jointly own a foreign account with $80,000 balance. Both fail to file FBAR form (non-willful). Penalties could be $16,536 each (total $33,072) because each co-owner faces separate penalty assessment.
Criminal penalties
Willful failure to file FBAR form can result in criminal prosecution with fines up to $250,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment. Criminal prosecution is rare but reserved for egregious cases involving tax evasion or money laundering in addition to FBAR reporting violations.
FBAR Joint Account Reporting Scenarios
|
Scenario |
Your FBAR Reporting Requirement |
Spouse/Co-owner FBAR Requirement |
|
Joint account with U.S. spouse, both listed as owners |
Report full account balance (or file joint FBAR with Form 114a) |
Report full account balance (or covered by joint FBAR with Form 114a) |
|
Joint account with non-U.S. spouse |
Report full account balance |
No FBAR requirement (not U.S. person) |
|
Joint account with U.S. parent or sibling |
Report full account balance |
Co-owner reports full balance separately |
|
Signature authority only on parent's account (not owner) |
Report full account balance |
Parent reports as owner |
|
Spouse's individual account (you're not listed) |
No reporting (no financial interest/authority) |
Spouse reports on their FBAR |
|
Joint business account (you're 25% owner) |
Report full account balance |
All U.S. person co-owners report full balance |
How to file FBAR for joint accounts
Step 1: Gather maximum balance information for all accounts
For each foreign account (individual and joint), determine the maximum balance during the calendar year in the account's native currency.
Step 2: Convert to U.S. dollars
Use the Treasury Bureau of Fiscal Service exchange rate as of December 31 of the reporting year.
Step 3: Determine filing method (joint vs separate for spouses)
If filing jointly with spouse, both complete and sign Form 114a. If filing separately, proceed to file your own FBAR form.
Step 4: File electronically through BSA E-Filing System
Go to https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/ and create an account if you haven't already. Complete FinCEN Form 114 electronically following FBAR form instructions. For joint accounts, check the "Yes" box for "This is a jointly owned account".
Step 5: Enter joint owner information
In Part III of FBAR form, enter information for all joint owners including names, addresses, and Social Security Numbers or ITINs.
Step 6: Report maximum value for the entire account
For each joint account, report the maximum balance for the full account—not your share—according to FBAR filing instructions.
Step 7: Submit and save confirmation
After submitting, save the confirmation record. You must retain FBAR reporting records for 5 years.
Special situations: Joint accounts and signature authority
Business accounts where you're a signatory
If you're an authorized signer on your employer's foreign business account, you may need to report it on FBAR form—unless you qualify for the employee exception.
The employee exception applies if you're an employee (not owner) with signature authority over employer's account, and your employer files FBAR or other report covering the account.
Trust accounts where you're a beneficiary
If you're a beneficiary of a foreign trust with a foreign account, your FBAR reporting depends on whether you have present beneficial interest and signature authority. Consult a tax professional for trust FBAR reporting.
Power of attorney over relative's accounts
If you have power of attorney over a relative's foreign accounts, you likely have signature authority requiring FBAR filing.
How NSKT Global can help with FBAR joint account reporting
NSKT Global specializes in FBAR reporting compliance for complex situations including joint accounts, foreign marriages, and multi-generational family accounts.
We offer comprehensive FBAR filing preparation services including joint account analysis determining whether you have financial interest or signature authority requiring reporting, threshold calculation analyzing all foreign accounts (individual and joint) to determine if $10,000 aggregate threshold is met. We also help with maximum balance determination reviewing statements to identify highest balance during the year for each account, Form 114a preparation for married couples filing joint FBAR form, and electronic filing through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System ensuring proper submission with confirmation records.
Whether you have joint accounts with a U.S. or non-U.S. spouse, co-own accounts with parents or siblings, have signature authority over family members' accounts, or missed prior FBAR filing submissions and need to catch up, our expertise ensures you report all required joint accounts with correct balances, file through proper channels with appropriate joint filing procedures, avoid penalties through accurate reporting and timely filing, and maintain full compliance with FBAR reporting requirements for all jointly-owned foreign financial accounts.
