FBAR penalty calculator
What missed FBARs could cost under the statute, next to what fixing them actually costs. Enter your situation; every figure is the current inflation-adjusted amount, sourced and dated below.
What missed FBARs cost: five worked examples
Two numbers decide FBAR exposure, and they are not the same number. Non-willful penalties are capped per annual report, not per account, since Bittner v. United States, so what matters there is how many years you missed. The willful maximum is the greater of a fixed amount or half the balance in the account the violation concerns, so what matters there is your largest single account, not the combined total. Above $330,706 in one account, the percentage branch exceeds the fixed branch. Both are ceilings, not minimums.
| Years with a missed FBAR | Largest single account | Non-willful ceiling | Willful statutory maximum, single violation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | $28,000 | $16,536 | $165,353 |
| 3 years | $82,000 | $49,608 | $165,353 |
| 5 years | $140,000 | $82,680 | $165,353 |
| 6 years | $420,000 | $99,216 | $210,000 |
| 6 years | $1,150,000 | $99,216 | $575,000 |
Non-willful ceiling is years multiplied by the $16,536 per-report cap, which applies to the report, so the combined balance across all your accounts is what triggers the filing duty but does not change this number. The willful statutory maximum is the greater of $165,353 or 50% of the balance in the account the violation concerns, for one violation; multiple years or accounts can multiply it. Both figures are the inflation-adjusted amounts at 31 CFR 1010.821, current for penalties assessed on or after 17 January 2025. These are statutory ceilings the IRS may assess up to, not amounts it must assess: the IRM requires examiners to exercise discretion and to support any amount. What a given case actually pays depends on its facts. Use the calculator below for your own numbers.
If the IRS asserted penalties
| Non-willful exposure (statutory ceiling) | |
|---|---|
| Willful exposure (a single violation) |
Compared with fixing it
Penalties are asserted, not automatic, and these figures are statutory maximums rather than amounts you would owe. The catch-up routes below exist so that non-willful filers who come forward are usually not assessed them, but neither route guarantees that: a qualifying SFOP submission is the one that carries a written no-penalty term, while late-FBAR relief is not automatic: section 5321(a)(5)(B)(ii) bars a penalty where the violation was due to reasonable cause and the account was properly reported, and IRM 4.26.16.3.11 adds that the failure be non-willful. Those have to be established on your facts. The comparison is exposure versus the cost of ending it.
Take this exposure estimate to a professional review, or read what changed for FBAR-only catch-up in 2026.
Where these numbers come from
- $16,536 non-willful maximum per year: the inflation-adjusted civil penalty (31 CFR 1010.821, effective January 2025), which remains the current figure for 2026 because the 2026 adjustment was canceled. Capped per year, not per account, under Bittner v. United States (2023).
- Greater of $165,353 or 50% of the balance: the maximum willful civil penalty per violation, at the same adjustment level. 31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(5)(C) raises the ceiling for willful violations; it sets no minimum.
- $10,000 filing threshold: the aggregate maximum value, across all foreign financial accounts in which you have a financial interest or signature or other authority, above which the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is required for a year.
- Streamlined figures: 0% offshore penalty under the foreign offshore procedures (SFOP); 5% of the highest year-end value of the noncompliant foreign financial assets under the domestic procedures (SDOP); preparer fees for a straightforward complete package land around $2,000 to $2,500.
Educational estimate of statutory exposure, not legal or tax advice, and not a prediction of what any agency would assert in your case.
Common questions
Is the non-willful FBAR penalty really per year, not per account?
Yes, since the Supreme Court's Bittner decision (2023). The non-willful penalty, up to $16,536 at the current inflation-adjusted level, is capped per year, not per unreported account. Before Bittner, the IRS argued it could stack the penalty on every account in every year, which produced life-altering numbers for people with several ordinary bank accounts.
Why is the willful penalty so much larger?
Because the ceiling moves. For a willful violation, 31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(5)(C) raises the maximum penalty to the greater of $165,353 or 50% of the account balance at the time of the violation, per violation, and willful cases can also carry criminal exposure. That is a maximum the IRS may assess up to, not an amount it must assess or typically does. Willfulness means the government shows you knew about the requirement and violated it anyway, or that you recklessly disregarded it or deliberately avoided learning about it (courts have upheld willful penalties on reckless-disregard facts). It is a far higher bar than simply not knowing FBARs existed, but lower than deliberate concealment.
Do these penalties apply automatically if I file late?
No. Penalties are asserted, not automatic, and coming forward voluntarily matters. For clean facts where returns are current, late FBARs filed with a reasonable-cause statement are handled under discretionary IRS guidance that directs examiners not to assert a penalty on non-willful, reasonable-cause facts. Where returns are also behind, the Streamlined procedures waive FBAR penalties entirely for qualifying non-willful filers abroad. This calculator shows the statutory exposure, which is the downside of doing nothing, not the typical outcome of coming forward.
Which accounts count toward the $10,000 threshold?
All foreign financial accounts in which you have a financial interest or signature or other authority, in aggregate: bank accounts, brokerage accounts, many pension wrappers, and some insurance products with cash value, not just checking and savings. If the combined peak value of all accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point in the year, an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) was due for that year, filed with FinCEN separately from your tax return.