What is the penalty for not filing an FBAR?
For 2026, the non-willful civil FBAR statutory maximum is $16,536 per annual report, not per account under Bittner. For a willful violation, the maximum is the greater of $165,353 or 50% of the balance in the account to which the violation relates at the time of the violation. These are ceilings, not automatic assessments.
Why the two numbers are so far apart
The law distinguishes non-willful from willful violations. Non-willfulness can include negligence, inadvertence, mistake, or good-faith misunderstanding; civil willfulness can include reckless disregard or willful blindness. Non-willful exposure is capped at $16,536 per annual report. The willful ceiling uses the balance in the account to which the violation relates, and criminal liability requires separate statutory elements.
Do these penalties apply automatically?
No. The IRS determines penalties under the governing law and facts. Qualifying Streamlined submissions receive the penalty terms of the applicable track. Separately, the statutory reasonable-cause exception bars a non-willful penalty when the violation was due to reasonable cause and the account balance was properly reported. Filing a statement does not itself establish those conditions.
The government's 2026 inflation adjustment was canceled (OMB Memorandum M-26-11), so the 2025 amounts above are the current amounts. Estimate your own exposure with the calculator below.
Reference information, not legal or tax advice. Figures come from our verified fact base and are checked against superseded values on every site update.