The FBAR for calendar year 2025 (FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) is due no later than Thursday, October 15, 2026. It goes to FinCEN, not the IRS, so a Form 1040 does not satisfy it. And this summer the IRS page describing its delinquent FBAR submission procedures, long the safe route for people with fully reported income, disappeared. The agency’s FBAR page now says filing late “is a violation and may subject you to penalties.”
This post follows three Colorado filers whose facts come up often: a Denver software engineer on an H-1B visa, a Greeley petroleum engineer on an overseas rotation, and a Fort Collins retiree with a Canadian RRSP. Each faces a different best move after the deadline.
Why does the regulation still say June 30 when the FBAR deadline is October 15?
The duty to report comes from 31 U.S.C. § 5314 and 31 C.F.R. § 1010.350, and it applies when a United States person, a term that includes resident aliens under 26 U.S.C. § 7701(b), has foreign accounts whose combined maximum values exceed $10,000. The filing rule, 31 C.F.R. § 1010.306(c), still says June 30. Congress overrode it in Pub. L. No. 114-41, § 2006(b)(11), setting an April 15 due date with an extension to October 15, which FinCEN grants automatically. The statute controls.
Does a Denver engineer on an H-1B visa owe an FBAR for her savings back home?
Usually, because the substantial presence test makes her a resident alien. Picture an engineer who moved to the Denver Tech Center in 2021 and kept well over $10,000 in savings and fixed deposits in Pune. Her returns reported Colorado wages but left out the Indian interest, because she assumed the tax withheld in India settled it. The unpaid U.S. tax, not just the missing FBARs, decides which fix she can use.
Her bitcoin on an offshore exchange is a closer call. Under FinCEN Notice 2020-2, an account holding only virtual currency is not reportable yet, but one that also holds a rupee cash balance is.
What changes for a Greeley rotation worker paid into an account overseas?
Consider a U.S. citizen in Greeley who works 28 days on and 28 off at a gas project in Western Australia. The privately held operator pays his field allowance into an Australian account in his name, and he can sign on a local supply account he does not own. Both go on the FBAR, because § 1010.350(f) treats the power to move money by instruction to the bank as enough. Its carve-outs for regulated financial firms and SEC-registered companies do not help him.
The foreign version of the IRS streamlined procedures requires a year with no U.S. abode and 330 full days abroad. Half a year in Greeley fails that test, so he is a domestic filer. If his income was fully reported, his problem is FBAR-only.
Is a Canadian RRSP reportable if the IRS no longer wants Form 8891?
Take a retired teacher from Alberta who became a U.S. citizen and settled in Fort Collins, with an RRSP worth about CAD 310,000 and a chequing account in Lethbridge. Rev. Proc. 2014-55 made the RRSP tax-deferral election automatic and retired Form 8891, but section 5.01 says it does not change “the requirement to file FinCEN Form 114.” An RRSP also falls outside the regulation’s exception for U.S. retirement plans and IRAs. Her income reporting is clean; only the FBARs are missing.
How large is the penalty exposure once October 15 passes?
Under 31 U.S.C. § 5321(a)(5), a non-willful violation carries a $10,000 statutory maximum, waived for reasonable cause if the balance was properly reported. A willful violation can cost the greater of $100,000 or half the account balance. Indexed under 31 C.F.R. § 1010.821, those amounts are now $16,536 and $165,353. OMB Memorandum M-26-11 (Apr. 17, 2026) cancelled the 2026 inflation adjustments, as agency notices such as 91 Fed. Reg. 25936 (May 12, 2026) recite.
In Bittner v. United States, 598 U.S. 85 (2023), the government sought $2.72 million for 272 unreported accounts over five years. The Court held the non-willful penalty accrues per report, not per account, capping exposure at $50,000. With a six-year assessment period under § 5321(b)(1), each late year can add up to $16,536.
This review found no Tenth Circuit opinion on FBAR willfulness. In United States v. Wahdan, 325 F. Supp. 3d 1136 (D. Colo. 2018), Chief Judge Marcia Krieger held the IRS could not exceed the $100,000 cap then in 31 C.F.R. § 1010.820(g). The Fourth Circuit disagreed in United States v. Horowitz, 978 F.3d 80 (4th Cir. 2020), and FinCEN deleted paragraph (g) as obsolete in 86 Fed. Reg. 72844 (Dec. 23, 2021). Planning around Wahdan today would be a mistake.
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Which fix fits each profile now that the delinquent FBAR procedures are gone?
All three should still file the 2025 FBAR on time; the earlier years are the problem.
The Denver engineer fits the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures. She amends three years of returns, files six years of FBARs, certifies on Form 14654 that her conduct was non-willful, and pays 5 percent of the highest year-end aggregate balance. The IRS then will not assert FBAR or accuracy-related penalties absent later findings of fraud or willfulness.
The retiree cannot use that program, which requires unreported income. She files the late FBARs with a written explanation and leans on IRM 4.26.16.3.11, which says a penalty “will not be asserted” when the failure was non-willful, had reasonable cause, and the late report is accurate. IRM 4.26.16.5.2.1 lets an examiner send a Letter 3800 warning instead. Neither is a guarantee.
The Greeley engineer takes whichever lane matches his income reporting, unless there is any sign someone knew of the FBAR and chose not to file. That calls for counsel first.
What would the streamlined route cost the Denver engineer?
Hypothetical: her Pune accounts held year-end balances of $61,000 (2023), $74,000 (2024), and $83,000 (2025), less in earlier years. Unreported interest totaled $15,800 across 2023 through 2025. At a 24 percent bracket, added federal tax is about $3,790 before foreign tax credits, plus interest. The offshore penalty is 5 percent of $83,000, or $4,150. Colorado tax on the added income is no more than about $700. The total is near $8,640 plus interest and fees.
Outside the program, her four late FBARs (2021 to 2024) carry a non-willful ceiling of $66,144 before any tax deficiency.
Does fixing the federal side start a Colorado clock?
Yes, when federal taxable income changes. C.R.S. § 39-22-104 taxes “federal taxable income,” with state modifications. Under C.R.S. § 39-22-601.5(2)(a), amended federal returns trigger a federal adjustments report and payment within 180 days after the “final determination date,” which for an amended return is its filing date. The firm’s overview of Colorado state tax and DOR matters covers the state side.
| Factor | Denver H-1B engineer | Greeley rotation worker | Fort Collins retiree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why a U.S. person | Resident alien under 26 U.S.C. § 7701(b) | U.S. citizen in Colorado | Naturalized U.S. citizen |
| What was missed | FBARs and Indian interest income | FBARs, including a signature-authority account | FBARs only |
| Non-willful ceiling | $66,144 for 2021 to 2024 | $16,536 per late year | $16,536 per late year |
| Best path after October 15 | Streamlined domestic procedures | Streamlined if income was missed; otherwise late FBARs | Late FBARs with a reasonable-cause explanation |
| Likely cost | About $8,640 plus interest | 5 percent of highest balance, or possibly nothing | Nothing if reasonable cause is accepted |
| Colorado follow-up | Federal adjustments report within 180 days | Only if federal returns are amended | None |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the October 15 FBAR deadline automatic, or must I ask for it?
It is automatic. Federal law sets an April 15 due date with an extension to October 15 that FinCEN applies to everyone, with no form needed. For 2025 accounts, a report filed through the BSA E-Filing System by October 15, 2026 is on time, even though the Treasury regulation still mentions June 30.
Do I need an FBAR if each of my foreign accounts is under $10,000?
Possibly. The threshold adds together the highest values of all your foreign financial accounts during the year. Three accounts that each peaked at $4,000 total $12,000, which triggers the requirement, and every account must then be listed. Whether the accounts earned taxable income makes no difference.
Does an H-1B visa holder living in Colorado have to file an FBAR?
Usually. The FBAR rules treat resident aliens as United States persons, and most H-1B workers meet the substantial presence test. Once resident, they report home-country bank, deposit, and brokerage accounts whenever the combined maximum value tops $10,000 during the year.
Is a Canadian RRSP or RRIF exempt from FBAR reporting?
No. Rev. Proc. 2014-55 made the tax-deferral election automatic and retired Form 8891, but it expressly leaves the FinCEN Form 114 requirement in place. The FBAR retirement exception covers U.S. plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs, not Canadian ones, so an RRSP or RRIF belongs on the report.
Can I still file late FBARs without a penalty now that the delinquent FBAR procedures are gone?
Sometimes. The IRS took down those procedures in 2026 and now warns that late filing may bring penalties. The Internal Revenue Manual still says no penalty will be asserted when the failure was non-willful, had reasonable cause, and the late report is accurate, so a careful written explanation matters.
Will fixing my FBARs require an amended Colorado return?
Only if the fix changes federal taxable income. Late FBARs alone create no Colorado filing. Amended federal returns reporting foreign interest, as the streamlined procedures require, generally call for a Colorado federal adjustments report and payment within 180 days after the federal amendment is filed.
How North Star Law Firm Can Help
North Star Law Firm helps Colorado individuals and families resolve missed FBARs and the income tax problems that travel with them, from streamlined submissions and reasonable-cause statements to FBAR penalty examinations. Phillip Zagotti, JD/CPA, is an attorney and CPA admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court, and he represents clients before the IRS on penalty abatement, unfiled and amended returns, and cross-border questions including expatriation and international tax. Phillip Zagotti is not licensed by the Colorado Supreme Court; for Colorado state-law questions the firm works alongside Colorado-licensed counsel.
If October 15 is close, or already behind you, and it is unclear which of these profiles fits, sort that out before anything goes to FinCEN or the IRS. Contact North Star Law Firm to schedule a confidential review.