Do I Need to Report My UK SIPP on FBAR, Form 8938, and as a Foreign Trust?

Yes, if you are a U.S. citizen living in the UK and you have a UK SIPP account, you may have up to four separate U.S. reporting requirements: the FBAR (FinCEN 114), Form 8938, Form 3520/3520-A for foreign trust treatment, and PFIC reporting for underlying foreign funds. Australian superannuation accounts are subject to the same FBAR and Form 8938 obligations, and self-managed super funds (SMSFs) may also trigger trust reporting.

The IRS generally treats a UK SIPP as a foreign grantor trust because the account holder directs investment decisions. Rev. Proc. 2020-17 exempts certain foreign retirement plans from trust reporting, but SIPPs are widely considered unlikely to qualify because they allow participant-directed investments beyond the scope of that relief. Treaty deferral under Articles 17 and 18 of the U.S.-UK tax treaty may defer income tax on SIPP growth, but it does not eliminate information reporting obligations.

If your SIPP holds U.S.-domiciled ETFs or individual stocks rather than foreign funds, the PFIC layer generally does not apply.

If you have been filing your U.S. return without reporting your SIPP, there are catch-up options available. The IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures let qualifying expats file three amended returns and six years of FBARs with no penalties if the failure was non-willful. The Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures and Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures may also apply depending on your situation.

To know more about how we help Americans living in the UK with UK and U.S. filing requirements in-house at Greenback