What is the FATCA reporting threshold for married couples filing jointly and living abroad?

U.S. taxpayers filing married filing jointly and living abroad must file Form 8938 if their specified foreign financial assets exceed $400,000 on the last day of the tax year, or $600,000 at any point during the year. These are the highest Form 8938 thresholds and apply only when both spouses qualify as living abroad.

What counts as living abroad for Form 8938:

• Tax home in a foreign country, and
• Bona fide resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted tax year, or
• Physical presence in a foreign country for at least 330 full days in a 12-month period ending in the tax year

All Form 8938 thresholds:

Specified foreign financial assets include:

• Foreign financial accounts (bank, brokerage, pension)
• Directly held foreign stock and securities
• Foreign partnership interests
• Foreign-issued insurance with cash value
• Foreign trust and estate beneficial interests

Consolidated reporting:

• One Form 8938 covers both spouses on the MFJ return
• Joint and individual accounts are all included
• Consistency with FBAR is strongly recommended

Penalty structure:

• $10,000 initial, plus $10,000 per 30-day period after IRS notice, up to $50,000
• 40% accuracy-related penalty on tax attributable to undisclosed specified foreign assets

For FATCA help for joint filers, see our Form 8938 guide.