FBAR Signature Authority Filing Requirements

The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) is a report filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the Treasury Department. It requires U.S. persons to report certain foreign financial accounts to combat illicit financial activities. While many assume this requirement only applies to those with a direct financial interest in an account, a lesser-known trigger is holding “signature authority.” This obligation can affect individuals like corporate officers, employees, or family members who have control over foreign accounts but no ownership stake, creating a distinct compliance responsibility under the Bank Secrecy Act.

Defining Signature Authority for FBAR Purposes

Signature authority for FBAR purposes is the power an individual holds to control the disposition of assets in a foreign financial account through direct communication with the financial institution. The definition centers on the ability to direct payments or transfer funds, regardless of ownership. For example, a corporate treasurer who can execute wire transfers from a foreign subsidiary’s account has signature authority. An adult child added as a signatory to an elderly parent’s foreign account also has this authority.

This concept is different from having a “financial interest” in an account, which involves ownership or legal title. Signature authority is about control, not ownership. An individual can have signature authority without any financial interest, or they can have both. The FBAR filing requirements treat these two conditions separately, with specific sections of the form dedicated to each.

Determining Your Filing Requirement

A U.S. person must file an FBAR if the combined value of all their foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during the calendar year. The value of accounts you have authority over but do not own must be included in this aggregate calculation. To determine if the threshold is met, you must identify the maximum value of each foreign account during the year, convert it to U.S. dollars, and sum these values.

Certain exceptions can relieve an individual from filing based solely on signature authority if they have no financial interest in the accounts. An officer or employee of a U.S. corporation with equity listed on a U.S. national securities exchange is exempt from filing for accounts owned by their employer. This can extend to an officer or employee of a U.S. subsidiary if its U.S. parent is listed on an exchange and files a consolidated FBAR. A similar exception exists for officers and employees of financial institutions registered with the SEC or Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Information Required for Filing

A person with only signature authority must gather specific details for each foreign account to complete FinCEN Form 114. This information is reported in Part IV of the form, which is designated for accounts where the filer has signature authority but no financial interest. For each account, you will need:

• The account number or other designation
• The name of the foreign financial institution that maintains the account
• The full address of the financial institution
• The maximum value of the account in U.S. dollars during the calendar year

The FBAR Filing Process

The annual FBAR is due on April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15. FinCEN has provided further filing extensions for certain individuals with signature authority over their employer’s foreign financial accounts. For instance, the FBAR due date is extended to April 15, 2026, for reporting signature authority held during the 2024 calendar year for employees of specified regulated entities who have no financial interest in the accounts.

The FBAR is an entirely electronic process conducted through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System. The platform provides options to either prepare the FBAR online using a web-based form or to complete a PDF version of Form 114 offline and then upload it for submission.

Once the form is completed, the final step is to electronically sign and submit it, certifying that the information provided is true, correct, and complete. For individuals who wish to have a third party, such as an accountant, file on their behalf, a FinCEN Form 114a must be completed and retained, though it is not submitted with the FBAR.

Upon successful submission, the BSA E-Filing System will provide a confirmation email containing a unique BSA Identifier for the filing. It is important to save this confirmation along with a copy of the submitted FBAR. These documents serve as proof of a timely filing and must be retained for a minimum of five years.