You overlooked the FinCEN Form 114 deadline. Then, you forgot to file your FBAR entirely. Now, what happens next, and who can make it right?
In the past, many resorted to the Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures for a defined penalty-relief path. But with the IRS’s removal of its DFSP webpage in July 2026, late filing decisions now require legal judgment, not a form. This is what our tax attorneys do.
At Silver Tax Group, our attorneys evaluate your facts, determine which relief program fits your situation and handle the filing so you don’t have to guess. With lawyers admitted to the U.S. Tax Court, we can help address your FBAR late filing.
We Help Determine If You Qualify for Penalty Relief
Before we file anything, we review your situation against the criteria that determine whether a penalty-relief path is available to you. We check whether:
- All income from the foreign accounts in question was reported and taxed.
- The IRS has already contacted you about the delinquent FBARs.
- You’re currently under civil examination or criminal investigation.
- Your failure to file was non-willful, since this determines which program best fits your situation.
Most people who come to us don’t know the answer to all four of these, and that’s normal. It’s why you shouldn’t have to determine your filing path alone.
What Counts as Signature Authority
Signature authority, not account ownership, triggers the FBAR duty. Signature authority over a foreign account refers to the legal power granted to a person to move or control the disposition of funds. This means that U.S. persons with such power over foreign financial accounts must file an FBAR if the total value of those accounts is ever more than $10,000 during the calendar year.
Our FBAR attorneys identify accounts you may not realize count toward your FBAR filing, helping you determine willful vs. non-willful FBAR violations.
The Relief Path We Use to Resolve Your Case
If you qualify, we may resolve delinquent FBARs through filings consistent with former Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures and current reasonable-cause guidance. While the IRS took down the page outlining this penalty-relief path, that didn’t change the underlying law. What matters now is how the case is built and presented, which is our job, not yours. Depending on your facts, we resolve delinquent filings through one of three paths:
Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures
If you reported and paid tax on all foreign account income but simply missed the FBAR itself, our attorneys can help file the missing FinCEN Form 114s with a reasonable-cause statement establishing why the filing was late.
Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures (DIIRSP)
If you missed related international forms, such as Form 3520, 5471 or 8938, we handle that through the parallel Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures (DIIRSP). Our lawyers work on these filings alongside your FBARs, so key filings are addressed together.
Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures
If you have unreported foreign income, not just a missed form, we shift your case into the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures and manage the certification and amended returns it requires. You don’t need to know which path applies because we will make that call during your consultation.
Learn more about the relief program through our full guide to the delinquent FBAR submission procedures.
How We Build Your Reasonable-Cause Case
As an overview of the FBAR penalty rules, the Bittner v. United States decision confirmed that non-willful penalties apply on a per-report, not per-account, basis. That’s why a strong, reasonable-cause statement can be critical when requesting that the IRS not assess a delinquent FBAR penalty. This means showing the IRS your failure to file was a genuine, good-faith mistake, not concealment. We look for the specific facts that support this, including:
- Genuine unfamiliarity with the FBAR requirement
- Reliance on a preparer who never raised the FBAR obligation
- Documented personal hardship during the filing period
Reasonable cause is a legal standard, and a poorly worded statement can undermine an otherwise strong case. This is a document we will draft, not something we hand you a template for.
Why You Shouldn’t File a “Quiet Disclosure” on Your Own
A quiet disclosure is filing late FBARs without the required explanatory statement, hoping it goes unnoticed. It doesn’t reduce exposure, and it can look like an attempt to hide noncompliance, which raises willfulness risk and can turn a fixable problem into a much bigger one.
Unfortunately, quiet disclosure is one of the most common mistakes people make before they call us, and it’s avoidable when the right filing reason is selected and the proper statement is submitted.
If your facts point toward a higher-risk disclosure, we shift the strategy. As part of our FBAR filing and compliance services, our tax attorneys help resolve late FBAR filings and noncompliance by guiding you through the correct program for your specific facts.
Talk to a Silver Tax Group FBAR Attorney
Talking to us early can help preserve more options. With Silver Tax Group, you’re working directly with tax attorneys under the attorney-client privilege. Schedule a confidential consultation to find out which relief program fits your situation before you file anything. Call us at 855-900-1040 to get started.
