You should use one combined entry only when the bank truly maintains one account; separately designated deposits need separate entries, while one account uses its highest combined balance—not the sum of individual peaks—and one bank payer’s interest may be one Schedule B line.
“I'm a U.S. resident with a Japanese bank account that uses a single account number for ordinary savings, JPY time deposits, and foreign-currency deposits. I have multiple JPY time deposits under the same account number. For FBAR and Form 8938, should these multiple time deposits be reported as one combined entry or as separate entries? If combined, should the maximum value be the highest combined balance at any point during the year, or the sum of each deposit's individual maximum value? For Form 1040 Schedule B, can I report all interest from this bank as a single line item?”
Resumen
The number of time-deposit tranches does not automatically determine the number of entries. Once you identify whether the bank treats them as one account or as distinct subaccounts, the reporting method is straightforward.
Your reporting forks on whether the bank actually maintains one account or several separately designated accounts—not simply on how many time-deposit tranches you opened.
If ordinary savings, all JPY time deposits, and the foreign-currency balances are components of one with no separate account or subaccount designations, report one entry and one Form 8938 Part V entry. Form 8938 expressly says that assets held inside a financial account do not have to be reported separately. The is the highest combined value of that one account at a point during the year, supported by periodic statements that reasonably reflect the maximum—not the sum of each tranche’s individual peak [FinCEN Form 114 Instructions, Monetary Amounts; Form 8938 Instructions, “Interests in Assets Held in Financial Accounts” and “Valuing Financial Accounts”].
If the bank maintains the ordinary account, a time deposit, or a currency bucket as a distinct account and assigns it a separate subaccount, deposit, or contract designation, report each distinct account separately even if all share a master customer number. Enter a separate maximum for each on the FBAR and a separate Form 8938 Part V; Form 8938 Part I then reports the number of deposit accounts and their total maximum value [FinCEN Form 114 Instructions, Items 15 and 18; Form 8938 Instructions, Part I and Part V].
In either case, if the same bank legal entity is the , you may show its total taxable interest as one Schedule B line; use separate payer names if different legal entities paid the interest [2025 Schedule B Instructions, Part I].
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Watch out for
Próximos pasos
These steps identify the correct reporting unit, calculate its value, and place the information on each required filing.
Before calculating balances
Map the bank-designated accounts
Create one row for every account the bank maintains separately. If all balances have one account designation and the deposit confirmations show no separate account or subaccount designation, keep them in one row; if the bank maintains a tranche as a separately designated account, give it its own row. This applies the identification rules in FinCEN Form 114 Item 18 and Form 8938 Part V, line 21.
Requisitos
One maximum per reporting unit
Calculate the maximum for each row
For one true account, use the highest consolidated account value during the year; do not add each internal deposit’s individual peak. For separately maintained accounts, calculate each maximum separately. Reasonable periodic statements may be used if they reflect the maximum. Convert the reported maximum using the year-end rate required by FinCEN and the last-day-of-tax-year rate required by Form 8938; FinCEN amounts are rounded up to the next whole dollar.
Requisitos
April 15; automatic extension to October 15
File the FBAR if the aggregate threshold is exceeded
If your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 in aggregate, file FinCEN Form 114 electronically through the BSA E-Filing System at https://bsaefiling.fincen.gov/. Do not attach it to Form 1040. For calendar year 2025, the automatic extended deadline is October 15, 2026.
Requisitos
With your annual tax return
Attach Form 8938 if its threshold is met
Use Form 8938 Part V for every reportable deposit account and summarize the count and total maxima in Part I. Attach Form 8938 to your Form 1040 and file it by the return’s due date, including a valid extension; the form and instructions are at https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8938. For taxpayers living in the United States, the thresholds are more than $50,000/$75,000 for unmarried or separate filers and $100,000/$150,000 for joint filers, measured at year-end/any time.
Requisitos
With Form 1040
Report the bank interest on Schedule B
Translate each foreign-currency interest item into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate prevailing when received, paid, or accrued, then total the taxable interest paid by the same bank legal entity and enter one line under that payer’s name. On 2025 Schedule B line 7a, answer Question 1 “Yes”; answer Question 2 according to whether you must file an FBAR, and list Japan on line 7b if the FBAR is required. The official instructions are at https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sb.
Requisitos
Fuentes legales
This answer is grounded in FinCEN’s Form 114 instructions, Treasury regulations, and the IRS instructions for Forms 8938 and Schedule B.
31 CFR 1010.350
This regulation confirms that savings, time-deposit-type, and other banking accounts can be reportable bank accounts.
§ 1010.350(c)(1)
The term “bank account” means a savings deposit, demand deposit, checking, or any other account maintained with a person engaged in the business of banking.
FinCEN Form 114 Instructions
FinCEN measures the maximum account by account and uses the bank’s designation to identify the account.
General Instructions—Monetary Amounts; Item 18
Determine the maximum value of each account (in the currency of that account) during the calendar year being reported. The maximum value of an account is a reasonable approximation of the greatest value of currency or nonmonetary assets in the account during the calendar year. For Item 15, if the filer had a financial interest in more than one account, each account must be valued separately. Provide the account number used by the financial institution to designate the account.
FinCEN Form 114 Instructions
This establishes the FBAR threshold and annual automatic extension.
Who Must File; When and Where to File
A United States person that has a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts must file an FBAR if the aggregate value of the foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. FinCEN will grant filers failing to meet the FBAR annual due date of April 15th an automatic extension to October 15th each year.
Instructions for Form 8938
Form 8938 reports each financial account but does not require separate reporting of assets merely held inside that account.
Interests in Assets Held in Financial Accounts; Part V, lines 20–28
If you have an interest in a financial account that holds specified foreign financial assets, you do not have to report the assets held in the account. If you have more than one account, attach an additional statement with the required information for each additional account and check the box at the top of page 1 of the form. Enter the account number of the account or other specific identifying information for the account if there is no account number.
Instructions for Form 8938
This permits reasonable periodic statements for the account maximum and gives the Form 8938 year-end conversion rule.
Valuing Financial Accounts; Currency Determination Date
You may rely on periodic account statements for the tax year to report a financial account's maximum value unless you know or have reason to know based on readily accessible information that the statements do not reflect a reasonable estimate of the maximum account value during the tax year. Use the currency exchange rate on the last day of the tax year to figure the maximum value of a specified foreign financial asset or the value of a specified foreign financial asset for the purpose of determining the total value of your specified foreign financial assets to see whether you have met the reporting threshold.
Instructions for Form 8938
These are the Form 8938 thresholds for taxpayers living in the United States.
Reporting Thresholds Applying to Specified Individuals
If you are not married, you satisfy the reporting threshold only if the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year. If you are married and you and your spouse file a joint income tax return, you satisfy the reporting threshold only if the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $100,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $150,000 at any time during the tax year. If you are married and file a separate income tax return from your spouse, you satisfy the reporting threshold only if the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year.
2025 Instructions for Schedule B (Form 1040)
Schedule B is organized by payer, so interest from one bank payer may be totaled under that payer’s name.
Part I, line 1
Report on line 1 all of your taxable interest. List each payer’s name and the amount. You can list more than one payer on each entry space for lines 1 and 5, but be sure to clearly show the amount paid next to each payer’s name. Add the separate amounts paid by the payers listed on an entry space and enter the total in the “Amount” column.
2025 Instructions for Schedule B (Form 1040)
Having the Japanese account makes Question 1 “Yes” even when no FBAR is required; Japan is listed on line 7b when an FBAR is required.
Part III, lines 7a–7b
Check the “Yes” box if at any time during 2025 you had a financial interest in or signature authority over a financial account located in a foreign country. Check the “Yes” box even if you aren't required to file FinCEN Form 114. If you are required to file FinCEN Form 114, list the name(s) of the foreign country or countries in the space provided on line 7b.
IRS Foreign Currency Guidance
Foreign interest must be translated into U.S. dollars using the tax-return income conversion rule.
Foreign currency and currency exchange rates
You must express the amounts you report on your U.S. tax return in U.S. dollars. If you receive all or part of your income or pay some or all of your expenses in foreign currency, you must translate the foreign currency into U.S. dollars. Use the exchange rate prevailing when you receive, pay, or accrue the item.
IRS Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR
Form 8938 and the FBAR are independent filing duties.
Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements
The Form 8938 filing requirement does not replace or otherwise affect a taxpayer’s obligation to file FinCEN Form 114 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts). Individuals and domestic entities must check the requirements and relevant reporting thresholds of each form and determine if they should file Form 8938 or FinCEN Form 114, or both.
These are the official rules as published or updated on the cited dates; tax forms and reporting rules can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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