Need advice on filing delinquent FBARs as an Australian working in the US - scared of penalties

You're definitely not alone in this situation. Many people living in the US with foreign accounts don't realize they need to file FBARs until years after the fact. The good news is that the IRS has specific procedures for people in your exact situation. The IRS has something called the "Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures" specifically for people who didn't know they needed to file. If you weren't under IRS examination and haven't been contacted about the missing FBARs, you can file the delinquent forms electronically with a statement explaining why you're filing late. The IRS won't impose penalties for late filings if they determine you had reasonable cause. You'll need to file FBARs (FinCEN Form 114) for each year you had more than $10,000 in your foreign accounts combined at any point during the year. You file these through the FinCEN BSA e-filing system, not with your tax returns.

After dealing with a similar nightmare situation (British expat, had UK accounts), I discovered taxr.ai https://taxr.ai and it literally saved me thousands. I was quoted $7000+ by accountants but used this online service instead that specializes in expatriate tax issues including FBAR filings. They have a specific module for handling delinquent FBARs that walks you through everything step by step. It analyzed my foreign accounts and helped me draft the reasonable cause statement that explains why I didn't file before. They actually check for common issues that trigger penalties and suggest ways to fix them before submission.

I just wanted to follow up after trying taxr.ai for my situation with Canadian accounts. Honestly, I was skeptical at first, but it was incredibly helpful. The platform walked me through filing 3 years of delinquent FBARs and helped me craft a really solid reasonable cause statement. What I found most useful was how it calculated the combined maximum values across accounts in different currencies and flagged potential issues before submission. It cost me WAY less than what accountants were quoting me. Filed everything last month and just got confirmation that my submission was accepted without any penalties. For anyone dealing with delinquent FBARs - definitely worth checking out before dropping thousands on an accountant.

For anyone struggling to get answers directly from the IRS about FBAR penalties or amnesty programs, I highly recommend Claimyr https://claimyr.com to actually get a human on the phone. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to someone at the IRS to confirm my situation wouldn't result in penalties. I was about to give up when I found this service that gets you through to an actual IRS agent without waiting on hold for hours. Check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically you enter your phone number and they call you when an IRS agent is on the line. I finally got to speak with someone who confirmed that voluntary disclosure of delinquent FBARs typically doesn't result in penalties if you haven't been contacted by the IRS already and have a reasonable explanation. That single conversation saved me so much anxiety and probably thousands in unnecessary accountant fees.

Ok I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself because I was still stressing about my own FBAR situation (had accounts in Singapore I never reported). It actually works exactly as advertised. Got a call back in about 40 minutes with an IRS agent already on the line. The agent walked me through the entire delinquent FBAR submission process and confirmed that they rarely assess penalties for people who voluntarily disclose before being contacted by the IRS. Saved me from paying a tax attorney $300/hour just to tell me the same information. If you're worried about FBAR penalties and just need to confirm the proper procedure directly from the IRS, this is definitely worth it.

One big thing to consider when filing delinquent FBARs is whether you've also been reporting your foreign income correctly all along. The FBAR issue might be just one part of your compliance requirements as an Australian citizen in the US. Have you been reporting any interest earned in those Australian accounts on your US tax returns? What about your Superannuation fund - depending on how it's structured, it might need to be reported on additional forms beyond just the FBAR (potentially PFIC forms or foreign trust reporting).

Does anyone know if the FBAR thresholds apply to the combined total across all accounts or each individual account? I have 3 small accounts in Australia that individually never exceed $10k but combined sometimes do.