FBAR v Form 8938
 
Although worldwide income must be reported on your tax return, it is legal to have money and/or assets overseas. Depending on the nature of the account or property abroad, it is important to understand the differences and requirements of each. U.S. citizens utilize IRS Form 8938 when reporting the ownership of specified foreign assets, and a FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Reporting TD F 90-22.1) for certain foreign bank accounts.
 
Form 8938 was designed to aid in tax administration, while the FBAR was designed to aid in law enforcement. The filing dates and administrative agencies are different but some of the required information may be the same.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the streamlined filing compliance procedures for non-resident, non-filer taxpayers, which went into effect on 1 September 2012.

The streamlined procedures were introduced to provide US taxpayers residing overseas, including dual citizens, who have not filed US federal income tax returns or Form TD F 90-22.1 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, FBAR) with an opportunity to comply with their tax requirements by filing their delinquent income tax returns for the past 3 years and filing their delinquent FBARs for the past 6 years.