Most likely, yes. An FBAR is a Report of Foreign Bank Accounts, which is filed using Form FinCEN 114.

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Any US Person who holds greater than $10,000 across all foreign accounts combined at any one time during the year, must file an FBAR.

What is an FBAR?

An FBAR is used to report to the Department of the Treasury (via the IRS) the existence of any non-US bank accounts that you have a financial interest in, through the year.

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There are no tax implications of this form, and it is purely a reporting requirement. The official reasoning given for the existence of the form, is for global anti-money laundering efforts.

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So, how does it work? Well, as mentioned above, the FBAR is only needed when your combined maximum balance exceeds $10,000 USD during the year.

Lets say Alice, a US citizen lives in New Zealand and has three bank accounts, account A, B and C. To determine if Alice needs to file an FBAR, we must look at the maximum value in each of her accounts during the year:

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Account A - Maximum Balance - $3000 - March 2023

Account B - Maximum Balance - $6000 - July 2023

Account C = Maximum Balance - $2000 - January 2023

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When we combine the three maximum balances above, Alice's combined maximum is $11,000 (assuming its USD for convenience). This means that Alice is required to file an FBAR.

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The FBAR then reports each account number, the owner of the account (Alice), and also the maximum balance during the year. This is then filed with the Treasury using Form FinCEN114. As mentioned, there are no tax implications to this form.

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