Caution: Increased FBAR Enforcement
The last month or so has unfortunately seen a lot of FBAR enforcement court rulings against US taxpayers and in favor of the government. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Department of the
Post-Covid: Re-explore the Home Office deduction
In a recent notice last week, the Internal Revenue Service reminded individuals to consider taking the home office deduction if they qualify. The benefit may allow taxpayers newly working from home to deduct certain expenses
Tax Changes Due to the Election
Many Tax Changes Expected At the time of this writing, the political conventions are over, and Joe Biden has a double-digit lead in some polls. A number of Senate seats may turn blue as well,
FBARs from Wuhan
The US Department of Justice recently announced the indictment for tax-related crimes of Dr. Charles Lieber, the former Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry Department, for monies received from a university in Wuhan, China. Key excerpts from
Foreign Retirement Plans: New IRS Exemption from Required Information Reporting on Forms 3520 and 3520-A
In recent IRS Revenue Procedure 2020-17, the IRS has created a procedure where certain U.S. persons having an interest in tax-favored foreign trusts established and operated exclusively or almost exclusively to provide pension or retirement,
New Court Ruling: FBAR penalties applied per form and not per account
The FBAR rules require the filing of a FinCEN Report 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) to report for accounts of U.S. persons aggregating $10,000 or more. For a non-willful failure to
How to Avoid Jail and Clean Up Tax Problems
If you have willfully failed to report income or claimed excessive deductions or failed to file your tax returns and pay the tax owed, you may be liable for civil penalties and possible jail time
The IRS has woken up.
Due to the coronavirus, the IRS paused all collection and enforcement activities until July 15, 2020. But recently we have started to receive some tax enforcement actions against some of our clients. The IRS has
How to Fix an Erroneous Filed Tax Return without Penalties
But what if you discover an error or omission on a return already filed with the IRS that needs to be corrected and it is still before the extended due date? The advantage of fixing
IRS’ New “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams
The Internal Revenue Service announced on July 16, 2020, its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams. This year, the Dirty Dozen focused on scams that target taxpayers, and emphasized aggressive and evolving schemes related
What Happens to Your Digital Accounts In Case of Death
We have completed over 1,000 estate plans for clients over the years. Recently, however, we have unfortunately probated a disproportionate number of clients’ wills after death. Through estate planning, many of our clients have planned
Expect Coronavirus Bankruptcies
With the downturn in the economy and massive job losses, bankruptcy filings will skyrocket this year. Unpaid tax liabilities will likely be a large part of clients’ debts. There is a common misconception that income