Search Results for: willful
National Taxpayer Advocate Delivers Annual Report to Congress that Criticizes Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs
…unrepresented are more likely to have been inadvertent, the OVD programs undermined the statutory scheme, which applies a higher penalty to “willful” than non-willful violations or those due to “reasonable…
Specific Steps for Applying to the IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures
…returns, report all income, pay all tax, and submit all required information returns, including FBARs, was not the result of willful conduct. Copies of this certification must be attached to…
Another Taxpayer Found Guilty of Failure to File FBARs and Report Foreign Income
…statement on a tax return can be a felony as is the willful failure to file an FBAR form. Mukhi is lucky that he wasn’t also charged with tax evasion…
FBAR Deadline Slightly Extended
…required by law to file an FBAR. Failure to timely file an FBAR can result in civil penalties and, in willful cases, criminal prosecution. So be sure to file your…
IRS Enforcement Campaign Targets High-Income Non-Filers
…garnishment, bank levies, or federal tax liens. Willful non-filing carries the potential for criminal prosecution. Strategic Implications This campaign signals a shift in IRS priorities, highlighting its ability to pursue…
Reasons to Opt Out of the 2011 OVDI Program
…2012) noting that $1,255,567 in willful and nonwillful penalties plus $1,671,518 in negligence penalties were assessed against taxpayers who opted out of the 2009 OVDP in 186 closed cases. Moreover,…
New Comments on the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program
…all tax due in respect of those assets, but certify that the failure did not result from willful conduct, with a streamlined procedure for filing amended or delinquent returns, and…
New IRS procedures for Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures for 2017 transition tax filers
…or other authority over various foreign bank accounts, including the bank accounts of Foreign Co. B, on FBARs. Her failure to file income tax returns and FBARs was non-willful. On…
Article Discusses Termination of Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (SFCP)
…requirements. Non-willful US taxpayers who enter SDOP must only pay a five percent penalty of undisclosed foreign assets during the disclosure period (three years), and US taxpayers who enter SFOP…
IRS’ Takes Legal Action Against Offshore HSBC Indian Accounts
…report foreign financial accounts if the total value of the accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. A willful failure to report a foreign account can result…
FBAR Reforms Recommended
…already and non-compliance penalties are extreme. We recommend some additional penalty reform recommendations, especially for non-willful cases (currently there is a $10,000 per account per year penalty). We believe most…
Cost of Compliance Rises under OVDP
…amnesty even for willful acts. But for those with the right facts, the IRS Streamlined program is simpler and less costly. US taxpayers considering an OVDP disclosure need to take…
Rare Supreme Court Ruling Favors Taxpayers!
…FBAR. The statute (31 U.S.C. §5321(a)(5)(B)) prescribes a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for a non-willful violation of any provision of the FBAR filing requirement (unless due to reasonable…
Foreign Account Penalties Are Unfair
…based on having reasonable cause or being non-willful. Taxpayers either had to agree to pay more than they believed they owed or withdraw from the program and face potentially massive…
Delinquent FinCen Form 114 (FBAR) Filings
…in order to provide a meaningful way for non-willful taxpayers to remedy past non-compliance with respect to non-U.S. bank accounts and income associated with those accounts. Read this article. Warning…
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…
Hiding Money or Income Offshore Among the “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for the 2015 Filing Season
…the 2011 and 2009 programs. This program will be open for an indefinite period until otherwise announced. The IRS also announced its SDOP and SFOP last year for non-willful cases….
New Unreported Offshore Assets case: Bad facts leads to bad results
…6 months. Although the 50% penalty is high, willful civil violations can result in tax, penalties and interest totaling 325% of the highest balance in the account for the most…
Top 5 tax fraud recoveries in 2022
…exchange. Investigators traced the stolen funds through the BTC blockchain and successfully decrypted files obtained through a search warrant. Willful failure to file individual income tax returns: $29.5 million, plus…
IRS Releases Training Documents on Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program
…programs. Some of the materials advise agents on interpretation of willfulness and other key legal terms in the SDOP and SFOP programs, which both require non-willfulness as an eligibility requirement….
Interesting 2023 Foreign Account Cases
…English did not willfully fail to file FBAR reports as his accountant mistranslated the English instructions into Japanese such that he believed that the filing was only required by U.S….
IRS Streamlines its Streamlined Offshore Procedures with More User Friendly Forms
…all income, pay all tax, and file all required information was due to non-willful conduct. The IRS’ two new forms simplify this certification process, Forms 14653 and 14654. Form 14653…
Top myths of US tax compliance for Foreign Accountholders
…your lack of filing was non-willful (which can be sometimes tricky). Myth #4: The IRS can’t find me because I live abroad. The IRS has a new way to pursue…
Vatican Signs FATCA Agreement
…An FBAR must be filed with the IRS regardless of any other agreements. It just adds another layer of oversight. Clients who admit to being willfully non-compliant may seek protection…
BE-10 Report: A New Overlooked International Reporting Form
…Willful failure to file can result in a penalty of no more than $10,000 and up to one year in prison for an individual filer, or both. Below are answers…
Expect Coronavirus Bankruptcies
…willful tax evasion. You cannot wipe out tax liability if you filed a false or fraudulent tax return or willfully attempted to evade paying taxes. For example, if you underreported…
2012 Offshore Account Criminal Tax Cases
…Michael Reiss, 11-CR-00668 (S.D.N.Y.): On January 11, 2012, Reiss was sentenced to one day of imprisonment for one count of willful failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial…
The “Quiet” or “Silent” Disclosure
…Sometimes filing a false return is worse that filing no return at all. Some possible criminal charges include tax evasion and filing a false return. Willfully failing to file an…
Explore the OVDI opt-out option: Argue for Penalty Mitigation
…program penalty. We expect some successful results for some of our clients. Under IRM 4.26.16.4.5.3 (FBAR Willfulness Penalty – Willfulness) (07-01-2008) the test for willfulness is whether there was a…
IRS offers tax opportunity to Americans living abroad
…rules on tax returns and disclosure of foreign bank accounts. They said many of these people were not willful tax evaders, but simply uninformed about filing returns and, if needed,…