Search Results for: non-willful
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…
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….
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…
IRS Provides Form 5471 Information-Filing Relief For Dormant Foreign Corps.
…foreign corporations. The good news is shareholders of a dormant non-US corporation can qualify for minimal Form 5471 reporting requirements. Revenue Procedure 92-70 (copy pasted below) provides the circumstances when…
10 Most Frequently Asked Questions and Answers for Stretch IRAs
…their own is the deceased’s spouse. Only a spouse can roll the IRA into their own IRA account. A non-spouse would base the required distributions on their own life expectancy…
Taxation of Employment-related Discrimination Claims
Proceeds from a settlement involving an employment-related discrimination case may be taxable to the employee under some circumstances and not taxable in others. Non-taxable settlement amounts: Medical expenses associated…
How Will the IRS Find Out By Your Foreign Account? Let’s Count the Dozens of Ways
…account information. 3. Swiss Bank Program where Swiss Banks seek non-prosecution agreements and were required to disclose of your account information. The Swiss Bank Program provides a path for Swiss…
IRS Announces Penalty Mitigation for Smaller US Taxpayers Living Abroad
The Internal Revenue Service appears to have finally created a process to finally separate small non-resident (foreign resident) US taxpayers from larger non-resident US taxpayers at the front end, and…
Uncertainty About The Future Of The Gift And Estate Tax Laws Will Continue
…legacy for future generations have vitally important non-tax considerations to address in their estate plans. Paying attention to these non-tax issues increases the odds that an estate plan will be…
Time Running Out for HSBC India accountholders sought by IRS
…account statements to the depositor’s father residing outside of the United States; • transferring funds from other foreign accounts to HSBC India after converting the funds to non-U.S. dollar denominations…
Beware the New 2023 Form 1099-K
…therefore should not be reported on Form 1099-K. How to Prevent Non-taxable Items From Being Reported on Form 1099-K The IRS advises taxpayers using payment apps for the above non-taxable…
IRS Publishes Useful Chart Outlining Compliance Options for Offshore Assets
…and are alarmed about their newfound alleged tax violations, the IRS statement is an subdued understatement. While helpful, the chart may mislead some readers. “Non-resident U.S. taxpayers with delinquent returns…
Beware IRS Forms W-8
…non-US entities or persons (citizens and corporations) in order to claim exempt status from certain tax withholdings. The form is used to declare an entity’s status as non-resident alien or…
Stretching Your IRA to the Next Generation
…IRS law had required non-spouse beneficiaries to completely withdraw IRA assets either within five years of the originator’s death or heretofore remaining life expectancy. The stretch IRA allows for the…
New FATCA Enforcement Expected
The IRS has tightened its enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). FATCA was enacted in 2010 by Congress to target non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts….
Offshore Compliance Programs Generate $8 Billion; IRS Urges People to Take Advantage of Voluntary Disclosure Programs
…to FATCA and reporting through IGAs, the Department of Justice’s Swiss Bank Programcontinues to reach non-prosecution agreements with Swiss financial institutions that facilitated past non-compliance. As part of these agreements,…
THE ABCs OF STRETCH IRAs
…dies. The beneficiary can be a spouse or a non-spousal heir (or in some cases, not a person at all but a “see-through” trust.)1 If the beneficiary is a person,…
Correcting Common FBAR Errors
…a legal source (and not the proceeds of an illegal activity) and if the IRS is not already in a position to know of the person’s noncompliance. 1. File an…
Numerous Criminal Prosecutions of Taxpayers with Unreported Offshore Accounts
…one count of willful failure to file an FBAR under 31 U.S.C. §§ 5314 and 5322. Abrahamsen admitted that he willfully failed to file a foreign bank account report and…
Analysis: IRS New Disclosure Program
…all noncompliant years. In addition, taxpayers also may be allowed to expand the disclosure period to correct tax issues in years outside of their disclosure. As with OVDP, taxpayers must…
Expect Coronavirus Bankruptcies
…in bankruptcy. Even worse, these non-dischargeable taxes may also be priority debts. There are other strategies to minimize these non-dischargeable taxes, but you cannot discharge them. 2. Must be 3…
A limited opportunity for generous gift tax exclusions
…structured, a husband can make a gift to a trust for the benefit of his wife and children and the wife can gift assets to a similar but non-identical trust…
No Springing in Spring
…these problems by making a durable non-springing POA that is literally effective immediately. The agent can exercise the powers in the document as soon as it is signed. An experienced…
Increased IRS Enforcement Expected Against High-Income Taxpayers
…in previous years,” said the IRS response. In the end, we believe that the TIGTA report will likely lead to increased enforcement against wealthy taxpayers including non-filers. A “non-filer” is…
New FBAR Deadline applies to 2016 Tax Year Onwards
…citizen or resident, and a U.S. entity, including a trust or estate formed under the laws of the United States) with a financial interest in one or more non-U.S. bank…
Caution: Foreign Businesses Require Additional Reporting
If you are an American entrepreneur with a foreign business interest or operating abroad then you should be aware of U.S. tax reporting obligations on non-U.S. businesses. If a U.S….
The InSECURITY of the SECURE Act
…for retirement plans and IRAs, is effective on January 1, 2020. The new law effectively ends “stretch IRAs” that enable non-spouse beneficiaries to extend RMDs over their lifetime. As a…
IRS Releases New IRS 2022 FBAR Fact Sheet
…FBAR Submission Procedure (or DFSP), which our office has successfully utilized hundreds of times to cure delinquent FBARs and immunize clients from penalties. Nonethless, the new IRS 2022 FBAR Fact…
IRS Announces New Investigative Units
…see” mentality when it comes to non-disclosure of offshore financial assets, or tax non-compliance more generally, is too risky. The days of hiding offshore assets are over. Taxpayers confronting these…
Common Issues for US-India Tax Reporting
…Failure to provide self-certification of compliance would result in the noncompliant accounts being blocked and inaccessible for any transactions. All Indian investors (including NRIs), who hold accounts in any Indian…