In the recent 2019 case U.S. v. Ram Agrawal, a US District Court rejected a taxpayer’s reasonable cause defense against foreign bank account reports (FBARs) penalties. It ruled in favor of the government to collect FBAR penalties for the
Many U.S taxpayers are unfortunately surprised to discover that they have a U.S. tax reporting obligation on financial accounts or assets held overseas. Once they discover their tax and reporting obligation, there are a number of programs through which they
The new Offshore Private Banking enforcement campaign was recently identified through LB&I data analysis and suggestions from IRS employees. IRS employees likely saw that many taxpayers were not properly reporting offshore bank accounts, as a result, they suggested the campaign.
The Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures are one of the four methods for taxpayers with unreported offshore accounts to become compliant. Taxpayers who have failed to file certain international-related information returns. It applies to all the following international-related information returns:
The following are the seven steps of the new updated IRS voluntary disclosure process: A taxpayer will make a voluntary disclosure preclearance request using IRS Form 14457 to IRS Criminal Investigation (CI). Taxpayers can request preclearance via mail or fax.
We are members of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, which on May 2, 2018 submitted comments to the IRS on the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (“OVDP”), the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Program (“SDOP”), and the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Program (“SFOP”).
There is a debate as to the “burden of proof” that must be met by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in asserting that an FBAR violation was “willful”. This is significant because those who willfully fail to file the required
A resident of Connecticut who was originally from Korea has been hit with a record civil penalty of $14M, a six month prison sentence, and a fine of $100,000 for failing to report Swiss bank accounts totaling around $28M, the
Two years ago, Congress passed Internal Revenue Code Section 7345. This law allows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to work with the US State Department to suspend and/or deny the passports of taxpayers with seriously delinquent tax debts. The IRS plans
In a press call on August 2, 2017, the Chief of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division (“IRS-CI” or CID), John D. Fort, announced two new enforcement initiatives: a National Coordinated Investigations Unit and an International Tax Enforcement
Many of our clients with foreign accounts have received FATCA letters. The letters seek personal information regarding the account holder in order to comply with the US FATCA law. In recent weeks, government authorities in a few foreign countries have
The reporting requirements for IRS Form 5471 are complex, including ‘category of filer’ and required schedules. However, very few taxpayers know that there are special simplified filing rules for a foreign dormant corporation. IRS Revenue Procedure 92-70, specifies specific, conditions
The US Dept of Justice (DOJ) Tax Division recently published it annual summary highlights of civil tax matters. The publication is linked here (Updated through December 16, 2016), and contains brief summaries DOJ Tax activity (decisions, court filings, etc.). Last year it
Earlier this month, the IRS’ Large Business and International division released its list of 13 focus areas for issue- based examinations and concerns for compliance. One of those areas involves the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. Entitled, “OVDP Declines-Withdrawals
IRS has recently released a new International Practice Unit (IPU) providing guidance to its examiners on the monetary penalties applicable if certain categories of U.S. shareholders fail to comply with the reporting requirements on Form 5471 (Information Return of U.S.
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. FATCA requires foreign financial institutions (FFIs), i.e., foreign banks, to
Last week Trinidad and Tobago and the United States signed an agreement to facilitate automatic exchange of information under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, enacted by the US Congress in 2010, is intended to ensure that
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) currently offers non-compliant US taxpayers several different relief programs in which to report foreign assets and/or income and become compliant with US rules related to the disclosure of foreign assets. One option is the Offshore
In the midst of tough tax season, many U.S taxpayers are unfortunately surprised to discover that they have a U.S. tax reporting obligation on financial accounts or assets held overseas. Once they discover their tax and reporting obligation, there are
The US Treasury has issued long-awaited regulations specifying the domestic taxpayers who have to disclose substantial foreign financial assets to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) every year. The new rules, effective immediately, are linked to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance
At the recent American Bar Association meeting held on January 29, 2016, the acting Attorney General for the tax division disclosed that the IRS and US Department of Justice are now focusing bank investigations in Belize, the British Virgin Islands,
Many foreign banks and financial institutions have recently been asking customers for a “FATCA Compliance Certificate”. The reason for the request is that your country and the US probably signed an agreement to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which
A US passport or green-card is losing its glamour and appeal. Some people are surrendering their prized green cards because of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which requires most foreign governments and the US to freely exchange
The US Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (the Act) has changed the filing date for the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), electronically filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Center (FinCEN) on
There is an increased focus by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on offshore activities. There are tax return and information return filing obligations that may be associated with foreign income, assets and transactions. Many taxpayers (including non-U.S. persons who might
There is a lot of misinformation so we decided to debunk the top myths of US tax compliance. Myth #1: I don’t have to file US taxes if I live abroad. The US is one of the few countries who
The IRS has begun receiving information regarding tax year 2014 from nations around the world who have agreed to comply with FATCA. Some of those countries negotiated reciprocal agreements to also receive information from the US regarding their taxpayers with
In 2009, the IRS had introduced an Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative/Program (OVDI/OVDP). In following years, the program was reintroduced and revised. When it comes to addressing offshore filing deficiencies, several issues exist in connection with the statute of limitations, the
On July 31, 2015, President Obama signed into law P.L. 114-41, which included a number of tax provisions, one of which changes the deadline for filing the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FinCEN Form 114) (the FBAR) for 2016
If you invest internationally a Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) could be a nightmare that could become a reality if you happen to invest in what the IRS deems a PFIC, which are taxed at exorbitant rates and have highly
