The new Loose Filed Forms 5471 targeted enforcement campaign was identified through LB&I data analysis and suggestions from IRS employees. IRS employees likely received many Loose Filed Forms 5471 that were not properly filed, as a result, the suggested 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
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
Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in U.S. v. Colliot, determined that an individual who repeatedly failed to timely file Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly referred to as an FBAR,
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
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
Taxpayers across the country rely on advice from their accountants and CPAs to meet the complicated requirements of the U.S. Tax Code. But a new case, Jarnagin v United States, in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims suggests that CPA
The IRS Large Business and International (LB&I) division last week publicly released a “practice unit” that addresses what the term “substantially complete” means with reference to international information return penalties, particularly Form 5471. The IRS recently released a new International Practice
Last year, the US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report which assessed how well that IRS was managing the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). OVDP is one of the programs taxpayers may use to become compliant
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
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced last week that, to implement the new due date for FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), of April 15 (April 18 for 2017), it will automatically
The ABA recently held a conference titled National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and Institute on Tax Controversy. I attended the conference where many tax attorneys and government officials discussed issues of interest. Also discussed was the effect of streamlined
FATCA letters (sometime called Self Certification letters) are going out from banks around the world to millions of US expats in readiness for reporting their financial information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you are one of the 8
The Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) is essentially the IRS employee handbook on how to carry out all administrative and procedural matters, such as how to audit specific tax returns, collect taxes, process returns, or assess penalties. The IRM may be
The Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to prod taxpayers to disclose their offshore bank accounts and pay taxes on their holdings have reached the $10 billion mark and prompted over 100,000 taxpayers to come forward, the IRS said last Friday in
The cost of compliance for many people is growing. Those U.S. persons with bank accounts in foreign jurisdictions who have yet to come into compliance with U.S. tax filing requirements have very little time. In addition to the increased amount
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
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
Last week, on July 28, 2016, the United States Department of Justice announced an indictment against Lacy Doyle for obstructing the administration of tax laws and filing false foreign bank account report (FBARs). Doyle was arrested in New York. In
We have had many clients with unreported foreign mutual funds. As a result, it is time to revisit the unfavorable topic of foreign mutual funds as a “Passive Foreign Investment Companies” (PFICs), which is often a surprise to our clients. U.S.
India and the US have agreed to again enhance collaboration on tackling offshore tax evasion and increase cooperation in sharing of cross-border tax information after the United States Treasury and India’s Ministry of Finance met last week. Following the conclusion
The Internal Revenue Service recently once again issued its annual reminder to US persons to report foreign accounts and foreign income. The reminders issued because of the widespread confusion and misunderstanding that exists among most US persons with foreign assets.
The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing reports about the offshore financial arrangements of global politicians and public figures based on 11.5 million leaked files from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, a department spokesman said yesterday. The department is determining whether
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
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
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
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
You may have recently received a letter from your financial institution or investment firm asking for some of your personal details. Typically the letter requests many personal, tax and residency details, such as your country of birth, the country in
