Banks and certain other financial institutions located outside the United States that have U.S. account holders are scrambling to meet a looming IRS deadline. These institutions, known as foreign financial institutions, or FFIs, must achieve full compliance with the U.S.
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
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 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:
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,
IRS Issue Number: IR-2018-52 IRS to end offshore voluntary disclosure program; Taxpayers with undisclosed foreign assets urged to come forward now WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today announced it will begin to ramp down the 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program
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
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
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 Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced an automatic six-month extension for taxpayers required to file FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). Taxpayers now have until October 16 to submit their FBARs for
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
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
If you have a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account, exceeding certain thresholds, the Bank Secrecy Act may require
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
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
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
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
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,
