The U.S. government has gotten serious about preventing revenue loss that occurs when American keep accounts offshore. There are numerous laws that are designed to make it easier for the government to find people who have offshore investments and to take action if these investors aren’t paying their taxes.

Foreign bank accounts must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service every year when you file your tax returns. If you failed to file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), then you are in violation of U.S. tax law and you could face fines, penalties and even prosecution.