Offshore Account UpdatePosted on December 17, 2020
The requirement for U.S. taxpayers to file FinCEN Form 114, Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), exists under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). This statute was enacted in order to aid in the federal government’s fight against money laundering and other financial crimes, and violations of the BSA are taken very seriously. As a result, while it might not seem like a big deal if you failed to file an FBAR, the consequences can be substantial—and in some cases, FBAR violations can lead to criminal prosecution. Here, Boston offshore tax lawyer Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains the penalties for failing to file an FBAR:
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted on October 16, 2020
As a U.S. taxpayer, you are obligated to report your foreign assets to the federal government, and you must pay federal income tax on your worldwide income from all sources. While there are exceptions to these general rules (i.e. certain small assets do not need to be reported, and there are various tax exemptions for foreign-derived income, just as there are for domestic income), if you have offshore accounts, it is imperative that you work with an experienced Boston international tax attorney to make sure you are in compliance.
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Voluntary Disclosure Practice affords U.S. taxpayers the opportunity to avoid substantial liability in the event that they have failed to timely disclose their offshore accounts—as required by federal law. The Voluntary Disclosure Practice is not available to all taxpayers in all circumstances, and it does not afford the ability to completely avoid liability in most cases, but it can help taxpayers avoid tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in IRS penalties in many circumstances.
Read MoreOn January 23, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the first major crackdown conducted by the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement. In doing so, it sent a stern warning to U.S. taxpayers who have offshore accounts, and it signaled that taxpayers who fail to comply with the IRS voluntary disclosure requirements may be at risk in similar coordinated international law enforcement efforts in the coming years.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted on November 4, 2019
U.S. taxpayers holding previously undisclosed offshore accounts have had to deal with a recent change in the tax laws. The Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) used to be the IRS program allowing offshore account holders to report previously undisclosed accounts, while reducing tax penalties and avoiding criminal exposure. When the IRS ended OVDP in September 2018, the new voluntary disclosure program now applied to these same taxpayers holding offshore accounts.
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