High-net-worth individuals and families contemplating diversifying their wealth beyond U.S. borders, also known as outbound wealth planning, may be motivated by concerns about domestic political developments, economic policy...more
Americans who live abroad continue to be subject to U.S. taxation despite having left the United States. American expats should be aware of this and the consequences of not being tax compliant. George McCormick discusses...more
What are the most important elements of estate and tax planning for US expatriates? Are you planning to move out of the United States? Are you a US taxpayer who lives and works outside of the country? What are some of the...more
On September 8, 2023, the IRS issued a News Release suggesting that FBAR compliance investigations and audits would heat up in the near future. For those unfamiliar with FBARs, federal law requires United States persons to...more
Introduction - Much of the current litigation between taxpayers and the United States has centered on the definition of willfulness or whether the non-willful FBAR penalty should apply on a per year or per account basis. ...more
Federal case and after federal case continues to come out providing real-life examples of the pitfalls of filing a Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedure (“SFCP”) with the IRS when the facts suggest willfulness rather than...more
On June 21, 2022, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear a dispute involving split decisions among the circuit courts on non-willful penalties. The Fifth Circuit parted ways with the taxpayer friendly decision of the...more
In a recent decision, a federal district court found that a long-time CPA/tax-return preparer recklessly failed to file FBARs to disclose several foreign financial accounts. As avid readers of our Insights are aware, many...more
Last week the Ninth Circuit issued a win for taxpayers in US v. Boyd, limiting penalties for non-willful violations of the requirement to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). ...more
Following the termination last fall of its immensely successful Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a new regime to govern all voluntary disclosures regarding tax...more
On November 29, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") published a memorandum (the "Memorandum") dated November 20, 2018, outlining the new process for all voluntary disclosures, both domestic and offshore (the "New...more
Both the American Bar Association (ABA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) have written letters (3/19/18 for the ABA and 5/30/18 for the AICPA) to the IRS to obtain further definition and...more
The jurors in the Paul Manafort case had questions regarding the complex Foreign Bank Account Reports (FBARs) regulations. This was evidenced by the jury’s questions to the judge addressing the responsibility to file an FBAR...more
On April 9, 2018, IRS released Notice (IR-2018-87) to remind Taxpayers that hold foreign assets of their U.S. tax obligations which could include a filing requirement and a U.S. tax liability. This Notice applies to all U.S....more
El 13 de marzo del 2018, el IRS anunció la terminación del Programa de Divulgación Voluntaria De Cuentas en el Extranjero (“OVDP”) desde el 28 de septiembre del 2018 (Notificación IR-2018-52). El OVDP ha estado disponible...more
On March 13, 2018, IRS announced the termination of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) as of September 28, 2018 (Notice IR-2018-52). ...more
On March 13th, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") announced that the offshore voluntary disclosure program ("OVDP"), which was first launched in 2009 and modified several times, will close to new taxpayers after September...more
On March 13, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") announced that the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program ("OVDP") will end on September 28, 2018. The program has allowed taxpayers to avoid criminal prosecution by...more
As I discussed in a prior blog post, if you have more than $10,000 in a foreign bank account, you are obligated to file Form 114 (commonly known as an FBAR). Failure to make this filing can result in significant civil...more
Taxpayers with unreported foreign financial assets and income run the risk of having the Government determine if their conduct was willful or non-willful. The definition of “Willful" or "non-willful” in Taxpayer’s conduct...more