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IRS Patrol – IRS Reminds Taxpayers that the Aug. 31 Deadline Is Fast Approaching for the Second Special Voluntary Disclosure Initiative of Offshore Accounts

September 27, 2011 6:05 am / Leave a comment

Douglas Shulman, Chair of the OECD’s Forum on ...

Foreign Reporting

WASHINGTON — U.S. taxpayers hiding income in undisclosed offshore accounts are running out of time to take advantage of a soon-to-expire opportunity to come forward and get their taxes current with the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS today reminded taxpayers that the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) will expire on Aug. 31, 2011. Taxpayers who come forward voluntarily get a better deal than those who wait for the IRS to find their undisclosed accounts and income. New foreign account reporting requirements are being phased in over the next few years, making it ever tougher to hide income offshore. As importantly, the IRS continues its focus on banks and bankers worldwide that assist U.S. taxpayers with hiding assets overseas.

“The time has come to get back into compliance with the U.S. tax system, because the risks of hiding money offshore keeps going up,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “Our goal is to get people back into the system. The second voluntary initiative gives people a fair way to resolve their tax problems.”

The 2011 OVDI was announced on Feb. 8, 2011, and follows the 2009 Offshore Disclosure Program (OVDP). The 2011 initiative offers clear benefits to encourage taxpayers to come forward rather than risk detection by the IRS. Taxpayers hiding assets offshore who do not come forward will face far higher penalties along with potential criminal charges.

For the 2011 initiative, there is a new penalty framework that requires individuals to pay a penalty of 25 percent of the amount in the foreign bank accounts in the year with the highest aggregate account balance covering the 2003 to 2010 time period. Some taxpayers will be eligible for 5 or 12.5 percent penalties in certain narrow circumstances.

Participants also must pay back-taxes and interest for up to eight years as well as paying accuracy-related and/or delinquency penalties. All original and amended tax returns must be filed by the deadline.

The IRS has made available the 2011 OVDI information in eight foreign languages for those taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts. The agency took this step to reach taxpayers whose primary language may not be English. These translations include the following languages: Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Farsi, German, Hindi, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

The IRS decision to open a second special disclosure initiative was based on the success of the first program and many more taxpayers coming forward after the program closed on Oct. 15, 2009. The first special disclosure initiative program closed with about 15,000 voluntary disclosures regarding accounts at banks in more than 60 countries. Many taxpayers came in after the first program closed. These taxpayers were deemed eligible to take advantage of the special provisions of the second initiative.

Further details about this initiative are provided in a series of questions and answers

FBAR Reporting Extended to November 1, 2011 For Certain Persons With Signature Authority Over Accounts Held During Years 2009 or Earlier

June 16, 2011 9:47 am / Leave a comment

Notice 2011-54 provides additional administrative relief to persons whose requirement to file Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), to report signature authority over foreign financial accounts held during calendar year 2009 or earlier calendar years was properly deferred under Notice 2009-62, 2009-35 I.R.B. 260, or Notice 2010-23, 2010-11 I.R.B. 441.

On August 31, 2009, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service published Notice 2009-62, which, in part, extended the filing deadline for persons with no financial interest in a foreign financial account but with signature or other authority over that account (hereinafter referred to as “signature authority”) for the 2008 or earlier calendar years. In Notice 2010-23, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS further extended relief to persons whose filing deadline was properly deferred by Notice 2009-62 and provided a new filing deadline to June 30, 2011, to report signature authority over, but no financial interest in, foreign financial accounts for calendar year 2009 or earlier calendar years. The extensions were provided to allow the Treasury Department time to develop comprehensive FBAR guidance.

On February 24, 2011, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published final regulations (76 FR 10234) amending the Bank Secrecy Act implementing regulations regarding FBARs, found at 31 CFR 1010.350 (formerly 31CFR 103.24). The regulations became effective on March 28, 2011, and apply to FBARs required to be filed by June 30, 2011, with respect to foreign financial accounts maintained in calendar year 2010, as well as to FBARs for subsequent calendar years.

The final regulations also provide that individuals who properly deferred their FBAR filing obligations pursuant to Notice 2010-23 may apply the provisions of the final regulations in determining their FBAR filing requirements for reports due June 30, 2011, with respect to foreign financial accounts maintained in calendar years beginning before 2010. In March 2011, the IRS released a revised FBAR form with accompanying instructions that reflect the amendments made by the final FBAR regulations.

The IRS and FinCEN recently have been informed that individuals with signature authority over, but no financial interest in, foreign financial accounts are having difficulty compiling the information needed to file complete and accurate FBARs with respect to the 2009 or earlier calendar years by the June 30, 2011 deadline, as previously extended by Notice 2009-62 or Notice 2010-23. Accordingly, the IRS and FinCEN provide the following additional administrative relief:

Persons having signature authority over, but no financial interest in, a foreign financial account in 2009 or earlier calendar years for which the reporting deadline was extended by Notice 2009-62 or Notice 2010-23 will now have until November 1, 2011, to file FBARs with respect to those accounts.

The deadline for reporting signature authority over, or a financial interest in, foreign financial accounts for the 2010 calendar year remains June 30, 2011.

The administrative relief provided in the Notice does not limit the relief provided in FinCEN’s Notice 2011-1, which was released on May 31, 2011, and revised on June 6, 2011. A copy of revised FinCEN Notice 2011-1 may be found at www.fincen.gov.

Additionally, the administrative relief provided in this Notice does not affect the requirements to provide information or file FBARs in connection with the IRS’s 2009 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program or the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative. Nor does this Notice alter the deadlines for electing to participate in, or fulfilling the submission requirements of, the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program or the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative.

EFFECT ON OTHER DOCUMENTS

Notice 2010-23 is modified and supplemented.

The principal author of the notice is Emily M. Lesniak of the Office of Associate

Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration). For further information regarding the

Notice, you can contact Emily M. Lesniak at (202) 622-4570 (not a toll-free call).

IRS Patrol – FBAR Filing Deadline Extended for Certain Financial Professionals (staciesmoretaxtips.wordpress.com)
Avoiding the Foreign-Account Penalty (online.wsj.com)

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Category Archives: FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNT REPORTING

IRS Patrol – IRS Reminds Taxpayers that the Aug. 31 Deadline Is Fast Approaching for the Second Special Voluntary Disclosure Initiative of Offshore Accounts

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FBAR Reporting Extended to November 1, 2011 For Certain Persons With Signature Authority Over Accounts Held During Years 2009 or Earlier

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