foreign assets Archives - TAX CONTROVERSY 360

OVDP Ending September 28: Now Is the Time to Disclose

by McDermott Will & Emery | Aug 23, 2018 | IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Privilege and Non-Disclosure, Uncategorized

Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the ending of the 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), its formal amnesty program for taxpayers with previously undisclosed interests in foreign assets and financial accounts. The program deadline is September 28, 2018, and all submissions must be substantially completed by that deadline. Partial or “placeholder” submissions will not qualify. All requests for preclearance into the program must be submitted by Friday, August 24, 2018.

A number of other disclosure options will remain available after September 28, 2018, including the popular IRS streamlined compliance procedures. Regardless, taxpayers with potential questions or concerns regarding reporting of their foreign holdings should seek advice immediately in light of upcoming deadlines.

IRS OVDP Ending | Time Is Now for Coming into US Tax Compliance – Especially for Those with Willfulness Issues

by Daniel J. Bell, K. Christy Vouri-Misso and McDermott Will & Emery | Mar 16, 2018 | Alternative Dispute Resolution, IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Settlements, Uncategorized

On March 13, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it will begin ramping down the current Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and urged taxpayers with undisclosed foreign assets to apply for the program prior to its close on September 28, 2018. We have previously reported on developments in the OVDP.

Access the full article.

Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Update

by Jonathan D. Lockhart and Leigh-Alexandra Basha | Aug 10, 2016 | IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Trial Courts, Uncategorized

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 Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). Another is the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (SFCP). SFCP is further bifurcated into two sub-programs—one for US residents (Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures or “SDOP”) and one for non-US residents (Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures or “SFOP”). Each program has its own set of tailored procedures and eligibility requirements.

The critical differences between OVDP and SFCP are: (1) the non-willfulness requirement; (2) the look-back period; and (3) the amounts of penalties the US taxpayer must pay. Specifically, OVDP does not require the US taxpayer to certify that his or her failure to disclose foreign assets was non-willful. On the other hand, SFCP requires the US taxpayer to certify that his or her failure to disclose foreign assets was non-willful and to also include a narrative explaining such non-willful conduct. The incentive to demonstrate non-willfulness can be significant. In general, US taxpayers who enroll in OVDP must pay a 27.5 percent penalty (and in some cases a 50 percent penalty) of the highest aggregate value of undisclosed foreign assets for the OVDP disclosure period (eight years). However, US taxpayers who enter SDOP must only pay a five percent penalty of undisclosed foreign assets during the disclosure period (three years), and US taxpayers who enter SFOP pay no penalty. (more…)

Release of “Panama Papers” May Encourage New Wave of OVDP Submissions

by Daniel J. Bell, Jonathan D. Lockhart, Leigh-Alexandra Basha and McDermott Will & Emery | Apr 8, 2016 | IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Uncategorized

On April 3, 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) indicated that it acquired sensitive documents that belonged to the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca & Co., about the offshore holdings of some of the world’s most prominent and wealthy individuals. The leak has received substantial mainstream media coverage due to the identity of the individuals named.

To date, the ICIJ has not released the identities of all of the hundreds of thousands of offshore entities or the persons related to those entities, which were referenced in the leaked documents. The ICIJ indicated that it would wait until May 2016 to release the full list. By waiting to May, the ICIJ is putting certain US persons on notice that they should consider starting the process to disclose previously undisclosed foreign assets to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The United States subjects US persons to worldwide income taxation. As part of this taxing system, the IRS requires US persons to fulfill certain information reporting obligations related to foreign assets. For example, US persons must report a financial interest or signature authority over a foreign financial account on FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Account (FBAR). Non-compliance may result in a penalty of up to 50 percent of the highest aggregate value of the foreign financial account as well as criminal sanctions if done so willfully.

The IRS has implemented programs to encourage previously non-compliant US persons to disclose foreign assets and become compliant. One such program is the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). OVDP is designed for taxpayers who may have willfully failed to disclose foreign assets to the IRS. The primary benefits of participating in the OVDP are that the IRS will not recommend criminal prosecution to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for non-compliance up to the date of the disclosure and the taxpayer will no longer be subject to civil examination for the years covered by the OVDP disclosure. (more…)

IRS Requires “Whole Story” from Taxpayers Seeking to Qualify under Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures

by Jonathan D. Lockhart and McDermott Will & Emery | Apr 7, 2016 | IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Uncategorized

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently modified the non-willfulness certification form that individual taxpayers must submit to enroll in the streamlined filing compliance procedures (SFCP). One requirement under the SFCP is that that the taxpayer certify that his or her failure to disclose foreign assets was not due to willful conduct. Before the recent change, the IRS only provided minimal direction, which caused it to receive non-willfulness narratives that did not provide adequate information. This resulted in certifications that were either questioned or rejected.

On February 16, 2016, the IRS revised the certification forms to include more robust direction and instructed the taxpayer to draft his or her non-willfulness narrative to include the whole story including favorable and unfavorable facts. A more detailed analysis of the recent changes can be found here.