Any United States person with a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, where the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year, must file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR). These terms can be difficult to apply in…
U.S. taxpayers who inherit foreign assets must handle the tax consequences of their inheritances with great care. In addition to taxing all worldwide income, the U.S. also includes foreign assets in the gift and estate tax calculation, which determines whether estate tax will be assessed. Heirs who receive foreign assets…
The IRS has six years from the due date of the FBAR to assess the FBAR penalty. In addition, the IRS can assess a separate penalty for each unreported account for each tax year that an FBAR has not been filed, causing the total amount of penalties to add up…
The IRS imposes severe penalties on taxpayers who fail to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). Those who are required to file an FBAR and fail to do so can face the following penalties: a civil penalty not to exceed $12,459 per violation for non-willful violations…
A former IRS revenue officer used his knowledge of the tax system to evade more than $573,000 in taxes over a 16-year period. Henti Lucian Baird hid his income—which was ironically made as a tax consultant—in bank accounts that he created in the names of his children. He has been…
Choosing the wrong option to settle your tax debt can be a very costly error. If you apply for an installment agreement, when you could have eliminated some of your debt with an Offer in Compromise, it could end up costing you thousands, and you can’t expect the IRS to…
Payroll taxes represent both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes, along with Federal income taxes that are withheld from an employee’s paycheck. The IRS takes an especially hard stance on the failure to remit payroll taxes, and uses aggressive collection efforts when pursuing these delinquent…
Before attempting to settle your IRS tax debt, there are a few things that every taxpayer should do. While some tax settlement cases can be fairly straightforward, there may be more advanced settlement options available for certain taxpayers, and missing out on these opportunities may prevent you from eliminating significant…
A former employee of Credit Suisse bank has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. Susanne D. Rüegg Meier admitted to a tax scheme that allowed U.S. taxpayers to hide their assets in Swiss bank accounts. The plea agreement states that Credit Suisse went to great lengths to…
The IRS conducts tax audits—referred to as examinations—by mail or in-person. Taxpayers are usually selected either randomly, by computer screening or due to a referral or an audit of a business partner or investor. Taxpayers have the option of working with the examiner directly, or with the assistance of a…