Articles Tagged with offshore accounts

What is a “Financial Interest” in a Foreign Accounts for FBAR Purposes
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 some situations, and can lead to FBAR compliance issues for those that are unaware that they have a filing requirement.

“Financial Interest” in a Foreign Account

If you are the owner of record for a foreign account, you have a financial interest, even though the account is maintained for the benefit of another person. Spouses are not required to file separate FBARs if all the foreign accounts that the non-filing spouse is required to report are owned jointly with the filing spouse, and filing spouse files an FBAR for all of the accounts, along with an Authorization to Electronically File FBARs.

Considerations When Submitting Delinquent International Information Returns
The IRS procedure for submitting delinquent international information returns such as Forms 3520, 3520A, Form 5471, or Form 8938,  along with a reasonable cause statement is one of four options the IRS allows for taxpayers wish to come into compliance with their offshore filing requirements. This procedure has some benefits over the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and the Streamlined Filing Procedures, but it also has its drawbacks.

The main benefit is that if the IRS accepts your reasonable cause statement and submission of delinquent international information returns, you will have all penalties waived. Both the OVDP and the Streamlined Procedures (at least for domestic taxpayers) involve paying penalties, with the OVDP requiring much higher penalties and eight years of tax returns.

The drawback is that if your reasonable cause statement is rejected, you may be responsible for the full amount of the international reporting forms penalties.

Man Pleads Guilty After Hiding Swiss Bank Accounts
A case from a few years ago involving undisclosed Swiss bank accounts demonstrates the pitfalls of failing to disclose foreign financial accounts, as well as what happens when you lie to IRS special agents.

A New York resident pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service after repeatedly lying about his assets in Swiss bank accounts. Not only did the taxpayer fail to report his foreign financial assets, but he also told several IRS agents that he had no foreign financial assets.

For the tax years 2001 through 2010, Georges Briguet, the owner of now defunct famed French restaurant Perigord, failed to report his foreign financial accounts on his tax return. He did not report the income from these accounts or pay taxes on this income. He had placed around 7 million Swiss Francs in a Swiss bank account in 1992.

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