US Expatriate Tax Planning - Part 2 - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
US Expatriate Tax Planning - Part 1 - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
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
You may recall that earlier this year the IRS launched an initiative to pursue 125,000 “high-income, high-wealth” taxpayers who have not filed taxes since 2017. These were cases where the IRS received third party information...more
In US Expatriate Tax Planning – Part 2, Ms. Allen picks up the conversation regarding tax and legal issue U.S. expatriates might face. The discussion turns to real estate matters, and the issue of moving money from the United...more
What is an FBAR, and what information is a U.S. taxpayer required to report to the U.S. Government and the IRS? There are many questions about the requirements for U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts, investments, and...more
Are you thinking of moving to another country? Over the past decade, a record number of U.S. citizens have decided to live and work abroad. There are many issues you may not have considered that will impact any decision to...more
Cryptocurrency has revolutionized the financial markets but also created tax traps for the unwary investor. Building on proposed regulations issued last year, the IRS recently increased its oversight of cryptocurrency...more
In the US Expatriate Tax Planning podcast, Janathan Allen discusses important tax issues from the perspective of a US Expatriate. One of the first and most important thing to know for any US taxpayer is the United States...more
What are the IRS streamlined filing compliance procedures (known more commonly as the “streamlined procedures”), and when should a US taxpayer consider the IRS streamlined procedures to come into compliance with IRS reporting...more
For many organizations and individuals, the end of the calendar year generates significant reporting obligations, particularly with respect to the Internal Revenue Service. The following requirements may not be obvious, but...more
Are you concerned about the high IRS tax rates on a foreign trust? It is important to understand the tax and reporting consequences on this specific type of investment. It may very well be time to evaluate the net value of...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
Taxpayers recently won a significant victory at the Supreme Court in a penalty case involving a non-willful failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) under the Bank Secrecy Act (the “BSA”)....more
After years of litigation, the United States Supreme Court, in Bittner v. United States, 598 U.S. ____ (2023), determined that the penalty for a non-willful failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts...more
If you have unreported foreign accounts, you are not alone. Every year, I speak with hundreds of clients with tax non-reporting issues (e.g., FBARs, Form 8938, Form 3520, Form 3520-A, etc.). The good news: the IRS offers...more
The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) requires United States persons (“USPs”) to file FinCEN Forms 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBARs”), for each calendar year in which the aggregate amount(s) in certain...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
The IRS and FBARs - On March 30, 2022, the IRS issued Publication 5569, Report of Foreign Bank & Financial Accounts (FBAR) Reference Guide. The 12-page publication provides helpful information to both taxpayers and tax...more
The concept of “willfulness” is an important one in the FBAR civil penalty context. Indeed, a taxpayer’s willful failure to file a timely and accurate FBAR may result in significant penalties: the higher of 50-percent of...more
FBAR Noncompliance Leads to More Severe Penalties in the 5th Circuit Penalties for FBAR violations can be severe if applied on a per-account basis, as opposed to a per-form basis. However, a taxpayer with “reasonable cause”...more
On November 30, 2021, the Fifth Circuit parted ways with the taxpayer friendly decision of the Ninth Circuit that non-willful penalties are capped at $10,000 per FBAR filing instead of the $10,000 per unreported bank account...more
Despite the confusing interpretations by US regulators, non-compliance with crypto tax rules can cost taxpayers dearly. Unfortunately, the answer to “how is virtual currency taxed” depends on who you ask....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
IRS is interested in U.S. Taxpayer financial accounts everywhere in the world. If the IRS learns that a Taxpayer has undisclosed reportable accounts or income before a US Taxpayer reports them, the Taxpayer can face serious...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
Benjamin Franklin once famously wrote in a 1789 letter, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Many recognize the truth in Mr. Franklin’s statement. Some may also believe that certain death...more