Is the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) right for you? Here’s a crash course to help you make sense of your options. Purpose The OVDP offers a reprieve for taxpayers with foreign financial accounts who have been willfully noncompliant in reporting. Those who qualify can avoid criminal prosecution and civil penalties. Eligibility According to the […]
Do you have overseas financial interest or assets worth $10,000 or more? If the answer is yes, you probably need to file an annual report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). Fail to do this, and you may face serious civil and even criminal penalties. The late filing doesn’t mean the IRS will immediately […]
Payroll taxes are taxes paid on the wages and salaries of a business’s employees. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) applies harsh penalties to employers who attempt to shirk payroll tax obligations, from fines or outright business closure to a criminal investigation and prison time for tax evasion. Why does the IRS care so much about […]
Tax season beckons. Like too many Americans, you’re worried and confused. Do you need to file an FBAR in addition to your standard state and federal income taxes? Let’s clear this up, so you can relax and avoid trouble. According to the IRS, the United States “persons” are obligated to file an FBAR if: You […]
If you’ve just found out your small business owes substantial taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), it’s time to start planning for how to handle your tax liability immediately. Failing to do so could lead to even greater penalties and interest as well as the IRS putting a lien on your assets, seizing cash […]
You’re planning to file an FBAR (Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts). Will this action automatically get you audited by the IRS? Short answer: no. However, not filing an FBAR may increase the risk of an audit. Here’s what you need to know. What Actually Triggers IRS Action? The possibility of an IRS audit […]
The IRS expects certain individuals to pay federal income taxes proceed throughout the year, as opposed to one lump sum at the end of the taxable year. These interim payments are called “estimated taxes,” and the IRS offers guidance as to how to calculate and pay installments. Who Pays Estimated Taxes? In addition to self-employed […]
In criminal cases, penalties often depend sensitively on questions of intent. Did you willfully commit a crime… or just make an error or omission? In the context of FBAR (Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) auditing, authorities want to know whether you intentionally opted not to share information about your foreign accounts and assets. […]
The federal government created the Foreign Account & Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to deter U.S. citizens from storing their money in foreign accounts. This act changed the rules of handling foreign accounts. It increased self-reporting requirements and established more dire consequences for unfiled and unreported foreign financial accounts. Here are a few important aspects of […]
The 2014 IRS Data Book reports that 1.9 percent of sole proprietors with income under $100,000 and 2.3 percent of sole proprietors with income over $100,000 had an IRS audit in 2014. If you’re one of those businesses, you know the frustration and stress an audit entails, and you definitely want to avoid the experience […]