The IRS announced it will begin to ramp down its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and close it on Sept. 28, 2018. This gives taxpayers with undisclosed foreign financial accounts time to still use the program.
“Taxpayers have had several years to come into compliance with U.S. tax laws under this program,” said Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter. “All along, we have been clear that we would close the program at the appropriate time, and we have reached that point. Those who still wish to come forward have time to do so.” The current OVDP began in 2014 and is a modified version of the OVDP launched in 2012, which followed similar voluntary programs offered in 2011 and 2009. The programs have enabled U.S. taxpayers to voluntarily resolve past noncompliance related to failure to report foreign financial assets and file foreign information returns. (more…)
The IRS Large Business and International (LB&I) division has released its widely anticipated new audit strategy known as “campaigns.”
The LB&I is moving toward issue-based examinations. “This approach makes use of IRS knowledge and deploys the right resources to address those issues,” the IRS stated.
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Latest Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative. Acknowledging that some overseas, delinquent taxpayers (including dual citizens) desire to become compliant, the IRS has announced an additional offshore voluntary disclosure initiative designed specifically for US nonresidents went into effect September 1, 2012. However, under the plan only individuals characterized as “low compliant risk” may generally file their past returns without penalties. Low compliant risk individuals are typically those with simple tax returns and who owe $1,500 or less in taxes. High compliant risk individuals are not eligible for the initiative, and may face late fees and penalties upon attempted participation. High compliance risk factors include…
