Offshore Accounts & FBAR

If you hold assets in an institution located outside the U.S., read on.  If you are a signatory on a financial account located outside the U.S., read on.

The IRS is cracking down on taxpayers  who fail to report assets held abroad. With a few exceptions, if you have a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account, you may be required to report the account yearly to the IRS through a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

Failing to do so is a criminal offense, which could land you a hefty penalty and jail time. The IRS has recently proposed legislation that requires reporting of any foreign asset held in a foreign land, i.e., your car, your house, and artwork and other valuables.

Because of the recent increase in the number of U.S.-owned offshore accounts, the IRS has beefed up its personnel dedicated to investigating global compliance with Internal Revenue Code, and many financial institutions abroad have agreed to help enforce it.  Even Switzerland, a country well-known for refusing to divulge information concerning offshore accounts, has come around to the IRS’s viewpoint.  Such countries are no longer allowing privacy issues to interfere with prosecution of international tax evasion.

As a tax boutique, Law Offices of Christy Lee, P.C., will assist you in resolving your FBAR issues.  We will advise you as to whether you are among those required to disclose your offshore assets, and we will prepare the appropriate filings for you when necessary.  If you have been hit by heavy penalties, interest, and criminal prosecution concerning a failure to report the offshore assets to the IRS, we will act on your behalf to ensure that your rights are observed. When you have our tax boutique on your side, we fight to protect your assets while ensuring your compliance with the tax laws.

Our goal is  to minimize the stress and interference in your personal life during the audit, while at the same time securing a favorable outcome and encountering little risk that the IRS will expand the audit beyond the years already under examination.  Handled with professional care, your audit should not be a taxing experience.