Do you live abroad? Do you own an asset or bank or investment account that had an accumulated value or total exceeding $10,000 at any time in 2015 (or any year)? If so, you are required to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Reports (FBAR). Thus, if an asset was valued at, or an account totaled, $10,001 for just one day, an FBAR is due and must be filed. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) received a record high 1,163,229 FBARs in 2015. What is surprising is that FinCen data shows that FBAR filings have grown an average of 17 percent per year during the last five years. Over 90,000 taxpayers filed FBARs in 2015.
Qualifying for IRS Innocent Spouse Relief
When married taxpayers file jointly, which is often done because of certain benefits available to couples filing jointly, both taxpayers are jointly and severally liable for the tax and any additions to tax, interest, or penalties that arise from the joint return, even if their marriage is later dissolved. Joint and several liability means that each taxpayer is legally responsible for the entire liability.
Thus, both spouses on a married filing jointly return are generally held responsible for all the tax due even if one spouse earned all the income or erroneously claimed deductions. This is true notwithstanding the provisions of a divorce decree regarding a former spouse’s responsibility for any taxes due on previously filed joint returns. However, in rare cases, a spouse may obtain relief from joint and several liability.
Frivolous Tax Arguments And Their Perils
“Like moths to a flame, some people find themselves irresistibly drawn to the tax protester movement’s illusory claim that there is no legal requirement to pay federal income tax. And, like moths, these people sometimes get burned.” United States v. Sloan, 939 F.2d 499, 499-500 (7th Cir. 1991).
As long as the federal income tax has been with us, taxpayers have tried to argue that income taxes don’t legally apply to them. The reasons and bases for these arguments usually include the voluntary nature of the federal income tax system, the meaning of income, and the meaning of certain terms contained in the Interenal Revenue Code. Taxpayers hanging their hats on frivolous positions risk a variety of civil and criminal penalties for tax evasion and tax fraud . And taxpayers that adopt these frivolous positions may face more severe consequences than those who only promote them.
A Primer for US Taxpayers Residing Abroad
Here’s a primer for United States taxpayers residing abroad:
U.S. citizens must file a tax return. Any U.S. citizen who earns income of any kind is obligated to file a U.S. tax return every year, no matter where he or she resides in the world. Many Americans, living abroad and in the U.S., find it unfair that the United States is the only country that requires citizens to file tax returns whether or not they are earning income on U.S. shores. This is a leading reason why some Americans are renouncing their U.S. citizenship.
IRS Audits – What Are My Chances?
It’s considered by many taxpayers to be one of the most frightening events that could happen related to their everyday business affairs. What is this frightening event? An IRS audit, of course. But is a tax audit really that scary in real life? The numbers reveal that only 1% of all taxpayers experience an audit, and of this one percent, about one in five result in a meeting with the IRS.
Presently, the IRS audits half as many taxpayers as it did five years ago. However, the amount of tax recovered per audit has increased. The IRS uses an elaborate computer selection process, auditing only those returns which will almost certainly yield some adjustment.
You’ve filed your tax return, how long does the IRS have to audit you?
You’ve filed all of your tax returns, and because of your level of income you find yourself in the class of taxpayers whose return is more likely to trigger an IRS audit. So you wonder, how long does the IRS now have to audit you?
Due to disclosure requirements, the IRS makes contact with a taxpayer selected for an audit by telephone or mail only. When returns are filed, they are compared against norms for similar returns. These norms are developed from audits of a statistically valid random sample of returns, selected as part of the National Research Program conducted by the IRS to update return selection information.
New Highway Bill Gives IRS New Collection Tools
In December 2015, Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST). Provisions included in this bill authorize the State Department to deny or revoke passports for individuals with delinquent tax debt of more than $50,000. The bill also resurrects the IRS private debt collection program and requires the IRS to use third-party entities to collect tax debt under limited circumstances. The IRS contracted with private debt collection agencies from 2006 to 2009, but then at the end of this period insisted it could more efficiently collect the debt itself, thus ending the private program.
Negligence or Tax Fraud? What is “Negligent” and What Is “Willful” Conduct to the IRS?
What does the IRS consider to be negligent or non-wilful conduct when it comes to tax-related activity like filing income tax returns and making deductions? What does it consider wilful conduct? When is such activity tax fraud?
Tax fraud is a general term which is defined as taxpayer’s intent to defraud the government by not paying taxes that the taxpayer knows are lawfully due. Tax fraud can be punishable either civilly, criminally, or both. Under federal law, civil violations are primarily located in Title 26 and criminal violations mainly in Title 18, respectively, of the United States Code (“U.S.C.”).
SURGEON WHO HID MONEY FROM WIFE AND IRS IN DIVORCE ACTION MAY GET PRISON TIME OF UP TO 95 YEARS FOR TAX FRAUD AND EVASION
Tax evasion is a serious crime. It is an enormous task and undertaking that rarely succeeds unless exorbitant monetary penalties and prison time are the ultimate goal. Taxpayers risk everything when they attempt to conceal any part of their financial portfolio, including any amount of their assets, from the IRS.