Firm name
 June 2013

IRS FBAR Tax Form Due June 30

Greetings! 

All U.S. individuals and entities who have a financial interest in or signatory authority over foreign financial accounts with total balances over $10,000 need to file an FBAR (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report) form with the IRS by June 30th.  

 

Unlike other IRS forms, which must be postmarked by the due date, FBAR Form TD F 90-22.1 must be received by the IRS, on or before the due date. It is estimated that there are millions of people with foreign bank accounts who are unaware of their filing obligations.

 

Failure to properly file FBAR tax forms can lead to large fines, and even jail time. The current civil penalty for knowingly failing to file an FBAR form is a fine of up to 50 percent of the total foreign account balance. And, each year of non-compliance can lead to separate, and cumulative penalties.

 

For those individuals who have failed to file FBAR forms, but would now like to step forward, there are options to help alleviate some of the high penalties and fines. One is

the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) where some taxpayers may be eligible for penalties as low as five percent of the account balance, although most will pay a 27.5 percent penalty. In order to participate in the program, taxpayers must file all original and amended returns (including payment of back taxes and interest) for eight tax years. In addition, there are numerous forms to fill out, and questions to answer.  

 

 

The "Streamlined" Filing Compliance Procedures is an alternative solution for non-resident, non-filer U.S. citizens. Those who qualify will only have to file tax returns for three years (rather than eight under the OVDP), and the IRS will not impose FBAR or other penalties. In order to qualify, taxpayers must have lived outside of the U.S. since January 1st, 2009, cannot have filed a U.S. tax return during the same period and must present a "low level compliance risk".

 

There are other possibilities, but this is a very complicated process. Anyone who has a foreign account and who has not filed an FBAR in the past should consult a qualified tax litigation attorney to consider participating in the IRS' disclosure programs. If the IRS discovers the account first, the penalties can be confiscatory.

 

Based in Los Angeles, the  Brager Tax Law Group is a tax litigation and tax controversy law firm, which represents clients with tax problems and tax disputes with the IRS, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the State Board of Equalization (SBE) and the Employment Development Department (EDD). All of the firm's tax lawyers were former trial attorneys with the IRS. They work with clients on all available alternatives for FBAR non-filers.

 

Dennis Brager

dbrager@bragertaxlaw.com 

310.208.6200

 

 

Do You Know a

Great Tax Litigation Attorney?

We are growing and searching for a great tax litigation attorney. Currently, we have five tax litigation attorneys in our Westwood office. Our tax controversy attorneys only represent clients with tax problems or tax disputes; whether those tax problems are with the IRS, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the State Board of Equalization (SBE) or the Employment Development Department (EDD).

 

All of our tax lawyers formerly practiced as trial attorneys with the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Chief Counsel, and/or the Department of Justice. If you know someone with a minimum of five years of experience in tax litigation with an LLM, CPA or IRS, Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, or Tax Court Clerk experience, please pass along our contact information to the person. Thank you.

 

Dennis Brager

 

 

Picture of Dennis Brager
Dennis N. Brager, Esq.
 
Former IRS Senior Trial Attorney
Nationally Recognized California State Bar Certified Tax Specialist
dbrager@bragertaxlaw.com
310.208.6200
Upcoming Events
  
Dennis will be speaking at the following upcoming conferences.
  
2013 UCLA Tax Controversy Institute  
"Ask the Experts"   

IRS Collection Update

Los Angeles 

October 22, 2013 

  

California State Bar Tax Section Annual Meeting

"State and Federal Responsible Person Penalties"

San Jose

November 8, 2013 

 

2013 American Bar Association 30th Annual Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and 3rd National Institute on Tax Controversy 

Las Vegas

December 11-13, 2013

Previous Events
  
KFWB Radio 980 AM
"Money 101 with Bob McCormick"
9:05 AM - 11 AM PT
Los Angeles
March 11, 2013 & March 29, 2013 & May 14, 2013
Previous Speeches
 
Los Angeles County Bar Association's 2013 Tax Night
"International Tax Enforcement Update"
Los Angeles
February 12, 2013
  
2012 American Bar Association nth Annual Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and 2nd National Institute on Tax Controversy
"Tax Strategies, Administrative Tax Strategies and Techniques in a Recessionary Economy"
Las Vegas
December 6-7, 2012
AdvisorOne
April 30, 2013

Lawyers USA Online
April 5, 2013
The Baltimore Sun
March 1, 2013
 
Articles Written by
Dennis Brager
 

"Third-Party Federal Tax Liens and Levies and How to Fight Them"

Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure

December 2012/January 2013

Recent Blog Posts  

"87 Year Old Hawaiian Auto Mogul Acquitted of all Tax Fraud and Conspiracy Charges after District Court for District of Hawaii Finds Lack of Intent and Willfulness" 
May 2, 2013

April 11, 2013
  
  
January 28, 2013
  
 Our Services

The Brager Tax Law Group is a tax litigation and tax controversy law firm, which represents clients with tax problems and tax disputes with the IRS, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the State Board of Equalization (SBE) and the Employment Development Department (EDD). All of the firm's tax lawyers are former trial attorneys with the IRS. 

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Brager Tax Law Group
10880 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 880
Los Angeles, California 90024
Tel: (310) 208-6200
Fax: (310) 478-8030