News and Events

When a United States citizen leaves the country and becomes an ex-pat, there is a common misconception that they no longer have to file annual U.S. tax returns or need to comply with IRS obligations. While this may be the case for some countries, it is not the case in the United States. As long as you remain a U.S. citizen, you will still have tax obligations no matter where you live or how long you may have spent living outside of the United States.

U.S. persons who have an interest in certain foreign accounts are required to submit an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).  Certain U.S. taxpayers are also subject to reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).  Last year, a record number of FBARs and FATCA reports were filed.  More FBARs and FATCA reports are being submitted in part because the IRS has been aggressively cracking down on anyone who doesn't let the IRS know about all offshore investments.

Each year, taxpayers with offshore accounts are required to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs).  Failure to file these reports can have significant consequences, including substantial financial penalties. That said, anyone with money offshore needs to know the rules and comply with them.

The Internal Revenue Service has faced substantial cuts in its budget in recent years, which has brought audit levels down significantly. Many taxpayers have been relieved at the reduced chances of being audited, especially in light of how burdensome Internal Revenue Service audits can be.

President Obama and the United States Treasury Department have been aggressively going after banks and even individual accountholders in connection with undeclared offshore accounts. In recent years, there has been a strong focus on so-called global tax transparency, which forces banks and accountholders to provide extensive information to taxing authorities. This can, in some cases, damage accountholders who have funds in offshore institutions but haven't really done anything wrong.