Court Slams IRS: Can’t Assess More Than $100,000 “Willful” FBAR Penalty

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must be fuming over the recent court decision in United States v. Colliot (W.D. Texas, Austin Division, Case No. AU-16-CA-01281-SS). The case was initiated by the US Government to reduce to judgment outstanding civil penalties assessed against Ms. Colliot for her “repeated and willful failures to timely file” an FBAR for the … Continue reading Court Slams IRS: Can’t Assess More Than $100,000 “Willful” FBAR Penalty →

FBAR “Willful” Penalty: New Case, Taxpayer “Charged With Knowledge”

I blogged recently about the fact that mounting court cases have given the stamp of approval for the Government to meet a lower “burden of proof” in demonstrating that a taxpayer “willfully” failed to file an FBAR. The “burden of proof” refers to which party is responsible for putting forth evidence and, the level of evidence … Continue reading FBAR “Willful” Penalty: New Case, Taxpayer “Charged With Knowledge” →

Form 1040: Similar to a Postcard, But …With (LONG) Letters Attached

Looks to me like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is doing the “shuffle”! The draft Form 1040 for 2018 certainly looks shorter, but closer inspection shows the IRS is merely shuffling the workload onto Schedules. Right now, the IRS is very busy keeping pace with the changes wrought by the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act … Continue reading Form 1040: Similar to a Postcard, But …With (LONG) Letters Attached →

US Tax Perils of International Community Property

US tax liabilities and requirements to file US tax and information returns are impacted by community property laws that exist in many foreign countries across the globe. Today’s blog post will examine some of these issues and set the stage for upcoming posts dealing with community property in the international context and how it affects … Continue reading US Tax Perils of International Community Property →

Form 5472 – Everything You Need To Know (Part I)

This tax filing season brought a wave of questions about Form 5472. Interest in this complex form was renewed because of recent Treasury Regulations requiring that it be filed by single-member US LLC’s that are foreign owned. Prior to the issuance of these regulations, a single member foreign-owned US LLC was treated as a tax … Continue reading Form 5472 – Everything You Need To Know (Part I) →

Form 5472 – Everything You Need To Know (Part II)

Last week’s blog post covered some basics about Form 5472, including how the Form helps the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) learn about foreign-owned businesses in the US and when to audit them, the meanings of certain terms such as what is meant by a “reportable transaction” with a “related party”, and the situation requiring filing of … Continue reading Form 5472 – Everything You Need To Know (Part II) →