Passport Non-Issuance/Revocation: A Welcome Reprieve for Some Tax Debtors

On August 8th, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reminded taxpayers with “seriously delinquent tax debt” that they can lose their US passports. I will provide more detail on this below, but first, the “good news”. It was announced on August 14, 2019 that Charles Rettig, the IRS Commissioner, has granted a reprieve for some tax debtors … Continue reading Passport Non-Issuance/Revocation: A Welcome Reprieve for Some Tax Debtors →

Did you Join OVDP? You’d Better Still be in Tax Compliance!

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has now expanded its compliance campaigns and included “post Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program compliance” on the list. On July 19th, the IRS through its Large Business and International (LB&I) Division announced six new “compliance campaigns” for taxpayers. Significantly, one of these campaigns targets taxpayers who had entered an Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) … Continue reading Did you Join OVDP? You’d Better Still be in Tax Compliance! →

Life Gets Complicated When a Foreign Country’s Laws Impact US Tax

Transactions now span the globe with the tap of a key on an I-Phone; families are multi-national, with many living in different parts of the world at different stages in their careers and lives; virtual currency has become official legal tender in at least one country, the United States has de facto imposed enforcement of … Continue reading Life Gets Complicated When a Foreign Country’s Laws Impact US Tax →

IRS Hot on the Trail of Virtual Currency Owners: What IRS Letters to Taxpayers Really Mean

Just last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported that it has begun sending letters to taxpayers with virtual currency transactions. The targeted taxpayers are those that potentially failed to report income and pay tax from virtual currency transactions or those who failed to report their transactions properly. Virtual currency transactions involve complex tax issues … Continue reading IRS Hot on the Trail of Virtual Currency Owners: What IRS Letters to Taxpayers Really Mean →

IRS Website = Unreliable, Legal Weight = Zilch

The stress of tax filing time had been on full throttle in April, and taxpayers abroad were scrambling to meet the tax filing deadline in June ... many taxpayers are on extension until October. Here's a familiar scenario: You need to find an answer to a tax question and turn to your good friend, Mr. … Continue reading IRS Website = Unreliable, Legal Weight = Zilch →

A Dangerous Game: Jail Time for Inherited Foreign Accounts

You may remember my earlier blog post detailing the unenviable case of the wealthy New York Seggerman family which had undisclosed offshore bank accounts inherited from their father. Instead of coming clean and revealing the existence of the accounts to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), four of the Seggerman siblings created even more secret … Continue reading A Dangerous Game: Jail Time for Inherited Foreign Accounts →

Getting an ITIN When Overseas: Help!

Today's post looks at the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) options available to taxpayers residing abroad who need an “Individual Taxpayer Identification Number” (ITIN) to fulfill their US tax filing duties. There are 3 basic options (i) mailing the completed Form W-7, “Application for Individual Taxpayer Identification”, and required identification documents to the IRS (ii) … Continue reading Getting an ITIN When Overseas: Help! →

US Tax Filings by US Grantor of Foreign Trust

Today's post is a continuation of a series of blog posts dealing with foreign trusts A general overview of the US tax issues surrounding foreign trusts can be found here. When a US person is involved in any way with a foreign trust extra caution is required. Strict US tax filing responsibilities come into play … Continue reading US Tax Filings by US Grantor of Foreign Trust →

Expatriation: Deferring Payment of the Exit Tax

I recently blogged about the debate between Prof. Edward Zelinsky and John Richardson as it pertained to the Exit Tax imposed on so-called "covered expatriates". This was in the broader context of the US income taxation model which is based on one's "citizenship" rather than one's residence. The thrust of my earlier blog post concerned … Continue reading Expatriation: Deferring Payment of the Exit Tax →

Americans Overseas: Timely Filing of Tax Returns and Other Documents With the IRS

Quite often, US taxpayers living in a foreign country are faced with tight deadlines for filing their paper tax returns. They are often confused as to how to send these physical documents to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and be considered to have sent them in a timely fashion when the foreign (i.e., non-US) post … Continue reading Americans Overseas: Timely Filing of Tax Returns and Other Documents With the IRS →