Virginia La Torre Jeker, J.D. — US tax matters affecting international clients
Things are looking worse and worse for Americans who invested in Malta personal retirement plans. Not only has the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) listed them twice on its Dirty Dozen tax scams list, it has now proposed rules that will require taxpayers and material advisers to specially put the IRS on notice about their use. … Continue reading Malta Retirement Plans – The Jig is Really Up!
My earlier blog post covered some US tax issues faced by the individual granted options on foreign company stock by his non-US employer. When it comes to foreign information return reporting, the grant of options to an employee on foreign stock can get confusing. Is an option granted to an employee with respect to foreign … Continue reading FATCA Reporting of Compensatory Foreign Stock Option on Form 8938
On May 23, a decision (Decision) by the Belgian Data Protection Authority (BDPA) now prohibits the Belgian tax authorities (the defendant in this case) from transferring to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the personal data of Belgian “Accidental Americans” (and likely other US persons with accounts in Belgium) pursuant to the ”FATCA” Intergovernmental Agreement between … Continue reading Belgium Fights Back! No FATCA Info to IRS – Deep Dive the Belgian Decision
For the past 6 years, the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Large Business and International (LB&I) Division shifted to a new audit strategy known as “campaigns.” This shift in focus concentrates on examining tax issues that will have the broadest impact on tax compliance while making the most efficient use of IRS’s resources. Given funding issues … Continue reading IRS Updates its Audit “Campaign” Targets – Who’s on the List?
With more and more expatriates working outside the United States, many tax questions arise when an employee is given options to buy stock in the foreign company employer. Stock options are increasingly becoming an important element of the international executive’s compensation package. There are wonderful opportunities to be had with stock options, but there are … Continue reading US Tax Treatment: Stock Options from Your Foreign Employer
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was sucker-punched by the Tax Court on April 3, 2023 in the case of Farhy v. Commissioner, 160 T.C. No. 6 (2023). In that case, the Tax Court held that the IRS does not have the authority to assess and collect penalties asserted under Internal Revenue Code Section 6038(b), in the … Continue reading Big Win for Taxpayers with Foreign Assets: IRS Lacks Authority to Assess & Collect Penalties for Failure to File Foreign Information Returns
We have had a taxpayer win in the foreign information reporting arena! I provide a summary of the case of Mr. Krzysztof Wrzesinski below. For readers who wish more, the taxpayer’s complaint is here. Background of the Wrzesinski Case Mr. Wrzesinski (“Taxpayer” or “T”) was a native of Poland who immigrated to the United States … Continue reading Taxpayer Wins! Foreign Gift Not Reported: DOJ Concedes he had “Reasonable Cause”
The title of this post could also be “What a Difference a Day Makes”. Most of my readers are quite familiar with the expatriation regime, as I have written many blog posts on this topic. Before delving into the question of the date to use when working through Form 8854, let’s have a quick review … Continue reading Expatriation, Form 8854 & Fair Market Valuation of Assets – Which Date is Used?
In Fairbank v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-19, Dkt. No. 13400-18 (February 23, 2023) the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice of deficiency in April 2018 for taxable years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011. The taxpayers argued the IRS could not go back to these prior years, challenging the assessments on … Continue reading FATCA Statute of Limitations: IRS’ 2018 Assessment Grabs Tax & Penalties Back to 2003
With tax season in full swing, now is a good time to review the various civil statutes of limitations (SOL) rules that apply to US tax matters. Perfect timing to review because we also have a Tax Court case from last month showing how harsh the consequences of the SOL can be if a taxpayer … Continue reading Tax Statutes of Limitation – Run Fast, IRS is Right Behind You
Virginia - US TAX TALK 