The IRS randomly selects tax returns for audit each year. Depending on what deductions you’ve taken and other characteristics of your tax return, your tax return can have a higher probability of being selected for an audit. Here’s what you need to know about IRS tax audits. There are three types of audits: Correspondence Audit: […]
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. On September 30, 2013, FinCEN posted on their internet site, a notice stating that the […]
IRS has established programs for taxpayers to voluntarily come forward and disclose unreported foreign income and foreign accounts under what the IRS calls the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI). On January 9, 2012 the IRS announced the terms of the 2012 OVDI which requires that taxpayers: (1) File 8 years of back tax returns reflecting […]
Bitcoin has been in the news frequently lately, particularly since the collapse of the Japanese-based Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox. Bitcoin is a digital currency and peer-to-peer payment system created in 2009. Since 2009, the use of bitcoins has expanded significantly. Bitcoins can be bought and sold for various currencies, generally through a series of online […]
With the full enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”)starting July 1, 2014, all of the foreign banks have been requiring their U.S. account holders to disclose their social security numbers and other information so that the foreign bank may comply with this law and report their U.S. account holders to the IRS […]
Board certified tax attorney Jeffrey B. Kahn discusses the following issues on ESPN’s Mr. Credit. Aired on March 12 2014 a. The Gingrich-Edwards tax loophole…Am I in danger? http://www.cnbc.com/id/101464691 b. What about this tax return software that seems to be everywhere now? Are these causing people the problems I’m assuming they are causing? c. How is […]
In an effort to combat taxpayers who are not reporting income earned on foreign assets, the IRS has implemented a new Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, that beginning with the 2011 tax year must be included with a taxpayer’s Form 1040 if the taxpayer holds specified foreign financial assets with an aggregate […]
A U.S. taxpayer who holds an interest in a foreign entity may not realize that he or she must comply with complex tax reporting requirements as a result of holding an interest in the foreign entity. First, a U.S. taxpayer who is a shareholder of a “controlled foreign corporation” (CFC), as defined in 26 U.S.C. […]
The U.S. government requires U.S. tax persons to report their “worldwide income” from any source whether it is earned in the U.S. or abroad. A U.S. tax person includes both U.S. citizens, green card holders and other persons satisfying the substantial presence in the U.S. standard. Indian nationals residing in the U.S. who hold Indian […]
A number of U.S. taxpayers with beneficial ownership and control over funds held in accounts at Zurcher Kantonalbank and its affiliates (collectively, ZKB) in Switzerland, and The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited and its affiliates (collectively, Butterfield) in the Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Malta, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, have […]
The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation of HSBC Holdings Plc clients who may have failed to disclose accounts in India or Singapore to the IRS. Already some U.S. taxpayers have received a letter from the Justice Department that said prosecutors had “reason to believe that you had an interest in a financial account in India […]
If you receive a gift or inheritance from a foreign person or other foreign entity, you may need to file Form 3520- Annual Return to Report Transactions with Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts. Is it foreign income or a foreign gift or bequest? The first step in determining if you need to […]
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