There are millions of people all across the United States who may be owners of a foreign bank account, as well as foreign income that may not be reported on their tax return. At this point, you have already missed the initial deadline to report this to the Internal Revenue Service, but under the offshore voluntary disclosure program there is still time.
For those of you who do not know, you have to file with the Internal Revenue Service a form that lets them know when you have foreign accounts that have an aggregate balance that exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year. Citizens of the U.S. who fell under this were supposed to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts form by June 30, 2011. For those who did not though, there may be a way to avoid big penalties including large sums of money as well as jail time. This form is a requirement based on the Bank Secrecy Act.
There is such a thing as the IRS offshore voluntary disclosure program which allows people in the U.S. to be able to file this form, even though it is already past the deadline. An IRS offshore voluntary disclosure filing will allow you to avoid tens of thousands of dollars in penalties. If you need assistance in making this key filing, you should reach out to www.kahntaxlaw.com for assistance. The maximum penalty for failing to make the appropriate filing is $500,000, or imprisonment of five years.