From the monthly archives:
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 30, 2009
Yeah, you. Guess what. You’re a U.S. resident for tax purposes which means you get to file all of the tax forms that residents and citizens file. So if you have bank accounts outside the U.S. that had more than $10,000 in them at any point, you are also one of the lucky folks who [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 30, 2009
The deadline for the 2008 Form TD F 90-22.1, that is.
This doesn’t mean postmarked by today. It means:
Your. FBAR. Must. Be. In. Detroit. Today.
That’s the way the foreign bank account reporting deadline works. Tax returns are simple. Get them postmarked by the filing deadline. You’re fine.
The law is different for the Form TD F 90-22.1. [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 26, 2009
There’s a lot of ambiguity in the classic case of somebody squirreling away money. In a lot of cases, it’s not so easy to figure out, and the IRS is not coming forward with a lot of guidance because they’re probably trying to figure it out themselves.
One of the situations that’s pretty [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 26, 2009
One of the questions that comes up from time to time is: what about business accounts?
Specifically, this question applies to U.S. citizens or residents who live overseas and own a business. The business obviously is going to have bank accounts. It may have a merchant account to process credit cards. What if [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 26, 2009
There’s a little golden ticket in the FAQ the IRS has just published.
This has to do with people who did not file the magic forms disclosing ownership of a foreign corporation (Form 5471) or foreign trust (Form 3520). What if you had no tax due, but you just screwed up on that [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 26, 2009
If you have:
Offshore bank accounts;
Unreported foreign income;
Foreign corporations you never owned up to; or
Foreign trusts that have money in them; and
Your paperwork wasn’t done correctly, and/or you didn’t pay the tax you should have, then:
This amnesty is for you.
The foreign bank account amnesty closes on September 23, 2009. Go through it, and you’ll clean [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 26, 2009
One of the questions that comes up again and again and again is, “I had my money in one account and then I moved it to another account. The IRS is saying that you have to pay 20 percent of the high balance. Do I have to pay 20 percent when it was in the [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 26, 2009
One of the recurring situations that I see in my practice is the one where Mom and Dad have an account, and they gave their kids signature power or power of attorney or something like that.
What do they do? Are the kids at risk of a 20 percent penalty? What should the [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 26, 2009
People with off‑shore bank accounts need to make a strategic decision before the amnesty ends on September 23, 2009 on what to do: go through it, or continue to hide.
My personal opinion is that secrecy is a doomed strategy: it may work for a while, but it will sooner or later not work. [...]
{ 0 comments }
by Phil Hodgen, Hodgen Law Group PC on June 26, 2009
One of the deals with the amnesty is that you’ve got to get to the IRS before they find you. If they find you, it’s not voluntary any more, is it, because they’re after you and they’re chasing you.
One of the problems now facing offshore account holders is this: there’s this giant [...]
{ 0 comments }
Get smart with the Thesis WordPress Theme from DIYthemes.