» Tax News
Failing Company Lead to Criminal Tax Charges for Business Owner
October 24th, 2019
When a business opportunity turns sour it can leave entrepreneurs struggling to pay their employees and satisfy their creditors, including the IRS. A recent Court of Appeals decision shows how decisions made in a failing company led to criminal tax c…
Read More
Categories: Tax / IRS Penalties
Share
Tax Law’s Two Definitions of Willfulness, and Why They are Different
October 10th, 2019
The definitions of words in the U.S. tax code can be the difference between criminal convictions and financial consequences. Most taxpayers would assume that one word in that code would have one meaning. But when it comes to the definitions of willfu…
Read More
Categories: Tax / IRS Penalties
FBAR Willfulness Decision is Up to the Jury, Court Says
September 24th, 2019
The difference between a willful and non-willful FBAR penalty against a U.S. taxpayer can be thousands, and sometimes millions of dollars. But how can the IRS know what was going on in your head, and whether your failure to file was on purpose? A rec…
Read More
Categories: FBAR
IRS Eclipses Record FBAR Penalties in New Tax Fraud Lawsuit
September 10th, 2019
A recent federal court tax fraud lawsuit against a woman and her deceased husband’s estate has set a new record for FBAR penalties exceeding over $119.6 million. Find out what the IRS says she and her husband did to deserve such a steep penalty. Hu…
Read More
Do You Need to Report Cryptocurrency on Your FBAR?
August 26th, 2019
Where does an entirely virtual financial institution exist: on your phone, in a server-farm somewhere? Could the location of the founding company turn your Bitcoin wallet into a foreign financial institution? If so, you may need to report cryptocurre…
Read More
Categories: FBAR
IRS Promises Guidance on Reporting Cryptocurrency on Your Tax Returns
August 12th, 2019
Preparing your own tax returns is hard enough when you are a regular employee with standard deductions. But what about when some of your currency only exists digitally? What do you need to know about reporting cryptocurrency on your tax returns? Will…
Read More
Categories: Tax / IRS Penalties
IRS Voluntary Disclosure Can Promise Tax Fraud and Heavy FBAR Penalties
July 24th, 2019
When taxpayers with foreign financial accounts take advantage of the IRS voluntary disclosure practice, they know that mistakes have been made, and that penalties will follow. But they probably don’t think of themselves as “tax criminals”. They…
Read More
Categories: Tax / IRS Penalties
Would You Rather Pay Many Smaller FBAR Penalties, or One Big One?
July 10th, 2019
When tax attorneys came together at the New York University Tax Controversy Forum, everyone was talking about recent cases over the upper limit of willful FBAR penalties on a single account. But for one speaker, the question was which was worse: bein…
Read More
Categories: FBAR
Court Tells U.S. Taxpayer Living Abroad, Pay First, Sue Second
June 24th, 2019
If you are a foreign resident but a U.S. taxpayer, it can be especially difficult to find the right way to challenge an unfair tax assessment. You may question if internal IRS appeals are enough, or whether you have the right to refuse payment and su…
Read More
Categories: Tax / IRS Penalties
California Case Signals Bigger Non-Willful FBAR Penalties to Come
June 10th, 2019
When you open a new financial account overseas, it often is technically more than one account. You may have both checking and savings accounts at a foreign bank. Or your investments may be divided into different accounts with different investment str…
Read More
Categories: FBAR
