I.R.S. Penalties For Late Filing and Late Paying On Offshore Income
By Ron Cohen, CPA, MST
Partner
Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., LLP
Doing business outside of the U.S.? Have an Offshore
bank account or Brokerage Account? Own more than 10% of a foreign country
legal entity? (and some rules apply to even lower levels of ownership).
The I.R.S. maze of rules and arsenal of penalties is
overwhelming; even for CPAs and tax lawyers who work on international taxes.
Make no mistake, the I.R.S. expects “transparency.”
There is a form to file or a regulation to follow where taxpayers have to
disclose all offshore economic activities and commercial relationships.
The list below is a summary by the I.R.S. of the many of the penalties
that can apply to Offshore Income.
Additional penalties apply related to “transfer
pricing” for multinational businesses, that are not listed here.
Please call me at (510) 797-8661 x237 is you believe any of
the below may apply to your tax situation and we can discuss what corrective
actions you should take.
From the I.R.S.:
The following summary of
potential reporting requirements and civil penalties is not necessarily all
encompassing, and it is unlikely that any one taxpayer would be subject to all
of the reporting obligations or penalties listed below:
(1) Penalties for failure to comply with the Bank
Security Act requirement that United States persons report their financial
interest in, or authority over, financial accounts located in a foreign
country.
U.S. citizens, residents, and certain other persons,
must annually report their financial interest in, or signature authority (or
other authority that is comparable to signature authority) over, a financial
account (such as a bank or investment account) that is maintained with a
financial institution located in a foreign country if, for any calendar
year, the aggregate value of all foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 at any
time during the year. This reporting requirement is met by filing Form TD F
90-22.1 (Report of foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as an
“FBAR”). FBARs are filed with a Department of the Treasury facility located
in Detroit and are not to be filed with tax returns; the filing date for
FBARs is June 30th. The requirement to file FBARs is in the
regulations under 31 U.S.C. § 5314 (which is a provision of the Bank Secrecy
Act). Generally, the civil penalty for willfully failing to file an FBAR can
be as high as the greater of $100,000 or 50
percent of the total balance of the foreign account. Criminal
penalties may also apply. Refer to IRM 4.26.16.4 for additional FBAR penalty
considerations.
(2) Fraud Penalties (Sections 6651(f) and 6663):
When an underpayment of tax, or failure to file a tax
return, is due to fraud, the taxpayer is liable for penalties that, although
calculated differently, essentially amount to 75 percent of the unpaid tax.
(3) Failure to File Tax Return (Section 6651):
When a taxpayer is required to file a tax return and
does not do so on or before the due date of the return, Section 6651(a)(1)
imposes a penalty of 5 percent of the
net tax amount required to be shown on the tax return for each month (or
fraction of a month) that the amount is late. The maximum penalty is
25 percent. This penalty is increased to
15%, with a maximum of 75%,
if the taxpayer’s failure to file is fraudulent.
(4) Failure to Pay tax Penalties (Sections 6651(a)
(2) and 6651(a)(3)):
When a taxpayer fails to timely pay the amount of tax
shown on the return, Section 6651(a)(2) imposes a late payment penalty equal
to .5 percent of the late payment for
each month (or part of a month) that the payment is late. The maximum
penalty is 25 percent.
When a taxpayer fails to pay a tax that is required to
be (but was not) shown on a return within 21 days after the date of the
Service’s notice and demand for that tax, Section 6651(a)(3) imposes a
penalty of .5 percent for each month
(or part thereof) that the assessment remains unpaid. The maximum penalty is
25 percent.
(5) Accuracy- Related Penalty (Section 6662):
The accuracy-related penalty for underpayments in
imposed at the rate of 20 percent on
the portion of any underpayment of tax required to be shown on a return
attributable to negligence, a substantial understatement of tax, a
substantial overstatement of pension liabilities or a substantial estate or
gift tax valuation understatement. The accuracy-related penalty with respect
to a substantial valuation misstatement can be as high as 40 percent.
(6) Penalties for failure to file certain
information returns (Sections 6035, 6038, 6038A, 6038B, 6038C, 6039F, 6046,
6046A, and 6048):
Form 5471. Information Return of U.S.
Persons With Respect To Certain Foreign Corporations, U.S. persons who are
officers, directors, or shareholders in certain foreign corporations
(including, for example, an International Business Corporation used in an
offshore scheme) report information required by Sections 6035, 6038, and
6046, and compute income from controlled foreign corporations under
Sections 951-964. The penalty for failing to file each one of these
information returns is $10,000, with
an additional $10,000 added for each month the failure continues beginning
90 days after the taxpayer is notified of the delinquency, up to a maximum
of $50,000 per return.
Form 5472. Information Return of a 25%
Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S.
Trade or Business. Reports transactions between a 25% foreign-owned domestic
corporation or a foreign corporation engaged in a trade or business in the
United States and a related party as required by Sections 6038A and 6038C.
The penalty for failing to file each one of these information returns, or to
keep certain records regarding reportable transactions, in
$10,000, with an additional
$10,000 added for each month the
failure continues beginning 90 days after the taxpayer is notified of the
delinquency, up to a maximum of $50,000 per
return.
Form 926. Return by a U.S. Transferor of
Property to a Foreign Corporation. Reports transfers of property to a
foreign corporation and to report information under Section 6038B.
The penalty for failing to file each of these information returns is
ten percent of the value of the
property transferred, up to a maximum of
$100,000 per return, with no limit if the failure to report the
transfer was intentional.
Form 3520. Annual Return to Report
Transactions with Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts.
Reports various transactions involving foreign trusts, including creation of
a foreign trust by a U.S. person, transfers of property from a U.S. person
to a foreign trust, and receipt of distributions from foreign trusts under
Section 6048. This return also reports the receipt of gifts from
foreign trusts under Section 6039F. The penalty for failing to file
each one of these information returns, or for filing an incomplete return,
is 35 percent of the gross reportable amount, except for returns reporting
gifts, where the penalty is five percent of the gift per month, up to a
maximum penalty of 25 percent of the gift.
Form 3520-A. Annual Information Return of
Foreign trust with a U.S. Owner. Reports ownership interests in foreign
trusts, by U.S. persons with various interests in and powers over such
trusts under Sections 6048(b). The penalty for failing to file each
one of these information returns, or for filing an incomplete return, is
five percent of the gross value of trust
assets determined to be owned by the U.S. person.
Form 8865. Return of U.S. persons With Respect to
Certain Foreign Partnerships. U.S. persons with certain interests in foreign
partnerships use this form to report interests in and transactions of the
foreign partnerships, transfers of property to the foreign partnerships, and
acquisitions, dispositions, and changes in foreign partnership interests under
Sections 6038, 6038B, and 6046A. Penalties include
$10,000 for failure to file each return,
with an additional $10,000 added for each
month the failure continues beginning 90 days after the taxpayer is notified of
the delinquency, up to a maximum of $50,000 per return, and ten percent of the
value of any transferred property that is not reported, subject to a
$100,000 limit.
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