Tax Services

Have you recently discovered you have a FBAR filing requirement? Did you know that the IRS can inflict harsh penalties for non-compliance even if you didn’t know you had a filing requirement? Freed Maxick can help navigate the complexities of your FBAR filing requirements and address potential penalties.

There are two types of penalties applicable to FBARs (1) Non-Willful and (2) Willful. It should be noted that the penalties can be assessed per account and not per FBAR. Additionally, the penalties are assessed for each year there is a violation. For example, if you have 5 accounts that have not been reported for 5 years, there could be 25 separate penalties assessed. The penalty regime for violations after October 22, 2004 can be summarized as follows:

Non-Willful Penalty

• Up to $10,000 for each negligent violation
• No Criminal Penalties Assessed

Willful Penalty

• Up to the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the amount in the account at the time of the violation
• Criminal Penalties of up to $250,000 or 5 years in jail or both

Willful Penalty While Violating Certain Other Laws

• Up to the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the amount in the account at the time of the violation
• Criminal Penalties of up to $500,000 or 10 years in jail or both

While the penalties can be overwhelmingly high, there have been a host of Voluntary Disclosure Programs offered by the IRS that can potentially reduce or even eliminate the penalties noted above. Freed Maxick’s International tax team can help identify these programs to address your issues.

Next Steps

Please contact a member of our International Tax team. Freed Maxick, can assist in assessing FBAR filing requirements, assimilating the necessary information and preparing your current and past due FBARs. We have helped many taxpayers navigate through the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and Streamlined Filing Procedures Programs with no penalties.