The Internal Revenue Service has always been known as sticklers when it comes to being sure they collect all tax revenue they can. They have a new amnesty program in place though to help you avoid paying fines. This is known as the IRS offshore voluntary disclosure program. This program will help tax payers who did not disclose all of their foreign accounts that exceeded a certain dollar threshold throughout the year.
When you now file your federal taxes, you need to take into account a new law the Internal Revenue Service put in place what is known as the Bank Secrecy Act.
With the Bank Secrecy Act, when you have at any point during the year total funds in foreign accounts that exceed $10,000, you need to make a filing with the IRS. This includes balances in offshore bank accounts, mutual funds, hedge funds, debit card and prepaid credit card accounts, and others. It is more important than ever to be sure that you have made all of the necessary filings on foreign accounts with the IRS so that you can avoid having to pay big fines.
The IRS really is helping tax payers with the IRS offshore voluntary disclosure system being put in place. They clearly want to educate tax payers on the importance of the filing and get them used to the offshore voluntary disclosure program. Tax experts such as those at www.kahntaxlaw.com can further help you to make the proper filing.