Foreign income not reported to the IRS can result in significant penalties. Sometimes, taxpayers may be subject to a civil penalty equal to 10% of the unpaid tax plus interest. In addition, they may also be subject to a criminal penalty of up to $100,000 or imprisonment for up to one year. Furthermore, failure to file a return can result in a separate penalty of up to $25,000.  There are severe penalties for failure to file an FBAR and other information returns, which could run into hundreds of thousands.

 The good news is that there is a way to save on the potential hundreds of thousands of penalties for the violations done in the past. IRS has the streamlined filing compliance procedures (“streamlined procedures”) available to taxpayers certifying that their failure to report foreign financial assets and pay all tax due in respect of those assets did not result from willful conduct on their part.

 How Streamline Filing Procedures Help

 The streamlined procedures are designed to provide taxpayers in such situations with the following:

• A streamlined process for filing amended or delinquent returns.
• Reporting foreign assets and information returns.
• Terms for resolving their tax and penalty obligations.

 To qualify for the streamlined procedures, taxpayers must:

• Be current on their filing obligations for the most recent three years.
• Have failed to report foreign financial assets solely due to non-willful conduct; and
• Not be under examination or investigation by the IRS, nor be under a voluntary disclosure process.

 Our firm has extensive experience handling and Streamlining filing procedures for hundreds of clients with a 100% success rate and providing clients with the right strategy, preparing and filing the case with the necessary documentation, saving clients from hundreds of thousands of penalties, and bringing them back into compliance.

Our firm offers three services for missed foreign income or accounts reporting.

Streamlining Filing Advisory & Strategy

This service package is suitable for individuals who have missed reporting income from foreign sources on their tax returns or missed reporting foreign banks or other financial assets and would like to discuss their situation, eligibility, and the best course of action, considering their position.

The following would be the scope of the service provided:

• Determination of eligibility for the streamlining filing program, if needed.
• Coordinating with the client for foreign income and account should have been reported.
• Analysis of unreported foreign income and accounts.
• Advisory to address the situation
• Strategy for resolving the matter with minimum or no penalties and bringing filing back to compliance.
• Pros and Cons of the streamlining program considering their overall income and tax situation.
• Unlimited Questions are surrounding the situation.

This service is delivered via a call for up to an hour with a senior CPA of the firm in a one-on-one conversation after the requested information is provided to our office.

Streamlining Filings (Basic)

This package is suitable for clients who have already determined that they would like to proceed with the streamlined filing.

The following is the scope of services provided:

• Prepare amended income tax returns for the last three years covered by the streamlined filing program.
• Prepare FBAR (foreign banks and other financial assets reporting) for the last six years covered by the filing period.
• Prepare other information returns such as Form 5471, Form 8621, and Form 8865 for the three years covered by the filing period.
• Prepare a declaration form declaring non-willful violations.
• Put together the package and submit it to the IRS.

Streamlining Filings (Premium)

This package suits clients who want “Streamlining Filing Advisory & Strategy” and “Streamlining Filings” and includes the total scope as detailed under both above.

Schedule an appointment with us using the contact form to find out how our team of streamlined filing tax experts can help you streamline foreign income and assets and avoid huge potential liabilities on tax, interest, and penalties.