Offshore Compliance | Information for Reporting Requirements

ALERT… Medium Income Families Still Need To Pay More Taxes In 2017!

INTRODUCTION:

For my clients residing in States with high State Income Taxes and/or high personal residential property taxes, the valued and yearly deduction of these taxes on your Itemized Deductions beginning in 2018 has had the unlimited ceiling crashing down to a total of $10,000 per year.

PART I.

What does this mean?

For 2018, all of your usual deductible itemized tax deductions are radically diminished in their treasured reduction of your overall U.S. Income Tax Liability.

If you look at your form 1040, Schedule A for 2017 and calculate your total taxes paid, including but not limited to:

State Income Paid in 2017, State Income Taxes Withheld from your Wages and Pensions, Your State Estimated Taxes Paid f

The New IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program

If you are considering the New IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program, what questions should you be asking of yourself and your Legal Counsel? On November 20, 2018, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, (IRS) issued its Memorandum that addresses the process for all domestic and offshore voluntary disclosures

Traditional Expensive Method of Shifting Profits from Your Foreign Company to You

Lets look at a traditional expensive method of shifting profits from your foreign company to you, the U.S. Shareholder. (Part I) This is a very recent Tax Court Case, September 2018, where a husband and wife, named Barry and Rochelle Smith, were the grantors of two Domestic Grantor Trusts. I will

Beware “IRS Approved” Virtual Currency IRAs

As income tax filing season approaches, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is warning investors to be cautious of sales pitches touting “IRS approved” or “IRA approved” virtual currency retirement accounts.

BACKGROUND:

IRAs are retirement accounts that provide investors with certain tax incentives for retirement savings. Earnings grow tax-deferred, which means you won’t pay capital gains taxes if you sell, but gains will be taxed at your normal income tax rate when funds are withdrawn in retirement. There are also penalties for early withdrawal. Some common examples include traditional or tax-deferred IRAs, Roth IRAs, Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs), or Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs. All IRAs are held for investors

If You Read This After September 28, 2018, You Are Too Late!!!

The Internal Revenue Service terminated its 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) September 28, 2018. “Taxpayers have had several years to come into compliance with U.S. tax laws under this program,” said Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter. “All along, we have been clear that we

Highly Probably You Will Owe More Tax For 2018

With nearly 10 million U.S. taxpayers facing a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax last year, you should plan ahead, understand the options and avoid the huge penalty when filing 2018 Tax Return! And time is moving so quickly you may already be in the unfortunate penalty provisions.

Those of us who fall into the following categories are very susceptible to these penalties:

1. Self-employed 2. Receiving other income, such as a. Interest, b. Dividends, c. Self-employment, d. Capital gains, e. Prizes and awards or f. Too little tax withheld from wages. You probably need to either: 1. Immediately begin making Estimate Tax Payment, 2. Immediately make a Lump Sum Tax Payment for 2018 3. Increase your withholding on Earnings 4. Increase withholding on Royalties, Capital Gai

Avoid penalty for underpayment of taxes for 2018!

Is it possible at this late date? The new tax act of the Trump Administration, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, made significant changes for individuals, but the biggest were the loss of Itemized Deductions for high tax States, like California and New York, where Sales Tax, Real Estate Tax, State Income T

IRS Examination Coverage for 2016

The Internal Revenue Service has listed the percentage of tax returns filed and examined by the amount of Adjusted Gross Income, see below. The returns showing Adjusted Gross Income, AGI, for 2016 of $10,000,000 or more were the highest audit at 14.52%. The returns with AGI of $75,000 to under $100,

Combat-zone contract workers qualify for foreign earned income exclusion of $103,900!

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien of the U.S., specifically contractors or employees of contractors supporting the U.S. Armed Forces in designated combat zones, may now qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion of $103,900, which is an exclusion of monies earned from being taxed by the IRS each year. This is a big windfall for individuals working overseas, but not living overseas!!!

The background was first laid out in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which changed the tax home requirement for eligible taxpayers, enabling them to claim the foreign earned income exclusion even if their “abode” is in the United States. The new law applies for tax year 2018 and subsequent years. This means that you, if eligible, will be able to claim the foreign earned income

IRS Compliance

Today, September 4, 2018, t he Internal Revenue Service, IRS, provided a notice that Americans have until September 28, 2018, just over 3 weeks, to apply for the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). I know there are may Americans that have not come forward under one of the many alternatives