Category: Tax Compliance

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

Do I need to file a special extension to get an automatic extension to file similar to the IRS form for individual Income Tax Returns…although automatic you still need to file?

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that, to implement the new due date for FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), of April 15 (April 18 for 2017), it will automatically grant all taxpayers filing the form a six-month extension every year to Oct. 15 (which will be Oct. 16, 2017, because Oct. 15 is a Sunday). FinCEN explained that this six-month extension will be automatic each year and that taxpayers do not have to request extensions.

The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 changed the due date of FBARs to April 15 to coincide with the due date for individual income tax returns. Before the change, the form was due on June 30th, a date that did not coincid

IRS announces an end to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, what does this mean for you?

The IRS has announced that its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) will end on 28 September 2018. US citizens are subject to US tax on worldwide income even if they are not resident in the US. A failure to comply may result in civil and criminal penalties being imposed. The OVDP enables

Creation of the U.S. Passport Denial and Revocation

Under a law passed by Congress in 2015, the Department of State is required to deny an individual’s passport application and is authorized to revoke or limit an existing passport if the IRS has certified the individual as having a seriously delinquent federal tax debt (i.e., a federal tax debt exc

Time to Come in From Out in The Cold

One wonders whether it is beneficial to remain out of the U.S. Tax Return filing compliance system or seriously consider being in compliance with U.S. laws on filing a U.S. Tax Return. Of course, one of the best methods in making this determination is to seek experienced and wise counsel to assist and guide you in such decisions. Either decision noted above is complex and froth with systemic consequences that may involve and/or last for years.

Recently, I was retained by a Dual Citizen, “DC”, having both foreign and U.S. citizenship as well as only recently learning of the filing of a U.S. tax return obligation. DC made a special trip to the U.S. to find competent legal/accounting counsel on this matter and spent almost an entire month interviewing firms and practitioners. Ea

Year End Tax Planning

Year End Tax Planning: You may have to report information about foreign financial assets and accounts in 2017 if you exceed IRS thresholds by or on December 31, 2017!

« Previous Post