Estate Planning

Report Foreign Bank Accounts Totaling Over $10,000

By Gregory Herman-Giddens

The IRS is increasing its efforts to track  down American taxpayers who have undeclared foreign bank accounts  (including US citizens living abroad). The Department of Justice indicted a UBS  AG senior executive on November 12, alleging tax fraud.  The indictment expressly alleges that a number of the approximately 20,000  American taxpayers who allegedly profited from the alleged tax  fraud scheme are co-conspirators.

If you have any foreign bank  accounts, you need to make sure that you are in compliance. See the newly designed IRS Form TDF 90-22.1 (to be used after Dec 31, 2008). Disclosure of foreign bank accounts with an aggregate value of more than US $10,000  is mandatory. Civil and criminal penalties, including in certain circumstances a fine of up to $500,000 and imprisonment of up to five years, are provided for failure to file a report, supply information, or for filing a false or fraudulent report.

 

Full post as published by North Carolina Estate Planning Blog on November 26, 2008 (boomark / email).