At Last, a tax reprieve on foreign income reporting and filing your back tax returns, well maybe.

American that live abroad will get a reprieve from the IRS this year on reporting on foreign assets.

The IRS said it will allow some United States citizens, including dual citizens, who have not filed income tax returns or not disclosed their foreign bank accounts, to come forward without facing onerous penalties or the threat of prosecution.

This is what the IRS calls a tax amnesty of sorts.

The Internal Revenue Service said the reprieve, to begin Sept. 1, would also apply to U.S. expatriates with foreign retirement plans, including Canadian ones.

But read the fine print on this one! ( Only low risk compliance taxpayers are invited to this party )

The optional procedure just announced is available only to Americans who owe little or no back taxes, not to those who have squirreled away substantial amounts in secret offshore accounts that they have knowingly failed to disclose to the IRS.

This announcement is for small type of taxpayers.

If you are not sure what categorize you fall in you may want to call us for a no cost professional tax consultation. 1-866-700-1040.

The IRS statement said the new guidelines were for “low compliance risk” taxpayers, generally people who have simple returns and owe $1,500 or less in tax for any covered years. Yes, this is for the low end of taxpayers.

IRS is about to pound this area of non-compliance due to the very fact that the Offshore Program over the past years has brought in a kings ransom to the IRS, a whooping $4 Billion Large. IRS will not stop.

It also follows complaints by tax lawyers that many U.S. expatriates have been unaware of the new rules on tax returns and disclosure of foreign bank accounts.

IRS feels that  many of these taxpayers were not willful tax evaders, but simply uninformed about filing returns and, if needed, disclosures known as Foreign Bank and Financial Account Reports, or FBARs.

Many taxpayers were just plain ignorant of the tax laws and the IRS does not intend to hurt this type of taxpayer.

The IRS said that under the new procedures, taxpayers would have to file delinquent tax returns for the past three years and delinquent FBARs for the past six years.

The IRS said “higher compliance risk” taxpayers would be subject to a more thorough review and, potentially, an audit or a referral to CI or Criminal Division Review.

The IRS also said taxpayers would be barred from the disclosure program if they challenged in foreign courts the disclosure of their accounts while failing to inform the U.S. Justice Department of such challenges.

You can expect the IRS to being a full court press from now on, they plan for bleed this Offshore Program for as much as it can.

As a result of the Obama-Care Program the IRS will be given $500 million for budgetary purposes.

You better attorney up if need be. If you are in full compliance no need to worry.

Call us for a free tax consult for tax advice.

We are staffed with Tax Attorneys, Tax Lawyers, CPA’s and Former IRS agents. 1-866-700-1040