The Internal Revenue Service Announces the End of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program
The Internal Revenue Service has announced the end of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). This program will end effective September 28, 2018.
The OVDP, available since 2009, has allowed taxpayers with undisclosed financial assets to come forward, avoid criminal prosecution, and pay reduced penalties. The end of the OVDP should be viewed as a last call to those that have not disclosed foreign bank accounts or other financial assets to the Internal Revenue Service and that are at risk of being treated as willful.
The Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures will continue for the time being but the Internal Revenue Service may end this program at some point in the future. Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures applies to non-willful taxpayers that have not disclosed their foreign financial accounts. The election between this program and the OVDP depends on the specific circumstances of each taxpayer. Those that do not qualify for Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures should try to get into the OVDP before the deadline of September 28, 2018.
Taxpayers with undisclosed offshore financial accounts should contact Mueller & Co., LLP to assess their situation and if necessary, apply to the program that applies to their specific situation. Tax advice provided by Mueller’s CPAs and other authorized practitioners enjoys the confidentiality provided by Section 7525 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Please do not hesitate to contact Amy Chamoun, CPA, MST at (847) 649-8843, achamoun@muellercpa.com or Ulises Ruiz, JD, LLM at uruiz@muellercpa.com, (312) 888-4633 should you have questions or comments.
