The IRS along with the DOJ has been aggressively pursuing offshore account holders to disclose their overseas bank accounts before it's too late.  There are significant penalties for holding accounts in certain foreign banks.  However, in an effort to encourage account holders to disclose their accounts, the IRS started the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP)  and the streamlined procedures enable taxpayer to meet their tax obligations while limiting the potential penalties for continued non-compliance.  The IRS has a list of foreign bank where accounts trigger penalties of 50% or 27.5%.  

The IRS has recently reported that over 54,00 taxpayers have participated in their disclosure program since 2009.  Furthermore, the IRS stated that they have collected more than $8 billion from this initiative.  Taxpayers are being strongly reminded by the IRS to come clean and take advantage of existing IRS programs on disclosing offshore accounts.  Base don information obtained during investigations and under the terms of settlements with foreign banks, the IRS has conducted thousands of audits related to offshore-related banks/accounts that have produced tens of millions of dollars.  Further, that IRS has pursued criminal charges that resulted in billions of dollars of in criminal fines and restitutions.

Bowman Law Firm, Gene Bowman Attorney, CPA