Tax Blog/Blawg

Concerned about the extent of international tax non-compliance, Congress enacted the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”).  Among other provisions found in FATCA was Section 6038D, which requires certain individuals to annually report to the IRS data about their interests in foreign financial assets.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Well, this seemingly straightforward obligation has been causing significant havoc for taxpayers and their advisors in 2012, as they wrestle for the first time with tricky new issues when deciding whether and/or how to complete Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets).

Given the challenges associated with the current rules and the finalization in the near future of additional regulations expanding the coverage of Section 6038D, uncertainty will persist for some time.  Confusion about Section 6038D and Form 8938 can trigger a series of negative results for taxpayers, including new information-reporting penalties, increased accuracy-related penalties, criminal charges, extended assessment periods, and a fight with the U.S. government on three fronts simultaneously.  Confusion about this new international tax requirement could cause severe problems for tax advisors, too, because misinformed clients facing IRS problems tend to point their fingers (and their malpractice firms) squarely toward the trusted tax professionals on whom they relied.

In an effort to avoid these types of problems, the attached article, which was recently published in the May-June 2012 issue of the International Tax Journal, (i) contains a thorough analysis of the Form 8938 filing requirements, incorporating and digesting guidance from multiple sources, (ii) clarifies the confusing overlap between Form 8938 and the FBAR, and (iii) explains the unappreciated, severe consequences for taxpayers who fall into noncompliance.