The IRS has started up its third program to encourage those with offshore accounts to bring their taxes up to date. Unlike the 2011 program, there is no deadline to apply, but the program does handle penalties essentially the same way as the 2011 program did. A key difference is that the penalty for the highest aggregate account balance in the taxpayer’s foreign bank is now 27.5% where it used to be 25%. Participants in the program must file all original and amended returns for the years at issue and they must pay back taxes and accuracy-related or delinquency penalties for up to eight years.
See Sally P. Schreiber, IRS Announces Third Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, Journal of Accountancy, Jan. 10, 2012.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.
