Meeting the Requirements 2016 - NEW FATCA & FBAR FILING REQUIREMENTS: Meeting the Requirements and Avoiding the Penalties - By Compliance Global Inc

Overview:
IRS Information Release 2015-116, dated Oct. 16, 2015 announced that the IRS has, since 2009, collected $8 Billion dollars through the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). What is OVDP? It is the filing of FBAR and FATCA forms which includes the filing of FBAR Form FinCEN Form 114, Foreign Bank account reporting and Financial Accounts (formerly TD F 90-22.1) and FATCA Form 8938 which discloses specified foreign financial assets. Given the “success” of the program, the IRS has allocated significant resources to the collection of FBAR and FATCA forms, both current and delinquent. The decision to enter into the voluntary program of filing back year or delinquent FBAR and FATCA forms is a decision to be made by you, your accountant and your attorney.
Each year the Commissioner of Internal Revenue allocates the budget and personnel to the tax areas that he and his staff determine will produce the most revenue. Hence, his focus on International Transactions, FBAR, and FATCA.
The purpose of this webinar is to guide you to be aware that current year FBAR and FATCA forms should be filed. Many non-filings start with the failure of the return preparer to properly question the client regarding Schedule B, Question 7a: “At any time during 2015, did you have a financial interest in or signature authority over a financial account in a foreign country?” Much of the time the software program automatically answers, “No,” which has been held to be fraud on the part of the taxpayer and/or the return preparer. Take CAUTION to make sure that Question 7a on Schedule B is properly answered, along with the other questions on foreign trusts. It is possible for US Persons to face penalties that exceed the value of their offshore accounts.
Why Should You Attend:
Congress passed the Bank Secrecy Act compliance in 1970 as the first laws to fight money laundering in the United States. The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) gives the Department of Treasury authority to collect information from United States persons who have financial interests in or signature authority over financial accounts maintained with financial institutions located outside of the United States. (FinCEN) 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) is a part of the Bank Secrecy Act and information can be found on the IRS website as well as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In April, 2003, the Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network (FinCEN) delegated enforcement authority regarding the FBAR to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS information).
The IRS is now responsible for:
Investigating possible civil violations;
Assessing and collecting civil penalties; and
Issuing administrative rulings.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which was included as part of the HIRE Act of 2010, was enacted by Congress to target non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts and filing requirements began in 2011. “While elements of the legislation have been in effect since 2011, the main elements of FATCA reporting began in 2015 and will continue to unfold over the next few years. As a result, this year IRS began preparation for application of the first full substantive wave of FATCA data for compliance purposes, specifically for the tax year 2014 filing population,” Douglas W. O’Donnell, commissioner of the IRS’s Large Business and International Division.
The US Government uses FBAR & FATCA as a tools to identify persons who may be using foreign financial accounts to circumvent United States law. Information contained in FATCA & FBARs can be used to identify or trace funds used for illicit purposes or to identify unreported income maintained or generated abroad.
Areas Covered in this Webinar:
There are similarities, but also very different filing requirement thresholds and definitions of applicable assets for each of these forms and beginning in 2016, there are new filing dates. This webinar will cover the following subjects:
GENERAL:
Due Diligence of Return Preparer
FBAR:
Determine who must file the FBAR.
Determine who is exempt from the FBAR filing requirements.
Determine the FBAR filing requirements.
What is a “financial interests?”
What are defined as “Foreign Bank Accounts and Financial Accounts?”
What form number is required?
What is the 2016 filing date?
FATCA:
FATCA, what are defined as “foreign assets?”
FATCA, what is the filing requirement thresholds?
FATCA, what form number is required?
FATCA, what is the 2016 filing date?
FATCA, what are the civil penalties for failure to file?
Learning Objectives:
What are the differences in FBAR and FATCA forms and filing requirements?
Understand the civil and criminal penalties that may be applicable for noncompliance with the FBAR filing requirements
FATCA, what is the difference in the filing thresholds for “US Persons” who live inside the US and those who live in foreign countries?
Who Will Benefit:
CPA, EA, and Attorneys
Persons who prepare Tax Returns
Persons who deal with IRS, Federal Agencies, State Agencies
Employees/Managers of Tax Departments
Employees/Managers who manage Banking Operations
Anyone responsible for responding to IRS correspondence
Speaker Profile:
Greta P. Hicks is a former IRS Revenue Agent and Regional Training Coordinator. After a time as tax manager for Ernst & Young, Greta started her own business and for 34 years her CPA practice has been limited to representing persons who have IRS problems.
She is the author of "IRS Examination and Appeals Procedures" as well as, pilot tester of on-line continuing education courses for Checkpoint Learning. Greta has authored a number of continuing education courses on IRS practice & procedures and articles are regularly published on professional as well as trade magazines. Ms Hicks has traveled the US and taught Tax Update Seminars as well as various Inside the IRS topics.
Greta has been active in the Texas Society of CPAs for 40 years and has served on the IRS Relations Committee, on the Editorial Board of the TSCPAs and was the Tax Editor of Today's CPA. Her activities for the Houston Chapter of CPAs included Coordinator of Houston's IRS/Practitioner Study Group, Relations with Taxing Entities Committee, Teaching Taxes Committee, plus the Spring EXPO and Tax EXPO Committees.