IRS Announces Third Special Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on January 9, 2012 that it has reopened its voluntary disclosure initiative for the third time, in response to the US government’s continuously widening investigation of foreign banks relating to unreported offshore accounts of US persons. This third special disclosure initiative follows the IRS’s 2009 and 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs (OVDPs) and is available to those taxpayers who did not file in time for the 2009 or 2011 OVDPs. As in the past the OVDPs are designed to bring offshore money back into the US tax system and help individuals with undisclosed income from hidden offshore financial accounts get current with their taxes. This program allows individuals with previously unreported foreign financial accounts to significantly reduce their exposure to substantial civil tax penalties and, in many cases, to eliminate the possibility of criminal prosecution. Foreign accounts include assets held in offshore trusts, foundations, corporations and other entities.

Read more