Bozeman FBAR Attorney | FATCA Tax Lawyer Montana

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If you are looking for a Bozeman FBAR Attorney in Montana, the recommendation is that you retain the services of Mr. Eugene Sherayzen of Sherayzen Law Office, Ltd. (“Sherayzen Law Office”). Mr. Sherayzen is an FBAR Attorney and founder of Sherayzen Law Office.

Bozeman FBAR Attorney: International Tax Attorney

It is very important to understand that, by looking for a Bozeman FBAR attorney, in reality, you are looking for an international tax attorney whose specialty includes FBAR compliance. Let’s understand why this is the case.

First of all, an FBAR attorney is a tax attorney, because FBAR enforcement has been turned over to the IRS since 2001.

Second, FBAR enforcement belongs to a very special field of US tax law – US international tax law. The reason for this is simple: FBAR is an information return concerning foreign assets (which also implies foreign income) and the tax compliance concerning foreign assets and foreign income belongs to US international tax law. Hence, when you look for an FBAR attorney, you are looking for an international tax attorney with a specialty in FBAR compliance.

It is further important to note that, since you are looking for an attorney who specializes in US international tax law (i.e. a federal area of law), you do not need to limit yourself to lawyers who reside in Bozeman, Montana. On the contrary, consider international tax attorneys who reside in other states and help Bozeman residents with their FBAR compliance.

Sherayzen Law Office is an international tax law firm that specializes in US international tax compliance, including FBARs. While our office is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, we help taxpayers who reside throughout the United States, including Bozeman, Montana.

Bozeman FBAR Attorney: Broad Scope of Compliance

The work of a Bozeman FBAR Attorney is not limited only to the preparation and filing of FBARs. Rather, a Bozeman FBAR Attorney needs to be able to deliver a variety of services and freely operate with experience and knowledge in all relevant areas of US international tax law, including the various offshore voluntary disclosure options concerning delinquent FBARs.

Moreover, as part of an offshore voluntary disclosure, a Bozeman FBAR Attorney often needs to amend US tax returns, properly prepare foreign financial statements according to US GAAP, correctly calculate PFICs, and complete an innumerable number of other tasks.

Mr. Sherayzen has helped hundreds of US taxpayers worldwide to bring their tax affairs into full compliance with US tax laws. This work included the preparation and filing of offshore voluntary disclosures concerning delinquent FBARs. Sherayzen Law Office offers help with all kinds of offshore voluntary disclosure options, including: SDOP (Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures), SFOP (Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures), DFSP (Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures), DIIRSP (Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures), IRS VDP (IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice) and Reasonable Cause disclosures.

Thus, if you are looking for a Bozeman FBAR Attorney, contact Mr. Sherayzen as soon as possible to secure Your Confidential Consultation!

Oregon Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer | International Tax Attorney

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Oregon is a lovely state which hosts a number of immigrants from many different countries (especially in Portland, but also Salem and Eugene). Many of these new US taxpayers own assets in foreign countries and receive income generated by these assets. Unfortunately a number of these taxpayers are not in compliance with their US international tax obligations and want to participate in Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures (SDOP) or Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (SFOP). These individuals often look for an Oregon streamlined disclosure lawyer for professional help, but they do not understand what this term really means. In this essay, I would like to explain the definition of Oregon streamlined disclosure lawyer and outline who belongs to this category of lawyers.

Oregon Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer: International Tax Attorney

From the outset, It is important to understand that all voluntary disclosures, including the Streamlined options, form part of US international tax law, because these options deal with US international tax compliance concerning foreign assets and foreign income. The knowledge that SDOP and SFOP are part of US international tax law makes you better understand what kind of lawyer you are looking for when you search for an Oregon streamlined disclosure lawyer. In reality, when you are seeking help with the SDOP and SFOP filings, you are searching for an international tax attorney.

Oregon Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer: Specialty in Offshore Voluntary Disclosures

As I stated above, SDOP and SFOP form part of a very specific sub-area of offshore voluntary disclosures. This means that not every international tax attorney would be able to conduct the necessary legal analysis required to successfully complete an offshore voluntary disclosure, including Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures and Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures. Only a lawyer who has developed expertise in a very narrow sub-field of offshore voluntary disclosures within US international tax law will be fit for this job.

This means that you are looking for an international tax attorney who specializes in offshore voluntary disclosures and who is familiar with the various offshore voluntary disclosure options. Offshore voluntary disclosure options include: SDOP (Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures), SFOP (Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures), DFSP (Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures), DIIRSP (Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures), IRS VDP (IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice) and Reasonable Cause disclosures. Each of these options has it pros and cons, which may have tremendous legal and tax (and, in certain cases, even immigration) implications for your case.

Oregon Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer: Geographical Location Does Not Matter

While the expertise and experience in offshore voluntary disclosures is highly important in choosing your international tax lawyer, the geographical location (i.e. the city where the lawyer lives and works) does not matter. I already hinted at why this is the case above: offshore voluntary disclosure options were all created by the IRS and form part of US international (i.e. federal) law. In other words, the local law has no relation whatsoever to the SDOP and SFOP.

This means that you are not limited to Oregon when you are looking for a lawyer who can help you with your streamlined disclosure. Any international tax lawyer who specializes in this field may be able to help you, irrespective of whether this lawyer resides in Oregon or Minnesota.

Moreover, the development of modern means of communications has pretty much eliminated any communication advantages that a lawyer in Oregon might have had in the past over the out-of-state lawyers. This is especially true in today’s world where the pandemic greatly reduced the number of face-to-face meetings.

Sherayzen Law Office May Be Your Oregon Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer

Sherayzen Law Office, Ltd. is a highly-experienced international tax law firm that specializes in all types of offshore voluntary disclosures, including SDOP, SFOP, DFSP, DIIRSP, VDP and Reasonable Cause disclosures. Our professional tax team, led by attorney Eugene Sherayzen, has successfully helped our US clients around the globe, including in Oregon, with the preparation and filing of their Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures disclosure. We can help you!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

Foreign Real Estate US Taxpayer Definition | International Tax Lawyer

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This essay seeks to identify those considered to be a “US Taxpayer” with respect to reporting foreign real estate or income from it to the IRS. In other words, today, I will discuss the foreign real estate US Taxpayer definition.

Foreign Real Estate US Taxpayer Definition: IRC §7701(a)

The definition of “US taxpayer” for the purposes of foreign real estate is equivalent to the definition of US tax resident or “US Person” in IRC §7701(a). “US Persons” are equivalent to “US taxpayers” for the purposes of this article.

Note that, under §7701(a)(1), a person “shall be construed to mean and include an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation”. In other words, a “person” may mean not only an individual, but also a business entity, trust or estate.

Foreign Real Estate US Taxpayer Definition: General Definition

Under §7701(a)(30), a “US Person” means a US citizen, US resident alien, domestic partnership, domestic corporation, any estate that is not a foreign estate and a trust that satisfies both conditions of §7701(a)(30)(E). Let’s discuss each of these categories of US Persons in more detail.

Foreign Real Estate US Taxpayer Definition: Individuals Who Are US Persons

As I stated above, all US citizens and US resident aliens are considered US Persons. In the vast majority of cases, it is fairly easy to determine who a US citizen is; most complications occur with respect to “accidental Americans” and Americans with only one parent who is a US citizen.

A US resident alien is a more complex term. It includes US Permanent Residents (i.e. “green card” holders) as well as all persons who satisfied the Substantial Presence Test (unless an exception applies) and all persons who declared themselves as US tax residents. This means that a person may be a US resident for tax purposes, but not for immigration purposes. This situation creates a lot of confusion among people who marry US persons or who come to the United States to work; many of them believe themselves to be Non-US Persons, but in reality they are US tax residents.

Foreign Real Estate US Taxpayer Definition: Domestic Corporations & Partnerships

Under §7701(a)(4), corporations and partnerships are considered US Persons if they are created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States or any of its states. In the case of partnerships, the IRS may issue regulations that provide otherwise, but the IRS has not done so yet. Conversely, a corporation or a partnership is a Non-US Person if it is not organized in the United States.

Pursuant to §7701(a)(9), the definition of the United States for the purposes of §7701(a)(4) includes only the 50 States and the District of Columbia. In other words, §7701(a)(9) excludes all US territories and possessions from the definition of the United States. For example, a corporation formed in Guam is a Non-US Person!

The biggest complication that one would encounter in this area of law is with respect to common-law partnerships. The determination of their US tax residency may be a lot more complex, because they are not officially organized under the laws of any state.

Foreign Real Estate US Taxpayer Definition: Domestic Trust

A trust is a US Person if it satisfies both tests contained in §7701(a)(30)(E). The first test is a “court test”: a court within the United States must be able to exercise primary supervision administration. The second test is a “control test”: one or more US persons must have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust. Failure to meet either test will result in the trust being a Non-US Person with huge implications for US tax purposes.

Foreign Real Estate US Taxpayer Definition: Domestic Estate

While all other definitions described above define a domestic entity and state that a foreign entity is not a domestic one, it is exactly the opposite with estates. Under §7701(a)(30)(D), an estate is a US Person if it is not a foreign estate described in §7701(a)(31).

§7701(a)(31)(A) defines foreign estate as estate “the income of which, from sources without the United States which is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States, is not includible in gross income under subtitle A”.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help with Your Foreign Real Estate Reporting Obligations in the United States

If you are a US person who owns foreign real estate and you have questions concerning your US tax compliance concerning owning foreign real estate, selling real estate or reporting income generated by foreign real estate, contact Sherayzen Law Office for professional help. We have helped US taxpayers around the world with their foreign real estate US tax obligations, and we can help you!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

2022 Form 5471 Penalties | International Tax Lawyer & Attorney

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Failure to timely and correctly submit Form 5471 with a US tax return may lead to an imposition of Form 5471 penalties. In this article, I will discus the most important 2022 Form 5471 penalties that US taxpayers may face if they fail to comply with the Form 5471 requirements.

2022 Form 5471 Penalties: Purpose of Form 5471

We first need to understand the purpose of Form 5471 and broadly identify who may need to file this form. The IRS Form 5471 is an extremely complex form that is used to satisfy the reporting requirements of mainly two esoteric sections of the Internal Revenue Code: 26 U.S.C. § 6038 (“Information reporting with respect to certain foreign corporations and partnerships”) and 26 U.S.C. § 6046 (“Returns as to organization or reorganization of foreign corporations and as to acquisitions of their stock”).

It should be noted that Form 5471 is used to satisfy other US tax provisions, especially after the 2017 tax reform. IRS §§ 6038 and 6046, however, are most relevant for our discussion of Form 5471 penalties.

Certain US citizens and US tax residents who are officers, directors or US shareholders of a foreign corporation may need to file Form 5471 and accurately comply with its reporting requirements. Failure to file Form 5471 or failure to file a correct Form 5471 may result in the imposition of steep IRS penalties.

The First Set of 2022 Form 5471 Penalties: Failure to file information required under section 26 U.S.C. § 6038(a)

From the outset, it is important to note that 26 U.S.C. § 6038 applies to two different parts of Form 5471: the Form 5471 proper (i.e. the first six pages containing the identifying information and Schedules A through I plus Schedules H and I-1) and Schedule M of Form 5471. Failure to file either is enough to trigger a $10,000 penalty for each annual accounting period of each foreign corporation. If the IRS sends the taxpayer a notice of a failure to file, an additional $10,000 penalty (per foreign corporation) will be charged for each 30-day period (or fraction thereof), during which the failure continues after the 90-day period in which the notification occurred, has expired. This additional penalty is limited to a maximum of $50,000 for each failed filing.

Furthermore, there is an income tax penalty associated with the failure to comply with 26 U.S.C. § 6038 in a timely manner – the taxpayer may be subject to a 10% reduction of certain available Foreign Tax Credits. A further 5% reduction may be applied for each 3-month period (or fraction thereof), during which the failure to timely report or file continues after the 90-day period of IRS notification has expired. (26 U.S.C. § 6038(c)(2) places certain limitations on this penalty).

The Second Set of 2022 Form 5471 Penalties: Failure to file information required by 26 U.S.C. § 6046 and related regulations (Form 5471 and Schedule O)

In addition to 26 U.S.C. § 6038 Form 5471 penalties, there is also an additional set of Form 5471 penalties associated with 26 U.S.C. § 6046 (Form 5471 and Schedule O). Failure to comply with 26 U.S.C. § 6046 will subject the taxpayer to another $10,000 penalty for each failure for each reportable transaction. Additionally, if the failure to report or file continues for more than 90 days after the date the IRS mails notice of this failure, an additional $10,000 penalty will apply for each 30-day period (or fraction thereof) during which the failure continues after the 90-day period has expired. This additional penalty is limited to a maximum of $50,000.

2022 Form 5471 Non-Compliance May Result in Criminal Penalties

In addition to civil penalties under 26 U.S.C. § 6038 and 26 U.S.C. § 6046, criminal penalties may apply to Form 5471 filers in certain circumstances. In particular, a willful failure to file an accurate Form 5471 may activate the broad provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 (“Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax”), 26 U.S.C. § 7206 (“Fraud and false statements”), and 26 U.S.C. § 7207 (“Fraudulent returns, statements, or other documents”).

2022 Form 5471 Penalties and Persons Other Than the Filer

In situations where the filer should have filed Forms 5471 for other persons, but failed to do so, Form 5471 penalties may be extended to these other persons.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office NOW For Help With 2022 Form 5471 Penalties and Compliance

If you partially or fully own a foreign corporation, you may be subject to the Form 5471 requirements. As explained in this article, failure to timely and/or correctly comply with your Form 5471 filing obligations may result in steep Form 5471 penalties.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office today. We can help you prepare and file your Form 5471 as part of your annual compliance as well as help deal with the Form 5471 voluntary disclosure concerning your past Form 5471 noncompliance.

Contact Us Now to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

Florida Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer | International Tax Attorney

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Florida is one of the most favorite destinations for immigrants as well as US citizens who do business overseas. Many of these taxpayers own assets in foreign countries and receive income generated by these assets. For this reason, Florida is also one of the leading states when it comes to individuals who wish to go through Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures (SDOP) or Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (SFOP). These individuals often look for a Florida streamlined disclosure lawyer for professional help, but they do not understand what this term really means. In this essay, I will explain who would be included within the definition of Florida streamlined disclosure lawyer.

Florida Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer: International Tax Lawyer

From the outset, It is important to understand that both SDOP and SFOP are part of US international tax law, because these options deal with US international tax compliance concerning foreign assets and foreign income. In order to be more precise, I should say that SDOP and SFOP fall within a very specific sub-area of US international law – IRS offshore voluntary disclosures.

The knowledge that SDOP and SFOP are part of US international tax law makes you better understand what kind of a lawyer you are looking for when you search for a Florida streamlined disclosure lawyer. In reality, when you are seeking help with the SDOP and SFOP filings, you are searching for an international tax lawyer.

Florida Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer: Specialty in Offshore Voluntary Disclosures

As I stated above, SDOP and SFOP form part of a very specific sub-area of offshore voluntary disclosures. This means that not every international tax lawyer would be able to conduct the necessary legal analysis required to successfully complete an offshore voluntary disclosure, including Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures and Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures. Only a lawyer who has developed expertise in a very narrow sub-field of offshore voluntary disclosures within US international tax law will be fit for this job.

This means that you are looking for an international tax lawyer who specializes in offshore voluntary disclosure and who is familiar with the various offshore voluntary disclosure options. Offshore voluntary disclosure options include: SDOP (Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures), SFOP (Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures), DFSP (Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures), DIIRSP (Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures), VDP (IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice) and Reasonable Cause disclosures. Each of these options has it pros and cons, which may have tremendous legal and tax (and, in certain cases, even immigration) implications for your case.

Florida Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer: Geographical Location Does Not Matter

While the expertise and experience in offshore voluntary disclosures are highly important in choosing your international tax lawyer, the geographical location (i.e. the city where the lawyer lives and works) does not matter. I already hinted at why this is the case above: offshore voluntary disclosure options were all created by the IRS and form part of US international (i.e. federal) law. In other words, the local law has no relation whatsoever to the SDOP and SFOP.

This means that you are not limited to Florida when you are looking for a lawyer who can help you with your streamlined disclosure. Any international tax lawyer who specializes in this field may be able to help you, irrespective of whether this lawyer resides in Florida or Minnesota.

Moreover, the development of modern means of communications has pretty much eliminated any communication advantages that a lawyer in Florida might have had in the past over out-of-state lawyers. This is especially true in our world today where the pandemic has greatly reduced the number of face-to-face meetings.

Sherayzen Law Office May Be Your Florida Streamlined Disclosure Lawyer

Sherayzen Law Office, Ltd. is a highly-experienced international tax law firm that specializes in all types of offshore voluntary disclosures, including SDOP, SFOP, DFSP, DIIRSP, VDP and Reasonable Cause disclosures. Our professional tax team, led by attorney Eugene Sherayzen, has successfully helped our US clients around the globe, including in Florida, with the preparation and filing of their Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures disclosure. We can help you!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!