IRS Waives 2018 Estimated Tax Penalty for Certain Taxpayers | Tax News

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On January 16, 2019, the IRS announced that it would waive the 2018 estimated tax penalty for taxpayers who paid at least 85% of their total tax liability during 2018, either through federal income tax withholding, quarterly estimated tax payments or the combination of both of these payment methods. These changes will be integrated in the forthcoming revision of Form 2210 and instructions.

The 85% threshold is a reduction from the usual 90% threshold required to avoid a penalty. It appears that this new limitation will apply only to the 2018 estimated tax penalty.

Why did the IRS single out the 2018 estimated tax penalty for this additional relief? Very simple – the IRS is trying to help the taxpayers who were unable to properly calculate the needed tax withholding and estimated tax payments due to the numerous changes to tax laws introduced by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The IRS probably also feels that its own federal tax withholding tables could have contributed to underpayment of tax by many taxpayers. When they were released in early 2018, the updated federal tax withholding tables reflected only the lower tax rates and the increased standard deduction. The tables, however, did not fully reflect other changes, such as the elimination of personal exemptions (including exemptions for dependents) and the severe limitations placed on  itemized deductions. Hence, if a taxpayer relied on the federal tax withholding tables, he would have been unfairly exposed to the 2018 estimated tax penalty had the IRS refused to grant this relief.

In all fairness, it should be mentioned that the IRS attempted to correct its mistake by initiating a very extensive education campaign (which also involved all IRS partner groups) for taxpayers with respect to the need to check on their tax withholding.

It is important to point out that the taxpayers should pay a lot more attention to their tax withholding for 2019 so that a 2018 estimated tax penalty does not turn into a 2019 estimated tax penalty. This is especially true for taxpayers who will now owe (maybe, somewhat unexpectedly for them) taxes on their tax returns. The highest-risk taxpayers are, of course, those who have itemized their deductions and complex income. Sherayzen Law Office also warns that taxpayers with foreign income are within this high-risk category.

2018 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates | FBAR Tax Lawyer & Attorney

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2018 FBAR and 2018 Form 8938 instructions both require that 2018 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates be used to report the required highest balances of foreign financial assets on these forms. In the case of 2018 Form 8938, the 2018 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates is the default choice, not an exclusive one.

The U.S. Department of Treasury  already published the 2018 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates online (they are called “Treasury’s Financial Management Service rates” or the “FMS rates”).

Since the 2018 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates are very important to US taxpayers, international tax lawyers and international tax accountants, Sherayzen Law Office provides the table below listing the official 2018 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates (note that the readers still need to refer to the official website for any updates).

Country – Currency

Foreign Currency to $1.00
AFGHANISTAN – AFGHANI

74.576
ALBANIA – LEK

107.05
ALGERIA – DINAR

117.898
ANGOLA – KWANZA

310.0000
ANTIGUA – BARBUDA – E. CARIBBEAN DOLLAR

2.7000
ARGENTINA – PESO

37.642
ARMENIA – DRAM

485.0000
AUSTRALIA – DOLLAR

1.4160
AUSTRIA – EURO

0.8720
AZERBAIJAN – NEW MANAT

1.7000
BAHAMAS – DOLLAR

1.0000
BAHRAIN – DINAR

0.3770
BANGLADESH – TAKA

84.0000
BARBADOS – DOLLAR

2.0200
BELARUS – NEW RUBLE

2.1600
BELGIUM – EURO

0.8720
BELIZE – DOLLAR

2.0000
BENIN – CFA FRANC

568.6500
BERMUDA – DOLLAR

1.0000
BOLIVIA – BOLIVIANO

6.8500
BOSNIA – MARKA

1.7060
BOTSWANA – PULA

10.6610
BRAZIL – REAL

3.8800
BRUNEI – DOLLAR

1.3610
BULGARIA – LEV

1.7070
BURKINA FASO – CFA FRANC

568.6500
BURUNDI – FRANC

1790.0000
CAMBODIA (KHMER) – RIEL

4103.0000
CAMEROON – CFA FRANC

603.8700
CANADA – DOLLAR

1.3620
CAPE VERDE – ESCUDO

94.8800
CAYMAN ISLANDS – DOLLAR

0.8200
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – CFA FRANC

603.8700
CHAD – CFA FRANC

603.8700
CHILE – PESO

693.0800
CHINA – RENMINBI

6.8760
COLOMBIA – PESO

3245.8000
COMOROS – FRANC

428.1400
CONGO, DEM. REP – CONGOLESE FRANC

1630.0000
COSTA RICA – COLON

603.5000
COTE D’IVOIRE – CFA FRANC

568.6500
CROATIA – KUNA

6.3100
CUBA – PESO

1.0000
CYPRUS – EURO

0.8720
CZECH REPUBLIC – KORUNA

21.9410
DENMARK – KRONE

6.5170
DJIBOUTI – FRANC

177.0000
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – PESO

49.9400
ECUADOR – DOLARES

1.0000
EGYPT – POUND

17.8900
EL SALVADOR – DOLARES

1.0000
EQUATORIAL GUINEA – CFA FRANC

603.8700
ERITREA – NAKFA

15.0000
ESTONIA – EURO

0.8720
ETHIOPIA – BIRR

28.0400
EURO ZONE – EURO

0.8720
FIJI – DOLLAR

2.1080
FINLAND – EURO

0.8720
FRANCE – EURO

0.8720
GABON – CFA FRANC

603.8700
GAMBIA – DALASI

50.0000
GEORGIA – LARI

2.6700
GERMANY – EURO

0.8720
GHANA – CEDI

4.8250
GREECE – EURO

0.8720
GRENADA – EAST CARIBBEAN DOLLAR

2.7000
GUATEMALA – QUENTZAL

7.7150
GUINEA – FRANC

9076.0000
GUINEA BISSAU – CFA FRANC

568.6500
GUYANA – DOLLAR

215.0000
HAITI – GOURDE

77.1180
HONDURAS – LEMPIRA

25.0000
HONG KONG – DOLLAR

7.8320
HUNGARY – FORINT

280.1700
ICELAND – KRONA

116.1100
INDIA – RUPEE

69.8000
INDONESIA – RUPIAH

14440.0000
IRAN – RIAL

42000.0000
IRAQ – DINAR

1138.0000
IRELAND – EURO

0.8720
ISRAEL – SHEKEL

3.7490
ITALY – EURO

0.8720
JAMAICA – DOLLAR

126.0000
JAPAN – YEN

109.8500
JERUSALEM – SHEKEL

3.7490
JORDAN – DINAR

0.7080
KAZAKHSTAN – TENGE

375.1500
KENYA – SHILLING

101.8000
KOREA – WON

1114.4900
KOSOVO – EURO

0.8720
KUWAIT – DINAR

0.3030
KYRGYZSTAN – SOM

69.8000
LAOS – KIP

8535.0000
LATVIA – EURO

0.8720
LEBANON – POUND

1500.0000
LESOTHO – SOUTH AFRICAN RAND

14.3500
LIBERIA – DOLLAR

156.7100
LIBYA – DINAR

1.3860
LITHUANIA – EURO

0.8720
LUXEMBOURG – EURO

0.8720
MACAO – MOP

no listing
MACEDONIA FYROM – DENAR

53.5000
MADAGASCAR – ARIARY

3470.2000
MALAWI – KWACHA

733.0000
MALAYSIA – RINGGIT

4.1300
MALI – CFA FRANC

568.6500
MALTA – EURO

0.8720
MARSHALL ISLANDS – DOLLAR

1.0000
MARTINIQUE – EURO

0.8720
MAURITANIA – OUGUIYA

36.0000
MAURITIUS – RUPEE

34.1500
MEXICO – PESO

19.6540
MICRONESIA – DOLLAR

1.0000
MOLDOVA – LEU

16.9930
MONGOLIA – TUGRIK

2642.9200
MONTENEGRO – EURO

0.8720
MOROCCO – DIRHAM

9.5300
MOZAMBIQUE – METICAL

61.5300
MYANMAR – KYAT

1535.0000
NAMIBIA – DOLLAR

14.3500
NEPAL – RUPEE

111.6000
NETHERLANDS – EURO

0.8720
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES – GUILDER

1.7800
NEW ZEALAND – DOLLAR

1.4900
NICARAGUA – CORDOBA

32.3000
NIGER – CFA FRANC

568.6500
NIGERIA – NAIRA

361.0000
NORWAY – KRONE

8.6800
OMAN – RIAL

0.3850
PAKISTAN – RUPEE

138.6000
PALAU – DOLLAR

1.0000
PANAMA – BALBOA

1.0000
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – KINA

3.2840
PARAGUAY – GUARANI

5956.0000
PERU – NUEVO SOL

3.3750
PHILIPPINES – PESO

52.4900
POLAND – ZLOTY

3.7530
PORTUGAL – EURO

0.8720
QATAR – RIYAL

3.6400
ROMANIA – NEW LEU

4.0690
RUSSIA – RUBLE

69.6800
RWANDA – FRANC

890.0000
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE – NEW DOBRAS

21.5350
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE – DOBRAS

20941.0080
SAUDI ARABIA – RIYAL

3.7500
SENEGAL – CFA FRANC

568.6500
SERBIA – DINAR

103.3900
SEYCHELLES – RUPEE

13.5500
SIERRA LEONE – LEONE

8620.0000
SINGAPORE – DOLLAR

1.3610
SLOVAK REPUBLIC – EURO

0.8720
SLOVENIA – EURO

0.8720
SOLOMON ISLANDS – DOLLAR

7.7520
SOMALI – SHILLING

575.0000
SOUTH AFRICA – RAND

14.3500
SOUTH SUDANESE – POUND

153.7000
SPAIN – EURO

0.8720
SRI LANKA – RUPEE

182.6000
ST LUCIA – EC DOLLAR

2.7000
SUDAN – SUDANESE POUND

47.0000
SURINAME – GUILDER

7.5200
SWAZILAND – LILANGENI

14.3500
SWEDEN – KRONA

8.9380
SWITZERLAND – FRANC

0.9840
SYRIA – POUND

515.0000
TAIWAN – DOLLAR

30.5880
TAJIKISTAN – SOMONI

9.3500
TANZANIA – SHILLING

2295.0000
THAILAND – BAHT

32.3500
TIMOR – LESTE DILI

1.0000
TOGO – CFA FRANC

568.6500
TONGA – PA’ANGA

2.1730
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – DOLLAR

6.7700
TUNISIA – DINAR

3.0090
TURKEY – LIRA

5.2830
TURKMENISTAN – NEW MANAT

3.4910
UGANDA – SHILLING

3705.0000
UKRAINE – HRYVNIA

27.7000
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DIRHAM

3.6730
UNITED KINGDOM – POUND STERLING

0.7810
URUGUAY – PESO

32.3200
UZBEKISTAN – SOM

8310.0000
VANUATU – VATU

111.6900
VENEZUELA – BOLIVAR – SOBERANO

563.9800
VENEZUELA – BOLIVAR – FUERTE

248832.0000
VIETNAM – DONG

23190.0000
WESTERN SAMOA – TALA

2.5350
YEMEN – RIAL

480.0000
ZAMBIA – NEW KWACHA

11.9000
ZIMBABWE – DOLLAR

1.0000

2019 Tax Filing Season Will Begin on January 28, 2019 | Tax Lawyer News

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On January 7, 2019, the IRS confirmed that the 2019 tax filing season will begin on January 28, 2019. In other words, the 2019 tax filing season will begin on schedule despite the government shutdown.

2019 Tax Filing Season for 2018 Tax Returns and 2018 FBAR

During the 2019 tax filing season, US taxpayers must file their required 2018 federal income tax returns and 2018 information returns. Let me explain what I mean here.

One way to look at the US federal tax forms is to group them according to their tax collection purpose. The income tax returns are the tax forms used to calculate a taxpayer’s federal tax liability. The common example of this type of form is Form 1040 for individual taxpayers.

The information returns are a group of federal tax forms (and, separately, FBAR) which taxpayers use to disclose certain required information about their assets and activities. These forms are not immediately used to calculate a federal tax liability. A common example of this form is Form 8938. FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Account, commonly known as FBAR, also belongs to this category of information returns even though it is not a tax form.

There is a third group of returns that consists of hybrid forms – i.e. forms used for both, income tax calculation and information return, purposes. Form 8621 for PFICs has been a prominent example of this type of a form since tax year 2013.

2019 Tax Filing Season Deadline and Available Extensions for Individual Taxpayers

Individual US taxpayers must file their required income tax and information returns by Monday, April 15, 2019. An interesting exception exists for residents of Maine and Massachusetts. Due to the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in these two states and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, the residents of Maine and Massachusetts will have until April 17, 2019 to file their US tax returns.

Taxpayers who reside overseas get an automatic extension until June 17 , 2019, to file their US tax returns.  The reason why the deadline is on June 17 is because June 15 falls on a Saturday. The taxpayers still must pay their estimated tax due by April 15, 2019.

Taxpayers can also apply for an automatic extension until October 15, 2019, to file their federal tax returns. Again, these taxpayers must still pay their estimated tax due by April 15, 2019, in order to avoid additional penalties.

Finally, certain taxpayers who reside overseas may ask the IRS for additional discretionary extension to file their 2018 federal tax return by December 16 (because December 15 is a Sunday this year), 2019. These taxpayers should send their request for the discretionary extension before their automatic extension runs out on October 15, 2019.

2019 Tax Filing Season Refunds

In light of the ongoing government shutdown, one of the chief concerns for US taxpayers is whether they will be able to get their tax refunds during the 2019 Tax Filing Season. The IRS assured everyone that it has the power to issue refunds during the government shutdown.

The IRS has been consistent in its position that, under the 31 U.S.C. 1324, the US Congress provided a permanent and indefinite appropriation for refunds. In 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) disagreed with the IRS and ordered it not to pay any refunds. It appears, however, that the OMB changed its position sometime after 2011.

Sherayzen Law Office, Ltd. Conducts Foreign Inheritance Seminar | News

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On January 17, 2019, Mr. Eugene Sherayzen, an international tax attorney and owner of Sherayzen Law Office, Ltd., conducted a foreign inheritance seminar for the International Business Law and Probate and Trust Law Sections of the Minnesota State Bar Association. The title of the seminar was “Foreign Inheritance – the Pandora’s Box of U.S. International Tax Reporting Requirements.”

Foreign Inheritance Seminar

Foreign Inheritance Seminar, MSBA, 01/17/2019

This foreign inheritance seminar was well-attended; there were close to 50 attendees. The majority of the attendees were business and estate planning lawyers; there were also a few immigration lawyers.

Mr. Sherayzen defined the main goal of the seminar as broadening the awareness of the U.S. international tax implications of receiving a foreign inheritance. He first focused on the definition of the concept of “foreign inheritance”, exposing the complexity behind this term. Mr. Sherayzen further explained how this term is defined for income tax versus estate tax purposes. He concluded this first part of the seminar by going over a set of hypothetical situations and explaining the U.S. tax consequences the foreign inheritance definition would have in each of them.

During the second part of the seminar, Mr. Sherayzen explained the reporting requirements associated with foreign inheritance. He also explained the difference between the taxability of a foreign inheritance and the reporting of a foreign inheritance. A foreign inheritance may still be required to be reported to the IRS even if it is not taxable.

Mr. Sherayzen devoted the third part of the foreign inheritance seminar to pre-inheritance transfers of assets by a foreign decedent. He explained how an international tax attorney has to analyze each of these transfers in the context of three main strategic issues: classification, income recognition and information reporting. The attorney then focused on the example that embodied all three of these issues – the usufruct.

During the final part of the seminar, Mr. Sherayzen focused on the post-inheritance U.S. tax compliance issues. The attorney described, in a broad manner, the income tax and information tax reporting requirements associated with various classes of assets.  Additionally, Mr. Sherayzen separately discussed the concept of a foreign trust, stated its main reporting requirements and introduced the complications concerning the foreign trust income tax recognition.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Tax Help With Your Foreign Inheritance Reporting to the IRS

If you are about to receive or already received a foreign inheritance, contact Sherayzen Law Office for professional help. We are a team of tax professionals highly experienced in U.S. international tax reporting of a foreign inheritance as well as offshore voluntary disclosures which involve inherited foreign assets. We have helped hundreds of U.S. taxpayers with their IRS foreign inheritance issues; and We can help You!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

2017 Tax Reform Seminar | U.S. International Tax Lawyer & Attorney

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On April 19, 2018, Mr. Eugene Sherayzen, an international tax lawyer, co-presented with an attorney from KPMG at a seminar entitled “The 2017 U.S. Tax Reform: Seeking Economic Growth through Tax Policy in Politically Risky Times” (the “2017 Tax Reform Seminar”). This seminar formed part of the 2018 International Business Law Institute organized by the International Business Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association.

The 2017 Tax Reform Seminar discussed, in a general manner, the main changes made by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to the U.S. international tax law. Mr. Sherayzen’s part of the presentation focused on two areas: the Subpart F rules and the FDII regime.

Mr. Sherayzen provided a broad overview of the Subpart F rules, the types of income subject to these rules and the main exceptions to the Subpart F regime. He emphasized that the tax reform did not repeal the Subpart F rules, but augmented them with the GILTI regime (the discussion of GILTI was done by the KPMG attorney during the same 2017 Tax Reform Seminar).

Then, Mr. Sherayzen turned to the second part of his presentation during the 2017 Tax Reform Seminar – the Foreign Derived Intangible Income or FDII. After reviewing the history of several tax regimes prior to the FDII, the tax attorney concluded that the nature of the current FDII regime is one of subsidy. In essence, FDII allows a US corporation to reduce its corporate income by 37.5% of the qualified “foreign derived” income (after the year 2025, the percentage will go down to 21.875%). Mr. Sherayzen explained that, in certain cases, there is an additional limitation on the FDII deduction.

Qualifying income includes: sales to a foreign person for foreign use, dispositions of property to foreign persons for foreign use, leases and licenses to foreign persons for foreign use and services provided to a foreign person. There are also a number exceptions to qualifying income.

Mr. Sherayzen concluded his presentation at the 2017 Tax Reform Seminar with a discussion of the reaction that FDII produced in other countries. In general this reaction was not favorable; China and the EU even threatened to sue the United States over what they believed to be an illegal subsidy to US corporations.