Posts

Singapore Solution Fraud Scheme Co-Creator Pleads Guilty |  SDOP lawyer Minneapolis

On December 21, 2023, the IRS and the US Department of Justice announced that Mr. Rolf Schnellmann, a Swiss national, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States for his role in the creation and implementation of a fraud scheme related to foreign accounts and foreign income called “Singapore Solution”.  In this small essay, I will discuss the Singapore Solution, the facts of the Schnellmann case and the lessons one can draw from this case.

Singapore Solution: Basic Description of the Tax Evasion Scheme

The idea behind the Singapore Solution is fairly simple. Funds owned secretly (i.e. without a proper disclosure to the IRS on FBAR, Form 8938, et cetera) by US persons in a Swiss bank are first transferred to a series of nominee accounts in other jurisdictions (for example, Hong Kong). In the meantime, the Swiss bankers established (usually indirectly through a law firm) a Singapore-based asset management firm which opens new bank accounts in its name in the Swiss bank. After passing through nominee accounts, the US-owned funds are returned to the Swiss bank and placed in the new bank accounts opened by the asset management firm.

In other words, the Singapore Solution basically represents a circular scheme where the ownership of funds is artificially obscured by involvement of third parties. Obviously, the US owners of the undisclosed funds handsomely compensated the Swiss bankers, the managers of the asset management firm and the nominees for their work. Also obviously, this scheme crosses the line between asset/tax planning and criminal tax evasion.

Singapore Solution: Basic Facts of Schnellmann Case

According to court documents and statements made in court, Rolf Schnellmann was the head of Allied Finance Trust AG, a Zurich-based financial services company and a subsidiary of the Allied Finance Group in Liechtenstein.  Between 2008 to 2014, Schnellmann and his co-conspirators helped high-net-worth US taxpayers set-up and implement the Singapore Solution concerning their undeclared bank accounts at Privatbank IHAG Zurich AG (IHAG), a Swiss private bank. 

According to the Department of Justice, Schnellmann and his colleagues transferred more than $60 million from the US-owned undeclared IHAG bank accounts through a series of nominee accounts in Hong Kong and other locations before returning the funds to newly opened accounts at IHAG in the name of a Singapore-based asset-management firm that Schnellmann helped establish.

IHAG participated in the 2013 IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program for Swiss Banks.  Surely, as a result of this process, IHAG disclosed a lot of information concerning the Singapore Solution.  This allowed the IRS to track down not only the noncompliant US clients of that bank, but also the Singapore Solution creators and facilitators, like Mr. Schnellamann.  He was arrested in August of 2023 in Italy and extradited to the United States.

The IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) conducted the investigation with the help of the US Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, Interpol, Italian law enforcement authorities, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Trieste and the Italian Ministry of Justice.

Singapore Solution: Consequences of the Guilty Plea for Schnellmann

As a result of the guilty plea, Mr. Schnellmann is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19, 2024. He now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Singapore Solution: Lessons

The Schnellmann case and the Singapore Solution that he co-authored allow us to deduce certain lessons.  First and most obvious, one must respect the difference between legitimate even if aggressive tax planning and criminal tax evasion.  Mr. Schnellmann crossed that line and will pay a high price for it.

Second, US taxpayers must declare their foreign accounts to the IRS on FBAR, Form 8938 and Schedule B of Form 1040.  Failure to do so may bring very painful consequences in the form of high IRS civil and even criminal penalties.

Finally, there is really no safe place for noncompliant taxpayers to hide. Even if they have been lucky to avoid IRS detection of their noncompliance so far, a disclosure from third parties may lead to an IRS investigation that may ultimately result in the discovery of the noncompliance.  In this case, the IRS will most likely impose very heavy penalties for noncompliance (made even heavier by the fact that the IRS had to invest a lot of resources and man-hours into the case).

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help With the Voluntary Disclosure of Your Undisclosed Foreign Assets and Foreign Income

For all of these reasons, noncompliant taxpayers should explore their offshore voluntary disclosure options before the IRS finds out about their noncompliance. Otherwise, an IRS audit will make it impossible for them to lower their IRS noncompliance penalties through a voluntary disclosure.

Sherayzen Law Office is a leader in the IRS offshore voluntary disclosures, including disclosures that involve foreign income noncompliance and foreign asset reporting noncompliance (on FBAR, Form 8938, 3520, 3520-A, 5471, 8865, 8858, et cetera).  Led by Mr. Eugene Sherayzen, a highly-experienced international tax attorney, our international tax team has helped hundreds of US taxpayers around the globe to bring their tax affairs into full compliance with the IRS while lowering and sometimes even eliminating IRS penalties.

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

2023 FBAR Conversion Rates | FBAR International Tax Lawyer

The 2023 FBAR conversion rates are very important for your US international tax compliance. The reason for their importance is their relation to FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) and the IRS Form 8938. The 2023 FBAR and 2023 Form 8938 instructions both require that 2023 FBAR conversion rates be used to report the required highest balances of foreign financial assets on these forms (in the case of Form 8938, the 2023 FBAR conversion rates is the default choice, not an exclusive one). In other words, the 2023 FBAR conversion rates are used to translate foreign-currency highest balances into US dollars for the purposes of FBAR and Form 8938 compliance.

The U.S. Department of Treasury  already published the 2023 FBAR conversion rates online (they are called “Treasury’s Financial Management Service rates” or the “FMS rates”).

Since the 2023 FBAR conversion rates are highly important to US taxpayers, international tax lawyers and international tax accountants, Sherayzen Law Office provides the table below listing the official 2023 FBAR 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 – AFGHANI70.54
ALBANIA – LEK93.23
ALGERIA – DINAR134.051
ANGOLA – KWANZA842.5
ANTIGUA – BARBUDA – E. CARIBBEAN DOLLAR2.7000
ARGENTINA – PESO827.75
ARMENIA – DRAM400
AUSTRALIA – DOLLAR1.472
AUSTRIA – EURO0.905
AZERBAIJAN – NEW MANAT1.7
BAHAMAS – DOLLAR1.0000
BAHRAIN – DINAR0.3770
BANGLADESH – TAKA113
BARBADOS – DOLLAR2.02
BELARUS – NEW RUBLEUNAVAILABLE*
BELGIUM – EURO0.905
BELIZE – DOLLAR2
BENIN – CFA FRANC 589
BERMUDA – DOLLAR1
BOLIVIA – BOLIVIANO6.86
BOSNIA – MARKA1.769
BOTSWANA – PULA13.387
BRAZIL – REAL4.852
BRUNEI – DOLLAR1.32
BULGARIA – LEV New1.769
BURKINA FASO – CFA FRANC589
BURUNDI – FRANC2850
CAMBODIA – RIEL4051
CAMEROON – CFA FRANC593.41
CANADA – DOLLAR1.326
CAPE VERDE – ESCUDO99.75
CAYMAN ISLANDS – DOLLAR0.82
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – CFA FRANC593.41
CHAD – CFA FRANC593.41
CHILE – PESO880
CHINA – RENMINBI7.104
COLOMBIA – PESO3873
COMOROS – FRANC443.49
CONGO – CFA FRANC593.41
COSTA RICA – COLON519.22
COTE D’IVOIRE – CFA FRANC589
CROATIA – EURO0.905
CUBA – Chavito1
CUBA – PESO24
CYPRUS – EURO0.905
CZECH REPUBLIC – KORUNA21.731
DEM. REP. OF CONGO – FRANC2660
DENMARK – KRONE6.744
DJIBOUTI – FRANC177
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – PESO57.9
ECUADOR – DOLARES1.0000
EGYPT – POUND30.9
EL SALVADOR – DOLARES1.0000
EQUATORIAL GUINEA – CFA FRANC593.41
ERITREA – NAKFA15
ESTONIA – EURO0.905
ESWATINI – LILANGENI18.427
ETHIOPIA – BIRR55.997
EURO ZONE – EURO0.905
FIJI – DOLLAR2.165
FINLAND – EURO0.905
FRANCE – EURO0.905
GABON – CFA FRANC593.41
GAMBIA – DALASI64
GEORGIA – LARI2.665
GERMANY – EURO0.905
GHANA – CEDI11.9
GREECE – EURO0.936
GRENADA – EAST CARIBBEAN DOLLAR2.7
GUATEMALA – QUETZAL7.815
GUINEA BISSAU – CFA FRANC589
GUINEA – FRANC8511
GUYANA – DOLLAR215
HAITI – GOURDE131.23
HONDURAS – LEMPIRA24.624
HONG KONG – DOLLAR7.811
HUNGARY – FORINT345.78
ICELAND – KRONA136.04
INDIA – RUPEE83.162
INDONESIA – RUPIAH15372.69
IRAN – RIAL42000
IRAQ – DINAR1308
IRELAND – EURO0.905
ISRAEL – SHEKEL3.619
ITALY – EURO0.905
JAMAICA – DOLLAR154
JAPAN – YEN141.47
JORDAN – DINAR0.708
KAZAKHSTAN – TENGE456.29
KENYA – SHILLING156.5
KOREA – WON1299.22
KOSOVO – EURO0.905
KUWAIT – DINAR0.307
KYRGYZSTAN – SOM89.062
LAOS – KIP20476
LATVIA – EURO0.905
LEBANON – POUND15000
LESOTHO – MALOTI18.427
LIBERIA – DOLLAR189
LIBYA – DINAR4.754
LITHUANIA – EURO0.905
LUXEMBOURG – EURO0.905
MADAGASCAR – ARIARY4564
MALAWI – KWACHA1700
MALAYSIA – RINGGIT4.59
MALDIVES – RUFIYAA15.42
MALI – CFA FRANC589
MALTA – EURO0.905
MARSHALL ISLANDS – DOLLAR1
MAURITANIA – OUGUIYA39.16
MAURITIUS – RUPEE43.87
MEXICO – PESO16.949
MICRONESIA – DOLLAR1
MOLDOVA – LEU17.25
MONGOLIA – TUGRIK3410.69
MONTENEGRO – EURO0.905
MOROCCO – DIRHAM9.855
MOZAMBIQUE – METICAL 63.25
MYANMAR – KYAT3380
NAMIBIA – DOLLAR18.427
NEPAL – RUPEE133.05
NETHERLANDS – EURO0.905
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES – GUILDER1.78
NEW ZEALAND – DOLLAR1.585
NICARAGUA – CORDOBA36.6
NIGER – CFA FRANC589
NIGERIA – NAIRA910
NORWAY – KRONE10.166
OMAN – RIAL0.385
PAKISTAN – RUPEE276.2
PALAU – DOLLAR1
PANAMA – DOLARES1
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – KINA3.727
PARAGUAY – GUARANI7249.99
PERU – SOL3.675
PHILIPPINES – PESO55.451
POLAND – ZLOTY3.924
PORTUGAL – EURO0.905
QATAR – RIYAL3.645
REP. OF N MACEDONIA – DINAR55.45
ROMANIA – NEW LEU 4.499
RUSSIA – RUBLE89.067
RWANDA – FRANC1250
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE – NEW DOBRAS22.142
SAUDI ARABIA – RIYAL3.75
SENEGAL – CFA FRANC589
SERBIA – DINAR105.92
SEYCHELLES – RUPEE13.473
SIERRA LEONE – LEONE22.7
SIERRA LEONE – OLD LEONE21.4
SINGAPORE – DOLLAR1.32
SLOVAK REPUBLIC – EURO0.905
SLOVENIA – EURO0.905
SOLOMON ISLANDS – DOLLAR8.065
SOMALI – SHILLING568
SOUTH AFRICA – RAND18.427
SOUTH SUDANESE – POUND1070
SPAIN – EURO0.905
SRI LANKA – RUPEE323.8
ST LUCIA – E CARIBBEAN DOLLAR2.7
SUDAN – SUDANESE POUND830
SURINAME – GUILDER36.723
SWEDEN – KRONA10.031
SWITZERLAND – FRANC0.838
SYRIA – POUND8585
TAIWAN – DOLLAR30.641
TAJIKISTAN – SOMONI10.93
TANZANIA – SHILLING2505
THAILAND – BAHT34.33
TIMOR – LESTE DILI1
TOGO – CFA FRANC589
TONGA – PA’ANGA2.26
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – DOLLAR6.749
TUNISIA – DINAR3.064
TURKEY – NEW LIRA29.547
TURKMENISTAN – NEW MANAT3.491
UGANDA – SHILLING3775
UKRAINE – HRYVNIA38.089
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DIRHAM3.673
UNITED KINGDOM – POUND STERLING0.786
URUGUAY – PESO39.02
UZBEKISTAN – SOM12333.77
VANUATU – VATU116
VENEZUELA – BOLIVAR SOBERANO35.841
VENEZUELA – FUERTE (OLD)248832
VIETNAM – DONG24260
WESTERN SAMOA – TALA2.653
YEMEN – RIAL528
ZAMBIA – NEW KWACHA 25.71
ZIMBABWE – RTGS5801.47

*Note #1: As of the time of this article, the Department of Treasury still has not published the FBAR rate for Belarus. Please, consult the Department of the Treasury for clarification.

Happy New Year 2024 From International Tax Law Firm Sherayzen Law Office!!!

Dear clients, followers, readers and colleagues:

Mr. Eugene Sherayzen, an international tax attorney, and the entire international tax team of Sherayzen Law Office, Ltd. wishes you a very Happy New Year 2024!!!

Dear clients and prospective clients, in the New Year 2024, you can continue to rely on Sherayzen Law Office for:

  1. Resolution of your prior FBAR, FATCA and other US international tax noncompliance through offshore voluntary disclosure, including Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures (SDOP)Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (SFOP)Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures, Delinquent International Information Return Submission ProceduresIRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice and Reasonable Cause Disclosures;
  2. Help with your IRS audits and examination, including audits of: your prior SDOP and SFOP submissions (as well as other voluntary disclosure options) and your annual international tax compliance. We can also help you fight the imposition of IRS penalties for prior international tax noncompliance, including FBAR penalties, Form 8938 penaltiesForm 3520 and 3520-A penalties, Form 5471 penaltiesForm 5472 penaltiesForm 8865 penaltiesForm 926 penalties, et cetera;
  3. Preparation of your annual US international tax compliance, including the reporting of foreign income and preparation of FBAR, FATCA Form 8938 and other US international tax compliance forms such as: Forms 3520, 3520-A, 5471862188658938 and 926 and
  4. Your international tax planning (inbound and outbound), including individual and business tax planning, We intend to continue to help US firms with conducting business overseas, US owners of foreign businesses and foreign businesses who wish to expand their presence to the United States (including real estate investors).

In resolving all of your current US international tax issues, we will continue to employ ethical creativity, diligence, professionalism and many years of experience with helping other clients. We will also continue to utilize an individual, customized approach, understanding each client’s particular situation.

In 2024, the US international tax compliance requirements will likely grow even more complex, detailed and extensive. The IRS will continue to demand more and more information from US taxpayers, employing its expanding number of revenue agents to enforce US tax laws across the globe and especially in the United States.

In order to deal with this ever-increasing US tax compliance burden, you will need the professional help of Sherayzen Law Office. In this New Year 2024, we can help you!

Your professional US international tax help is but a phone call away from you! Contact us today to schedule a confidential consultation in this New Year 2024!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024 EVERYONE!!!

2023 FBAR Deadline in 2024 | FinCEN Form 114 International Tax Lawyer & Attorney

The 2023 FBAR deadline is a critical deadline for US taxpayers this calendar year 2024. What makes FBAR so important are the draconian FBAR penalties which may be imposed on noncompliant taxpayers. Let’s discuss the 2023 FBAR deadline in more detail.

2023 FBAR Deadline: Background Information

The official name of FBAR is FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial AccountsUS Persons must file FBAR if they have a financial interest in or signatory or any other authority over foreign financial accounts if the highest aggregate value of these accounts is in excess of $10,000. FBARs must be timely e-filed separately from federal tax returns.

Failure to file an FBAR may result in the imposition of heavy FBAR penalties. The FBAR penalties vary from criminal penalties and willful penalties to non-willful penalties. You can find more details about FBAR penalties in this article.

2023 FBAR Deadline: Pre-2016 FBAR Deadline

For the years preceding 2016, US persons needed to file FBARs by June 30 of each year. For example, the 2013 FBAR was due on June 30, 2014. No filing extensions were allowed. The last FBAR that followed the June 30 deadline was the 2015 FBAR; its due date was June 30, 2016. .

2023 FBAR Deadline: Changes to FBAR Deadline Starting with the 2016 FBAR

For many years, the strange FBAR filing rules greatly confused US taxpayers. First of all, it was difficult to learn about the existence of the form. Second, many taxpayers simply missed the unusual FBAR filing deadline.

The US Congress took action in 2015 to alleviate this problem. As it usually happens, it did so when it passed a law that, on its surface, had nothing to do with FBARs. The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (the “Act”) changed the FBAR deadline starting with the 2016 FBAR. Section 2006(b)(11) of the Act requires the FBARs to be filed by the due date of that year’s tax return (i.e. usually April 15), not June 30.

Furthermore, the IRS granted to US taxpayers an automatic extension of the FBAR filing deadline to October 15. For now, taxpayers do not need to make any specific requests in order for an extension to be granted.

Thus, starting with the 2016 FBAR, the Act adjusted the FBAR due date to coincide with the federal income tax filing deadlines. This is the case even if federal law requires a different filing date. For example, in situations where the tax return due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the IRS must delay the due date until the next business day; the FBAR deadline will follow suit and also shift to the next business day.

2023 FBAR Deadline

Based on the current law, for the vast majority of filers, the 2023 FBAR deadline will be April 15, 2024. However, the deadline is automatically extended to October 15, 2024.

The 2023 FBAR must be e-filed through the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) BSA E-filing system.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help With Your FBAR Compliance

If you have unreported foreign accounts, contact Sherayzen Law Office as soon as possible. Sherayzen Law Office is a leader in US international tax compliance and offshore voluntary disclosures. We have successfully helped hundreds of US taxpayers around the globe with their FBAR compliance and FBAR voluntary disclosures; and we can help you!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

Form 114 US Person Definition | FBAR Tax Lawyer

FinCEN Form 114 US Person definition is a highly important component of FBAR and US international tax compliance.  In this essay, I will discuss in detail the FinCEN Form 114 US Person definition and highlight some common issues that arise with respect to this definition.

Form 114 US Person Definition: What is Form 114 and What is its Relation to FBAR

FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (used to be TD F 90-22.1) is commonly known as FBAR, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. This form is used by US persons to report to the IRS a financial interest in or signatory authority over foreign financial accounts.  This is one of the most important forms that US taxpayers need to file in order to comply with their US international tax law requirements. A failure to file an FBAR when required may result in an imposition of severe IRS penalties.

Form 114 US Person Definition: Only US Persons are Required to File FBARs

It is important to understand that only “US Persons”, as defined by the IRS for the FBAR compliance purposes, are required to file FBARs.  What is the legal basis for this and where does this term “US Person” come from?

BSA (Bank Secrecy Act) §5314(a) states that the Secretary of the Treasury shall require a “resident or citizen of the United States or a person, in, and doing business in, the United States, to keep records, file reports”.  This seems like the FBAR requirement may apply a hugely broad group of people (far beyond US residents and citizens), especially if one takes into account that the “United States” is defined to include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the territories, and insular possessions of the United States and the Indian lands as defined in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. 31 CFR §§1010.350(b) and 1010.100(hhh).  The territories and possessions of the United States include American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands (see BSA Electronic Filing Requirements for Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FinCEN Form 114), p. 5.).

Despite this initial impression, the actual definition that we use today is much smaller than what is mandated by §5314(a) and it is thanks to BSA §5314(b)BSA §5314(b) states that the IRS has the discretion to interpret what this provision actually means and who is exempt from the FBAR filing requirement.

Armed with this authority, on February 26, 2010, the IRS issued proposed regulations, which for the first time defined that only “US Persons” needed to file FBARs. This is why we discuss the definition of a US Person when we discuss who is required to file FBARs.

Form 114 US Person Definition: Who is a Person

Before we turn to the definition of a “US Person”, we need to discuss who is considered to be a “Person” for the Form 114 purposes. Under 31 CFR §1010.350(b), a “person” includes:  natural persons (US citizens and US residents) and entities, including but not limited to: corporations, partnerships, trusts, or limited liability companies formed under the laws of the United States.  This definition includes entities disregarded for tax purposes (as long as they are US persons).

Additionally, pension and welfare plans are also US entities that need to file FBARs. See Amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act Regulations—Reports of Foreign Financial Accounts, 76 Fed. Reg. 10, 234 (Feb. 24, 2011); IRM 4.26.16.2.1.3(3) (06-24-21).  Even though the regulations do not mention it, the Form 114 instructions expand the “person” definition to estates.  It is important to note that, according to page 6 of the FBAR electronic filing instructions, an executor of an estate has a fiduciary obligation to file FBAR on behalf of the estate and on behalf of the decedent in the year following the decedent’s death.

Form 114 US Person Definition: General Definition of a US Person

The definition of a US person includes the following categories of persons:

(1) US citizens;

(2) residents of the United States;

(3) an entity, such as a corporation, partnership and a limited liability company, created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States;

(4) a trust formed under the laws of the United States; and

(5) an estate formed under the laws of the United States.

Let’s analyze each of these categories in more detail.

Form 114 US Person Definition: US Citizens

All US citizens are subject to the FBAR filing requirement, even minor children.  The general definition of a US citizen is contained in 8 USC §1401.

Form 114 US Person Definition: US Residents

All US residents are subject to FBAR filing requirements.  Pursuant to 31 CFR §1010.350(b)(2), the definition of “US residents” follows the definition of a resident alien under §7701(b) with one modification – the definition of the “United States” still follows 1010.100(hhh) described above. Also, see IRM 4.26.16.2.1.2 (11-06-15).

There are three classes of US residents: (1) US permanent residents; (2) persons who satisfied the Substantial Presence Test; and (3) persons who elected to be treated as US residents.  Let’s discuss each of these classes of US residents in more detail.

1.  US Permanent Residents (the “Green Card Test”)

A person is considered a US person if at any time during the calendar year the person has been lawfully granted the privilege of residing permanently in the United States under the immigration laws and such status has not been revoked. 26 USC §§7701(b)(1)(A)(i) and 7701(b)(6).

One of the most common issues occurs when a person has been issued a green card and he has not yet physically entered the United States. In such cases, this person would not be considered as a resident alien until he actually physically enters the United States. 26 USC §7701(b)(2)(A)(ii).  Once he enters the country, however, he becomes a US permanent resident and continues to be one until the green card is revoked or considered abandoned either judicially or administratively. See 26 CFR §301.7701(b)-1(b)(2) and 26 CFR §301.7701(b)-1(b)(3).

2.  Substantial Presence Test

Even if a person is not a US permanent resident, he may still be considered a US Person if he meets the IRC §7701(b)(3) substantial presence test.  In reality, there are two substantial presence tests.

The first substantial presence test is met if a person is physically present in the United States for at least 183 days during the calendar year. 26 USC §7701(b)(3).  The second substantial presence test is met if two conditions are satisfied: (1) the person is present in the United States for at least 31 days during the calendar year; and (2) the sum of the days on which this person was present in the United States during the current and the two preceding calendar years (multiplied by the fractions found in §7701(b)(3)(A)(ii)) equals to or exceeds 183 days. 26 USC 7701(b)(3)(A).

Let’s focus on the mechanics of the second calculation.  The way to determine whether the 183-day test is met is to add: (a) all days present in the United States during the current calendar year (i.e. the year for which you are trying to determine whether the Substantial Presence Test is met) + (b) one-third of the days spent in the United States in the year immediately preceding the current year + (c) one-sixth of the days spent in the United States in the second year preceding the current calendar year. See 26 USC §7701(b)(3).

Note that the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) provides a number of important exceptions to the Substantial Presence Test.  In this article, I am just providing the general rule.

3.  Election to be Treated as a US Resident Alien

A person who makes the first-year election to be treated as a US resident alien pursuant to §7701(b)(4) is a US Person for FBAR purposes.   Note, however, that this rule applies only to elections made under this provision.  A nonresident alien spouse of a US person who makes an election under the IRC §§6013(g) and 6013(h) to be treated as a resident alien will not be considered as a US person for the FBAR compliance purposes.  This is an important divergence between the income tax and FBAR rules.

Form 114 US Person Definition: US Entities, Trusts & Estates

Entities (corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, et cetera), trusts and estates created, organized or formed in the United States or under the laws of the United States are generally considered to be US Persons for FBAR purposes.

A foreign subsidiary of a US parent will not have any FBAR obligations as long as it is not formed, created or organized under the laws of the United States. However, the US parent company may be required to include the foreign accounts of its foreign subsidiary on its FBAR. 31 CFR §1010.350(e)(2)(ii).

Moreover, a foreign entity organized in and under the laws of a foreign country will not be subject to the FBAR requirements even if it elects to be treated as a US entity for US tax purposes. See Amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act Regulations—Reports of Foreign Financial Accounts, 76 Fed. Reg. 10, 234-238 (Feb. 24, 2011).

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help with Your FBAR Compliance

If you need questions concerning your FBAR compliance or a voluntary disclosure concerning your prior FBAR noncompliance, contact Sherayzen Law Office for professional help!  Our firm specializes in FBAR compliance and offshore voluntary disclosures to remedy prior FBAR noncompliance.

We have helped hundreds of clients around the world and we can help you! Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!