The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act sets forth a very specific set of rules regarding the way taxpayers must report their foreign bank accounts and earnings. If you have offshore bank accounts, or foreign sources of income, this is not an area that you can afford to treat lightly — or worse, ignore.
At Abajian Law, our international tax attorneys work closely with clients to discover tangible, practical ways of coming into compliance with IRS requirements for offshore bank accounts, foreign assets and foreign source income. Our international tax lawyers are skilled at working within the tax code to mitigate as much of your existing or potential penalties as possible.
Often, international tax compliance will require a strong understanding of foreign financial products, international tax treaties, and foreign tax credits. Coming into compliance also requires a strong understanding of how the law is developing in terms of willful and non-willful failures to file and FBAR and/or when there can be reasonable cause for the failure to timely file returns related to foreign bank accounts and other assets. Most important of all, our international tax lawyers understand how the IRS has been dealing with foreign tax noncompliance.
Even if you are residing and doing business in a foreign country, you’re taxed based on your U.S. citizenship — not your physical location. However, many foreign countries will consider your physical presence and local commerce as grounds to tax the same income as well. This means that a lot of well-meaning people will find themselves “double” taxed and owing much more than expected.
This can largely be avoided or at least significantly mitigated with the help of an offshore tax attorney, who will provide international tax planning and compliance help based on a deep knowledge of the relevant tax law.
The California-based international tax attorneys at Abajian Law are ready to handle any aspect of your tax questions or issues related to offshore assets or earnings. Before you do anything, consult with an international tax lawyer at Abajian law to discuss your rights and options by calling (818) 396-5059.