FBAR (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report)
IRS Grants Limited Relief for Foreign Bank Account Reporting
If your organization has a foreign bank account , you need to make certain that you comply with reporting rules because the penalties for noncompliance can be steep. U.S. persons, including tax-exempt organizations, with a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account are generally required to file Form TD F 90-22.1 , Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) with the Department of the Treasury. The FBAR is due by June 30 for a foreign account in which the aggregate value exceeded $10,000 at any time during the previous calendar year.
HIRE Act Contains Several New Tax Incentives to Promote Job Creation
Last week, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (HR 2847) . The law includes several major tax provisions designed to promote job creation as the nation’s economy continues to recover from recession. The Act introduces the “ Hire Now Tax Cut ” to qualified employers both in the form of payroll forgiveness for Social Security taxes paid for qualified new hires, as well as a tax credit for keeping those employees on payroll for 52 consecutive weeks. Click here to read CB&H’s recent Tax Bulletin on the HIRE Act for more information about these provisions. The Act also extends enhanced Code Sec. 179 expensing threshold levels through December 31, 2010. This extension means that the previous limits of $125,000 with a $500,000 cap will. Read More.
IRS Issues New Extended Deadline for Offshore Voluntary Compliance Program
The deadline for voluntary disclosures by taxpayers with unreported income from hidden offshore accounts has been extended to October 15, 2009. Under special provisions issued in March, taxpayers with undisclosed foreign accounts originally had until September 23, 2009 to come forward. The IRS has warned those taxpayers who do not voluntarily disclose these accounts that they face much harsher civil penalties, where applicable, and possible criminal prosecution if these accounts are discovered by means other than voluntary disclosure. The deadline was extended after receiving repeated requests from tax practitioners and attorneys around the country following an influx of taxpayer requests. Interest in the voluntary disclosure program has exceeded even the IRS’s. Read More.
Help For New 990 from the IRS
The new Form 990 is certainly causing a lot of perplexity for preparers and exempt organizations of all kinds. The IRS has an on-going program of providing tips (in the form of FAQs) for various parts of the return and its schedules. These FAQs are being issued section by section and will continue to be released as they are prepared by the IRS. To date, there are FAQs on Executive Compensation , Governance , Related Organizations (Schedule R) and Foreign Activities (Schedule F) . These contain some very useful information and “cut to the chase” in ways that the 990 instructions do not. It appears that the IRS is tackling the most difficult sections first and working towards the. Read More.
IRS Extends FBAR Filing Deadline for Persons with Signature Authority
With the growing number of investments in offshore funds, the IRS is boosting its scrutiny of accounts established in certain tax havens to identify possible sources of income that are not currently being taxed. As part of its efforts, the IRS is focusing more attention on Form TD 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”). The FBAR is required to be filed by U.S. persons (including tax-exempt organizations) having a financial interest in or signature authority over any financial account in a foreign country if the aggregate value of those accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the. Read More.