Q31: When determining the highest amount in each undisclosed foreign account for each year or the highest asset balance of all undisclosed foreign entities for each year, what exchange rate should be used?
A31: Convert foreign currency by using the foreign currency exchange rate at the end of the year. In valuing currency of a country that uses multiple exchange rates, use the rate that would apply if the currency in the account were converted into United States dollars at the close of the calendar year. Each account is to be valued separately.
Q32: If a taxpayer’s violation includes unreported individual foreign accounts and business accounts (for an active business), does the 25 percent offshore penalty include the business accounts?
A32: Yes. Assuming that there is unreported income with respect to all the accounts, they all will be included in the penalty base. No distinction is drawn based on whether the account is a business account or a savings or investment account. If the business to which the foreign account relates is a foreign business, the value of the entire business would be included in the penalty base, to the extent of the taxpayer’s interest.
Q33: Is there a de minimis unreported income exception to the 25% penalty?
A33: No. No amount of unreported income is considered de minimis for purposes of determining whether there has been tax non-compliance with respect to an account or asset and whether the account or asset should be included in the base for the 25 percent penalty.
Q34: If the look back period is 2003-2010, what does the taxpayer do if the taxpayer held foreign real estate, sold it in 2002, and did not report the gain on his 2002 return? Does the taxpayer compute the 25% on the highest aggregate balance in 2003-2010? What, if anything, does IRS expect the taxpayer to do with respect to 2002?
A34: Gain realized on a foreign transaction occurring before 2003 does not need to be included as part of the voluntary disclosure. If the proceeds of the transaction were repatriated and were not offshore after December 31, 2002, they will not be included in the base for the 25 percent offshore penalty. On the other hand, if the proceeds remained offshore after December 31, 2002, they will be included in the base for the penalty.
Q35: What kinds of assets does the 25 percent offshore penalty apply to?
A35: The offshore penalty is intended to apply to all of the taxpayer’s offshore holdings that are related in any way to tax non-compliance, regardless of the form of the taxpayer’s ownership or the character of the asset. The penalty applies to all assets directly owned by the taxpayer, including financial accounts holding cash, securities or other custodial assets; tangible assets such as real estate or art; and intangible assets such as patents or stock or other interests in a U.S. or foreign business. If such assets are indirectly held or controlled by the taxpayer through an entity, the penalty may be applied to the taxpayer’s interest in the entity or, if the Service determines that the entity is an alter ego or nominee of the taxpayer, to the taxpayer’s interest in the underlying assets. Tax noncompliance includes failure to report income from the assets, as well as failure to pay U.S. tax that was due with respect to the funds used to acquire the asset.
Q36: A taxpayer owns valuable land and artwork located in a foreign jurisdiction. This property produces no income and there were no reporting requirements regarding this property. Must the taxpayer report the land and artwork and pay a 25% penalty? What if the property produced income that the taxpayer did not report?
A36: The answer to the first question depends on whether the non-income producing assets were acquired with funds improperly non-taxed. The offshore penalty is intended to apply to offshore assets that are related to tax non-compliance.
Thus, if offshore assets were acquired with funds that were subject to U.S. tax but on which no such tax was paid, the offshore penalty would apply regardless of whether the assets are producing current income. Assuming that the assets were acquired with after tax funds or from funds that were not subject to U.S. taxation, if the assets have not yet produced any income, there has been no U.S. taxable event and no reporting obligation to disclose. The taxpayer will be required to report any current income from the property or gain from its sale or other disposition at such time in the future as the income is realized. Because there has not been tax noncompliance, the 25 percent offshore penalty would not apply to those assets.
In answer to the second question, if the assets produced income subject to U.S. tax during 2003-2010 which was not reported, the assets will be included in the penalty computation regardless of the source of the funds used to acquire the assets. If the foreign assets were held in the name of an entity such as a trust or corporation, there would also have been an information return filing obligation that may need to be disclosed. See FAQ 5.
Q37: If a taxpayer transferred funds from one unreported foreign account to another between 2003 and 2010, will he have to pay a 25 percent offshore penalty on both accounts?
A37: No. If the taxpayer can establish that funds were transferred from one account to another, any duplication will be removed before calculating the 25 percent penalty. However, the burden will be on the taxpayer to establish the extent of the duplication.
Q38: If, in addition to other noncompliance, a taxpayer has failed to file an FBAR to report an account over which the taxpayer has signature authority but no beneficial interest (e.g., an account owned by his employer), will that foreign account be included in the base for calculating the taxpayer’s 25 percent offshore penalty?
A38: No. The account the taxpayer has mere signature authority over will be treated as unrelated to the tax noncompliance the taxpayer is voluntarily disclosing. The taxpayer may cure the FBAR delinquency for the account the taxpayer does not own by filing the FBAR with an explanatory statement by August 31, 2011. The answer might be different if: (1) the account over which the taxpayer has signature authority is held in the name of a related person, such as a family member or a corporation controlled by the taxpayer; (2) the account is held in the name of a foreign corporation or trust for which the taxpayer had a Title 26 reporting obligation; or (3) the account was related in some other way to the taxpayer’s tax noncompliance. In these cases, if the taxpayer is determined to have a direct or indirect beneficial interest in the account(s), the taxpayer will be liable for the 25 percent offshore penalty if there is unreported income on the account. On the other hand, if there is no unreported income with respect to the account, no penalty will be imposed.
Q39: If parents have a jointly owned foreign account on which they have made their children signatories, the children have an FBAR filing requirement but no income. Should the children just file delinquent FBARs and have the parents submit a voluntary disclosure? Will both parents be penalized 25% each? Will each parent have a 25% penalty on 50% of the balance?
A39: For those signatories with no ownership interest in the account, such as the children in these facts, they should file delinquent FBARs as previously described in FAQ 17. As for the parents, only one 25% offshore penalty will be applied with respect to voluntary disclosures relating to the same account. In the example, the parents will be jointly required to pay a single 25% penalty on the account. This can be through one parent paying the total penalty or through each paying a portion, at the taxpayers’ option. However, any joint account owner who does not make a voluntary disclosure may be examined and subject to all appropriate penalties.
Q40: If multiple taxpayers are co-owners of an offshore account, who will be liable for the offshore penalty?
A40: In the case of co-owners, each taxpayer who makes a voluntary disclosure will be liable for the penalty on his percentage of the highest aggregate balance in the account. His voluntary disclosure is effective as to his tax liability only. It does not cover the other co-owners. The IRS may examine any co-owner who does not make a voluntary disclosure. Co-owners examined by the IRS will be subject to all appropriate penalties.
Q41: If there are multiple individuals with signature authority over a trust account, does everyone involved need to file delinquent FBARs? If so, could everyone be subject to a 25 percent offshore penalty?
A41: Only one 25 percent offshore penalty will be applied with respect to voluntary disclosures relating to the same account. The penalty may be allocated among the taxpayers with beneficial ownership making the voluntary disclosures in any way they choose. The reporting requirements for filing an FBAR, however, do not change. Therefore, every individual who is required to file an FBAR must file one.
