Q12: Who is eligible to make a voluntary disclosure under this initiative?
A12: Taxpayers who have undisclosed offshore accounts or assets are eligible to apply for IRS Criminal Investigation’s Voluntary Disclosure Practice and the 2011 OVDI penalty regime for tax years 2003 through 2010.
Q13: Are entities, such as corporations, partnerships and trusts eligible to make voluntary disclosures?
A13: Yes, entities are eligible to participate in the 2011 OVDI.
Q14: I’m currently under examination. Can I come in under voluntary disclosure?
A14: No. If the IRS has initiated a civil examination, regardless of whether it relates to undisclosed foreign accounts or undisclosed foreign entities, the taxpayer will not be eligible to come in under the 2011 OVDI. Taxpayers under criminal investigation by CI are also ineligible. The taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative should discuss the offshore accounts with the agent.
Q15: What if the taxpayer has already filed amended returns reporting the additional unreported income, without making a voluntary disclosure (i.e, quiet disclosure)?
A15: The IRS is aware that some taxpayers have attempted so-called “quiet” disclosures by filing amended returns and paying any related tax and interest for previously unreported offshore income without otherwise notifying the IRS. Taxpayers who have already made “quiet” disclosures are eligible to take advantage of the penalty framework applicable to this initiative by submitting an application, along with copies of their previously filed returns (original and amended) to the IRS’s Voluntary Disclosure Coordinator (see FAQ 24) by August 31, 2011.
Taxpayers are strongly encouraged to come forward under the 2011 OVDI to make timely, accurate, and complete disclosures. Those taxpayers making “quiet” disclosures should be aware of the risk of being examined and potentially criminally prosecuted for all applicable years.
Q16: Some taxpayers have made quiet disclosures by filing amended returns. Will the IRS audit these taxpayers? If so, will they be eligible for the 25 percent offshore penalty? Is the IRS really going to prosecute someone who filed an amended return and correctly reported all their income?
A16: The IRS is reviewing amended returns and could select any amended return for examination. The IRS has identified, and will continue to identify, amended tax returns reporting increases in income. The IRS will closely review these returns to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate. If a return is selected for examination, the 25 percent offshore penalty would not be available. When criminal behavior is evident and the disclosure does not meet the requirements of a voluntary disclosure under IRM 9.5.11.9, the IRS may recommend criminal prosecution to the Department of Justice.
Q17: I have properly reported all my taxable income but I only recently learned that I should have been filing FBARs in prior years to report my personal foreign bank account or to report the fact that I have signature authority over bank accounts owned by my employer. May I come forward under this new initiative to correct this?
A17: The purpose for the voluntary disclosure practice is to provide a way for taxpayers who did not report taxable income in the past to come forward voluntarily and resolve their tax matters. Thus, if you reported and paid tax on all taxable income but did not file FBARs, do not use the voluntary disclosure process.
For taxpayers who reported and paid tax on all their taxable income for prior years but did not file FBARs, you should file the delinquent FBAR reports according to the instructions (send to Department of Treasury, Post Office Box 32621, Detroit, MI 48232-0621) and attach a statement explaining why the reports are filed late. The IRS will not impose a penalty for the failure to file the delinquent FBARs if there are no underreported tax liabilities and the FBARs are filed by August 31, 2010. However, FBARs for 2010 are due on June 30, 2011 and must be filed by that date.
Q18: Question 17 states that a taxpayer who only failed to file an FBAR should not use this process. What about a taxpayer who only has delinquent Form 5471s or Form 3520s but no tax due? Does that taxpayer fall outside this voluntary disclosure process?
A18: A taxpayer who has failed to file tax information returns, such as Form 5471 for controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) or Form 3520 for foreign trusts but who has reported and paid tax on all their taxable income with respect to all transactions related to the CFCs or foreign trusts, should file delinquent information returns with the appropriate service center according to the instructions for the form and attach a statement explaining why the information returns are filed late. (The Form 5471 should be submitted with an amended return showing no change to income or tax liability.) The IRS will not impose a penalty for the failure to file the information returns if there are no underreported tax liabilities and the information returns are filed by August 31, 2011.
Q19: Is a taxpayer who previously sought relief under the IRS’s traditional Voluntary Disclosure Practice or who made a quiet disclosure before the 2011 OVDI was announced eligible for the terms of the 2011 OVDI?
A19: A taxpayer who made a voluntary disclosure (other than a voluntary disclosure under the 2009 OVDP) or made a quiet disclosure is eligible to apply for the 2011 OVDI. Participants in the 2009 OVDP are not eligible.
Q20: If I don’t have the ability to full pay can I still participate in this initiative?
A20: Yes. The terms of this initiative require the taxpayer to pay the tax, interest, and accuracy-related penalty, and, if applicable the failure to file and failure to pay penalties with their submission. However, it is possible for a taxpayer who is unable to make full payment of these amounts to request the IRS to consider other payment arrangements (see FAQ 25).
The burden will be on the taxpayer to establish inability to pay, to the satisfaction of the IRS, based on full disclosure of all assets and income sources, domestic and offshore, under the taxpayer’s control. Assuming that the IRS determines that the inability to fully pay is genuine, the taxpayer must work out other financial arrangements, acceptable to the IRS, to resolve all outstanding liabilities, in order to be entitled to the penalty relief under this initiative.
Q21: If the IRS has served a John Doe summons seeking information that may identify a taxpayer as holding an undisclosed foreign account or undisclosed foreign entity, does that make the taxpayer ineligible to make a voluntary disclosure under this initiative?
A21: No. The mere fact that the Service served a John Doe summons does not make every member of the John Doe class ineligible to participate. However, once the Service obtains information under a John Doe summons that provides evidence of a specific taxpayer’s noncompliance with the tax laws, that particular taxpayer may become ineligible. For this reason, a taxpayer concerned that a party served with a John Doe summons will provide information about him to the Service should apply to make a voluntary disclosure as soon as possible.
