A Simple Streamlined Filing Procedure Guide (New 2027)
It is not uncommon for U.S. taxpayers in the United States and abroad who have foreign accounts, assets, and investments to be out of compliance with their annual reporting requirements. Each year, taxpayers are required to file several international information reporting forms in order to disclose their foreign account and asset information to the IRS and U.S. government. In addition, taxpayers have to report their foreign income on their U.S. tax return, and depending on the type and category of foreign income, they may have very complex tax calculations required– such as PFIC excess distributions. With that said, it is important to understand the basics of making a streamlined submission without getting overwhelmed by false advertising, ‘free consultations, ‘ and fear tactics.
Who are Golding & Golding?
We are a full-service tax and law firm that specializes exclusively in offshore disclosure matters. We have represented thousands of taxpayers across 85+ different countries with offshore disclosure. Each case is led by a board-certified tax law specialist.
What are the Streamlined Procedures?
The Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures are an IRS program designed to assist non-willful taxpayers with safely getting into compliance for missed foreign income and account/asset reporting. There is nothing criminal about the streamlined procedures and you are not entering into a plea deal with the government. It is simply a mechanism used by taxpayers to acknowledge their prior reporting mistakes come and get into compliance, and continue to file going forward.
Who is Eligible?
To be eligible for the streamlined procedures, taxpayers must be non-willful. We have several different resources online explaining non-willfulness and distinguishing it from willfulness. Then, depending on whether the taxpayers applying to the streamlined program for U.S. residents or streamlined program for non-us residents would dictate the remaining requirements to be eligible for the program.
What Type of Information do I Report?
Taxpayers are required to disclose all of their foreign accounts, assets, and investments unless an exception, exclusion, or limitation applies. For the most part, unless the foreign accounts are Social Security accounts or certain crypto accounts, most foreign accounts are reportable for a streamlined submission.
Does Everyone Get Accepted into the Program?
No. Just by submitting to the streamlined procedures does not mean you are automatically in compliance. At our firm, we have successfully submitted several 1000 offshore disclosure applications, so for the most part, if the submission is done properly by a specialist, then there should be no problem for the taxpayer getting approved, but there are no guarantees.
How to Find the Right Tax/Law Team
Taxpayers should be wary of free consultations and other fear-mongering and scare tactics they find online. Taxpayers should find firms that specialize exclusively in offshore disclosure and have board-certified tax law specialists on staff. Taxpayers should be sure to interview multiple firms to get a better idea of the different services and fees so that the taxpayers’ expectations are met.
Check The Law Firm’s Credentials
A final word of caution: unfortunately, these days tax attorneys can claim anything they want online because oftentimes taxpayers are too overwhelmed or nervous to do the proper due diligence. If an attorney says they are licensed, then you want to confirm that they are licensed and active on the State Bar website in which they are licensed. If the taxpayer says that they are a board-certified tax law specialist, then you want to confirm which State Bar they are licensed as a specialist. Unfortunately, the type of firms that misrepresent their experience and credentials are the same type of firms that are not going to refund you when you learn after the fact that you were misrepresented by the firm in the first place.
Late Filing Penalties May Be Reduced or Avoided
For Taxpayers who did not timely file their FBAR and/or other international information-related reporting forms, the IRS has developed many different offshore amnesty programs to assist Taxpayers with safely getting into compliance. These programs may reduce or even eliminate international reporting penalties.
Current Year vs. Prior Year Non-Compliance
Once a taxpayer misses the tax and reporting (such as FBAR and FATCA) requirements for prior years, they will want to be careful before submitting their information to the IRS in the current year. That is because they may risk making a quiet disclosure if they just begin filing forward in the current year and/or mass filing previous year forms without doing so under one of the approved IRS offshore submission procedures. Before filing prior untimely foreign reporting forms, Taxpayers should consider speaking with a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist who specializes exclusively in these types of offshore disclosure matters.
Avoid False Offshore Disclosure Submissions (Willful vs Non-Willful)
In recent years, the IRS has increased the level of scrutiny for certain streamlined procedure submissions. When a person is non-willful, they have an excellent chance of making a successful submission to Streamlined Procedures. If they are willful, they would submit to the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program instead. But, if a willful Taxpayer submits an intentionally false narrative under the Streamlined Procedures (and gets caught), they may become subject to significant fines and penalties.
Need Help Finding an Experienced Offshore Tax Attorney?
When it comes to hiring an experienced international tax attorney to represent you for unreported foreign and offshore account reporting, it can become overwhelming for Taxpayers trying to trek through all the false information and nonsense they will find in their online research. There are only a handful of attorneys worldwide who are Board-Certified Tax Specialists and who specialize exclusively in offshore disclosure and international tax amnesty reporting.
*This resource may help Taxpayers seeking to hire offshore tax counsel: How to Hire an Offshore Disclosure Lawyer.
Golding & Golding: About Our International Tax Law Firm
Golding & Golding specializes exclusively in international tax, specifically IRS offshore disclosure.
Contact our firm today for assistance.