The penalties have always been steep for tax evasion in the United States. With the fairly recent Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) from the IRS, there is an option to reduce penalties by filing for the reporting of offshore accounts. Through the OVDP, taxpayers can find relief from being responsible for the possible prison time and high fees.
The majority of penalties for tax fraud and tax evasion involve prison time between one and five years, a fine of up to $250,000 or both with the cost of prosecution (and a fine of up to $500,000 for corporations). The process to avoid the full charges of tax evasion means filing for the OVDP in the Bethesda or Washington, D.C. area with a tax lawyer who is well-versed in international tax law and the Offshore Disclosure Program.
While there are some who qualify by legal standards as being guilty of tax evasion or tax fraud, not everyone is willfully avoiding paying taxes on their offshore accounts. There are honest mistakes. It’s important to talk to your lawyer to make sure there is compliance for international tax law for offshore accounts. Willful or not, the Foreign Bank Account Reporting agencies are looking for violators, so it’s advantageous to file paperwork before the FATCA (The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) pushes foreign institutions to report accounts that are not reported for taxes.
Contacting the tax lawyers at JDKatz: Attorneys at Law in Bethesda to help you through the filing process for OVDP is your best bet. Our lawyers are well-versed in international tax law and can help give you the best chance at lower penalties for being caught for tax evasion. Set aside the fear of the high IRS penalties and meet with our lawyers for a free case consultation to find out what it will take to file for the OVDP.