Offshore Voluntary Disclosure

2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP)

The IRS began an open-ended OVDP in January 2012 because of strong interest in the 2009 and 2011 offshore voluntary disclosure programs. The IRS is offering taxpayers with undisclosed income from offshore accounts another opportunity to get current with their tax returns with a potential penalty of up to 50% of the undisclosed bank account balance. However IRS offers clear benefits to encourage taxpayers to disclose foreign accounts now rather than risk detection by the IRS and possible criminal prosecution.

On June 18th, 2014, the IRS announced the release of the 2014 OVDP program updates, which take effect on July 1. 2014 OVDP is a continuation of the program’s modified terms introduced in 2012 and the IRS may end the OVDP at any time in the future.

With this announcement come major changes to the 2012 OVDP program, there is a new penalty structure included with the 2014 OVDP program, which calls for 50% penalties in many cases, as compared with the current 27.5% penalty rate introduced by 2012 OVDP program. However, not every current OVDP submission requires a 50% penalty up front. We have extensive experience in handling the OVDP submission cases and have successfully negotiated for a reduced penalty or nil penalty for transmission to another voluntary program from OVDP.

We have extensive experience in helping our clients select and submit their delinquent filings. Please contact us for a free initial discussion.