Voluntary Disclosure of Foreign Held Assets

In ongoing efforts to identify US taxpayers hiding assets overseas and raise additional tax revenue, the IRS announced changes to its Voluntary Disclosure Program and the Closing of an Offshore Loophole.  Under previous iterations of the Voluntary Disclosure program, the IRS states that it has collected in excess of 4.4 billion in additional taxes, bringing a significant number of taxpayers back into the US tax system.  The current program, announced in January of 2012, has penalty provisions ranging from 5% to 27.5 percent, depending on individual taxpayer circumstances.

IR-2012-5, Jan. 9, 2012 – http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=252162,00.html

IR-2012-64, June 26, 2012 – http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=258430,00.html