IRS Beats the Drums – Re: Foreign Assets, Just Days Before April 15
The IRS is not letting up regarding USCs and LPRs living outside the U.S. Quite the opposite, the most recent announcement of the IRS released yesterday on April 11th, emphasizes the U.S. tax law requirements and their applicability to these individuals.
Specifically, the IRS reiterates as follows in IR-2014-52 – IRS Reminds Those with Foreign Assets of U.S. Tax Obligations:
- The Internal Revenue Service reminds U.S. citizens and resident aliens, including those with dual citizenship who have lived or worked abroad during all or part of 2013, that they may have a U.S. tax liability and a filing requirement in 2014.
- The filing deadline is Monday, June 16, 2014, for U.S. citizens and resident aliens living overseas, or serving in the military outside the U.S. on the regular due date of their tax return. Eligible taxpayers get one additional day because the normal June 15 extended due date falls on Sunday this year. To use this automatic two-month extension, taxpayers must attach a statement to their return explaining which of these two situations applies. See U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad for details.
The April 11th date of the notice is ironic, since it is on the eve of the filing deadline for individuals who live within the U.S. Surely, the IRS wants to bring attention to these legal requirements days before the April 15th deadline for those residing in the U.S.
The irony is that the tax law does not require USCs or LPRs who live outside the U.S. and have U.S. tax filing obligations to file by April 15th. The deadline for these individuals who live outside the U.S. is not until June 15th as explained in the IRS notice (June 16th in 2014, since the 15th falls on a Sunday).
In this notice, the IRS does not emphasize the draconian penalties that befall these taxpayers for not filing international information returns or FBARs. The minimum civil penalties for failures to file these forms is almost always at least US$10,000. See, USCs and LPRs Living Outside the U.S. – Key Tax and BSA Forms.
Next, the due date for filing of FBARs is not the same as the due date for income tax returns, June 15th, but always falls on June 30th. There is no extension for FBARs, unlike income tax returns. See, Nuances of FBAR – Foreign Bank Account Report Filings – for USCs and LPRs living outside the U.S.
Will the IRS publish another notice, or beat more drums on the eve of the June 15th (16th for 2014) filing deadline for USCs and LPRs living outside the United States?
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April 30, 2014 at 9:39 am
[…] However, if the USC or LPR (where the LPR continues to be an income tax resident; notwithstanding the potential tax treaty override rules) live outside the U.S. the due date of the tax return is June 15th (June 16th in 2014, since the 15th falls on a Sunday). See my earlier post, IRS Beats the Drums – Re: Foreign Assets, Just Days Before April 15, […]