McMahon & Tivnan regularly advises clients on international tax matters ensuring full compliance while minimizing IRS penalties. Our firm’s comprehensive understanding of U.S. and international tax laws, rules, and regulations ensures sound legal representation for complex international tax matters. We work closely with clients and their accountants to bring taxpayers into compliance and ensure ongoing compliance in the most tax efficient manner.
Foreign Asset Reporting
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FACTA”) increased requirements for U.S. taxpayers to report foreign assets, including foreign financial accounts. Our firm has extensive experience counseling taxpayers on their U.S. tax reporting obligations of their assets overseas. Our attorneys work closely with clients to classify non-U.S. assets and determine whether the asset is reportable on required information returns including the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), Form 8938, and Form 5471. McMahon & Tivnan has successfully minimized penalties for non-reporting of foreign information returns and regularly counsels clients on voluntary disclosures to resolve non-compliance.
GILTI Tax Calculation and Reporting
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) created the imposition of the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) rules. A key tenant of the rules is the requirement of U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (“CFCs”) to include GILTI in gross income each year, disincentivizing them to shift income offshore to low tax jurisdictions.
McMahon & Tivnan frequently advises U.S. taxpayers on the impact of GILTI and assists them to identify which assets are subject to the regulations. Our attorneys work closely with accountants and understand the complexities of the GILTI calculation and its impact on a Taxpayer’s return. Our firm also regularly counsels previously non-compliant Taxpayers to bring them into full compliance with GILTI regulations.
Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures
Taxpayers who have failed to report foreign financial assets, pay tax due in respect of those assets, or fail to report foreign income face a multitude of penalties from the IRS. However, taxpayers whose non-compliance did not result from willful conduct on their part may be eligible to make a voluntary disclosure under the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (“Streamlined Procedures”). The Streamlined procedures allows Taxpayers to pay a minimal penalty in exchange for their full disclosure.
McMahon & Tivnan has submitted hundreds of Streamlined Procedures disclosures and our attorneys are experts in eligibility and requirements of the program. We regularly advise clients who failed to report foreign financial assets and help bring them into full compliance.