OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures

OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures: The OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures comparison is complex. Heading into 2020, and with rumblings of the International Revenue Service closing the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (SFCP), now is an important time to consider your IRS offshore options, and whether OVDP 2019 is an option for consideration.

The OVDP vs Streamlined comparison is very important for applicants considering offshore disclosure. The IRS has been aggressively enforcing foreign accounts compliance – with no sign of stopping.

OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures

OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures

The Streamlined Procedures for U.S. Residents (domestic) and foreign residents (foreign) are a great alternative to OVDP. But, not all clients will qualify as non-willful.

And, even if a person is non-willful, they may still benefit from traditional voluntary disclosure instead of the streamlined procedures.

*To avoid confusion, we will refer to the OVDP and updated voluntary disclosure as OVDP Voluntary Disclosure.

Let’s take a look and compare OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures.

Offshore & Domestic Offshore Disclosure is Combined

Under either the OVDP Voluntary Disclosure or Streamlined procedure, a person (which includes more than just “individuals”) may submit domestic and foreign income in a single submission.

Important note: When it comes to the streamlined procedure, domestic vs. foreign refers to the residence of the applicant – not the specific locations of the accounts, assets, Investments or income.

Preclearance Letter in OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures

A preclearance letter is used in OVDP Voluntary Disclosure – not streamlined. Testing the IRS waters by intentionally submitting a preclearance letter and then going streamlined is a highly flawed strategy.

While in previous years, the preclearance was “optional,” that is no longer the case. A preclearance letter is submitted on standardized Form 14457the Form was updated in 3/2019.

Six (6) Years of Amended Tax Returns

Under the revised version of OVDP Voluntary Disclosure, the 8-years of tax return submission was reduced to 6-years. Under the streamlined procedures, the applicant is required to submit 3-years of amended or original returns (depending on if a filing was required in a particular year).

6-Year of FBARs in OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures

Under the revised version of OVDP Voluntary Disclosure, the 8-years of FBAR submission was reduced to 6-years. The Streamlined Procedure also requires 6-years, because the FBAR statute of limitations is 6-years.

International Information Return Penalty

One main issue between OVDP vs Streamlined are the international form penalties.

Under the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, there is no penalty (full-penalty waiver). Under Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures, the penalty is limited to a single 5% penalty. Under OVDP Voluntary Disclosure, the IRS may determine that no penalty applies for international information returns. It all depends on the specific facts of the applicant (overall, this will be a good-thing for taxpayers).

FBAR & FATCA Penalties

Under the Streamlined Domestic, the FBAR penalties are combined with FATCA and other asset penalties, and limited to a single 5% penalty. Typically, the Form 3520 gift penalty is not included (but if the money is deposited into an unreported foreign account, the penalty on the unreported account(s) would apply).

The FBAR penalties under voluntary disclosure follow the IRM. The IRM is the Internal Revenue Manual. The FBAR penalty under the new OVDP Voluntary Disclosure is a baseline of 50% minimum value of $100,000 — whichever is greater.

*The penalty may be mitigated.

Penalties on Taxes Due with OVDP vs Streamlined Procedures

Under the streamlined procedure, there are no penalties on the taxes due. There is interest on the tax liability under either program, at the standard rate of interest. Under the prior OVDP, the penalty was 20% per year on taxes due. Under the revised version of OVDP Voluntary Disclosure, there is a single 75% penalty on the highest year taxes due, BUT, the taxpayer can seek to try to reduce the penalty.

No Formal Opt-Out with New OVDP

Under the Streamlined Procedure, there is no opt-out. If a person is submitting to the domestic version of the Streamlined, the 5% is not negotiable. Under the prior OVDP, the penalty was either 27.5% or 50% (if a bad bank was involved), but then the applicant could opt-out of the penalty (not the actual program) and seek to reduce the penalty. Under the new version of the program, the IRS may be able to audit the taxpayer, but there is no formal “opt-out.”

*These rules are subject to change —

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