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The new campaigns were rolled out in July, and nearly all of them will have some impact on tax for US citizens living abroad. The new IRS compliance campaigns are:
Expats should be aware that some of these campaigns target expats specifically, but any of these could affect expats in certain financial situations. Overall, expats around the globe now have additional incentive to become tax compliant.
Section 457A Deferred Compensation Attributable to Services Performed before January 1, 2009 affects two subgroups of expats:
Under IRC Section 457A, deferred compensation earned before 2009 does not need to be reported as taxable income until the value is known and the amount is non-forfeitable. In other words, compensation that you will receive in the future, but only if you meet certain conditions, for example, would not be taxable income until you have met those conditions. However, as soon as those deferred payouts do meet the criteria above, the taxpayer must include them in earnings for the year.
Because it’s not always easy to identify when deferred compensation is no longer subject to a “substantial risk of forfeiture,” taxpayers frequently don’t know when to include it. Not to mention, determining the value may require an actuarial valuation. And all that’s assuming the individual even knows that it needs to be included in the first place! Under the new compliance program, the IRS is seeking individuals who have deferred compensation that should be – but has not yet been – taxed.
The IRS has announced that it will begin revoking passports of those who are in seriously delinquent tax debt, for which the threshold is currently $52,000. This is a threshold particularly easy for expats to reach. So, if you live abroad and haven’t been keeping up on your reporting requirements for tax for US citizens living abroad, you’ll want to rectify that before the IRS reaches out to you.
If you wait until the IRS reaches out to you, you won’t be able to qualify for their amnesty programs for taxpayers who voluntarily come forward to rectify tax noncompliance. The Streamlined Filing Procedures, for example, allow expats who didn’t know they needed to file tax returns to get caught up penalty-free. Expats unable to use this amnesty program face much higher fines and penalties than those who take action.
Greenback accountants are prepared to make the tax filing process easy. Get started with Greenback today!