If you’ve got money stored in foreign bank accounts and you don’t know a whole lot about the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, you need to learn! You can start the learning process by doing these 3 things:

1. Talk to a great attorney
Even if you’re not in any kind of trouble, a knowledgeable Orange County tax lawyer can make sure it stays that way. For example, a great lawyer can sit down and explain all of the rules and nuances that come with the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure program (and, trust me, there are a lot of them!), so that you don’t get blindsided later.
Plus, a great attorney can keep you up to date with any changes to the program. Your attorney can even help make sure that you get all of the necessary documents filed on time.

If you’ve already landed in some hot water over the program, you need to find the right Orange County tax lawyer pronto. The longer you wait to bring in an expert, the worse your penalties may be. In fact, if you wait too long, even the best lawyer may not be able to help you!

2. Document, document, document
Under the rules of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, the IRS can penalize you for things that happened years ago — so it’s crucial to keep several years’ worth of financial documents on hand.
In fact, the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program gives investigators the power to back eight years, so invest in a filing cabinet and hang onto everything!

3. Don’t think you can sneak under the radar
Just because you have money stored in bank accounts that are thousands of miles away doesn’t mean that the IRS won’t find out about them. Ask any smart Orange County tax lawyer, and they’ll tell you — the IRS is serious about the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. In fact, they’ve got thousands of investigators whose sole job is to look for people who are violating the rules of this program!

On top of that, the IRS has the Department of Justice on its side. The Justice Department has been putting pressure on foreign banks to turn over information about their American account holders.

Bottom line — if you think that you won’t get caught breaking the rules of this program, think again! It’s much better for you to tell the IRS about any money you’ve got stored overseas, than to have them find out about it on their own.

Looking for an expert on this program? You’ll find one at www.kahntaxlaw.com!