OVDP ends Sept. 28, warns IRS

IRS headquarters in Washington, D.C.
IRS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Taxpayers have until Sept. 28 to apply for the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, the Internal Revenue Service warned recently.

The IRS will continue to hold taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts accountable after the program closes and will maintain a pathway for taxpayers who may have committed criminal acts to voluntarily disclose their actions and come into compliance. Updated procedures will be announced soon, the agency said.

Since the OVDP’s launch nine years ago, more than 56,000 taxpayers used the program to comply voluntarily with tax laws. Taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts have paid a total of $11.1 billion in back taxes, interest and penalties. The number of taxpayer disclosures peaked in 2011, with some 18,000 coming forward. The number then steadily declined, falling to 600 disclosures in 2017. Since 2009, 1,545 taxpayers have been indicted related to international activities.

Taxpayers who made non-willful mistakes or omissions on their tax returns should file amended returns or delinquent returns.

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