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Opening An Offshore Bank Account

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10 Things You Should Know Before Opening An Offshore Bank Account

Opening an offshore account is not just for the super rich. There are plenty of legitimate, legal, honest and good reasons why you should open an offshore bank account yourself. Before you open your account, read this article about the ten things you should know before opening an offshore account.

Throughout this article, you will see the acronym “FBAR” used quite a bit. It is a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). You will need to file an FBAR when “…a U.S. person has a financial interest in, or signature authority over, one or more foreign financial accounts with an aggregate value greater than $10,000 at any time during the reporting period (calendar year). If a report is required, certain records must also be kept.” (IRS 4.26.16.1 (11-06-2015))

1 - Foreign Account Inconsistencies Is A Big Red Flag

When you fill out your tax return and you tick the box that says you have foreign accounts, you are telling the IRS that you have an FBAR filing obligation.
Amending tax returns to report your worldwide income is fine, but some people choose not to file their delinquent FBARs. Not filing is probably a bad idea, especially since the government is coming down hard on tax dodgers at the moment. If you have inconsistencies from one tax return to another, or between your old FBARs and old tax returns, then it is going to make the IRS very suspicious.

2 - Go As Far Back Into The Past As Is

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