U.S. taxpayers with foreign bank accounts must be aware of IRS reporting requirements for these “offshore” accounts. For offshore bank accounts or other foreign financial accounts, the taxpayer will likely need to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR). Please note that the penalties for failing to file an accurate FBAR can be extremely steep.

Offshore banking – setting up a bank account in a foreign country – can often be a good idea, especially in countries that have favorable banking regulations. Offshore banking can also present risks. In addition, there are IRS reporting requirements that, if not attended to, can cause a taxpayer civil and even criminal liability.

Keeping up with the ever-changing tax reporting laws can be overwhelming. And if you are either a United States taxpayer who has retired overseas or are one who is contemplating retiring outside of the country, you need to know that there are additional IRS obligations to meet. If you fail to understand and meet these additional obligations, you could make errors resulting in substantial penalties.