Yearly Archives: 2019

Individuals with signature-only authority over foreign financial accounts have been granted until April 15, 2020 to file their report of foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR) forms to the US Internal Revenue Service for the tax year just ended. Previously the deadline was April 15, 2019, consistent with the federal income tax due date.  

On December 4, 2018, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released Notice 2018-1, which states that certain persons who are obligated to file FinCEN Form 114: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) now have until April 15, 2020 to file the form.

 This extended filing deadline applies to certain individuals who have signature authority over, but no financial interest in, one or more foreign financial accounts. The extension also applies to certain employees or officers of investment advisers registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who have signature authority over, but no financial interest in, certain foreign financial accounts.

Luxembourg has gazetted a law establishing the compulsory public register of company beneficial owners, as required by article 30 of the EU Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

The Canada Revenue Agency is now transferring 600,000 bank account records to the US authorities every year, according to CBC news.

In 2016 and again in 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency provided the IRS with information on 600,000 Canadian bank accounts each year. That's a sharp increase from the 300,000 records shared in 2015 and the 150,000 records shared in 2014, the year the sharing began.

However, that doesn't necessarily correspond to the number of people affected. Some people may have more than one bank account, while some joint accounts could have more than one account holder — including people who don't hold U.S. citizenship.

So far, the US Internal Revenue Service has received information on 1.6 million Canadian bank accounts under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), although many of the accountholders are not necessarily subject to US taxes. 

The Internal Revenue Service successfully opened the 2019 tax-filing season today January 28, 2019 as the agency started accepting and processing federal tax returns for tax year 2018.

More than 150 million individual tax returns for the 2018 tax year are expected to be filed, with the vast majority of those coming before the April tax deadline. Through mid-day Monday, the IRS had already received several million tax returns during the busy opening hours.

"I am extremely proud of the entire IRS workforce. The dedicated IRS employees have worked tirelessly to successfully implement the biggest tax law changes in 30 years and launch tax season for the nation," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Although we face various near- and longer-term challenges, our employees are committed to doing everything we can to help taxpayers and get refunds out quickly."

Following the government shutdown, the IRS is working to promptly resume normal operations.

“The IRS will be doing everything it can to have a smooth filing season,” Rettig said. “Taxpayers can minimize errors and speed refunds by using e-file and IRS Free File along with direct deposit.”

The IRS reminds taxpayers to check “Where’s My Refund?" for updates. Demand on IRS phones during the early weeks of tax season is traditionally heavy, so taxpayers are encouraged to use IRS.gov to find answers before they call.

April deadline; help for taxpayers through e-file, Free File

The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019, for most taxpayers. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17 to file their returns.

The IRS also notes that refunds, by law, cannot be issued before Feb. 15 for tax returns that claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit. This applies to the entire refund — even the portion not associated with the EITC and ACTC. While the IRS will process the EITC and ACTC returns when received, these refunds cannot be issued before Feb. 15. Similar to last year, the IRS expects the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to actually be available in taxpayer bank accounts or on debit cards starting on Feb. 27, 2019, if they chose direct deposit and there are no other issues with the tax return.

This law was changed to give the IRS more time to detect and prevent fraud. Even with the EITC and ACTC refunds and the additional security safeguards, the IRS still expects to issue more than nine out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. However, it’s possible a particular tax return may require additional review and a refund could take longer. Even so, taxpayers and tax return preparers should file when they’re ready. For those who usually file early in the year and are ready to file a complete and accurate return, there is no need to wait to file.