A new IRS Webpage on how to file tax forms related to foreign interests using a unique reference identification number (URI) is designed to allow the Internal Revenue Service to more easily identify a taxpayer's foreign entities and compare their activities, or lack of activities, from year to year.
Beginning with U.S. federal tax returns filed for the 2012 tax year, taxpayers who file a Form 5471 (Information Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations), a Form 8858 (Information Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Foreign Disregarded Entities), or Form 8865 (Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Partnerships), must provide the URI or employer identification number for all foreign entities reported on the forms.
Implementation of URIs could pose varied obstacles for taxpayers who are unprepared.
Read more at: Tax Times blog