IRS streamlined domestic offshore — do I need an adviser, or can I do it alone?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: it is for US-resident filers who were non-willful.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
What is the difference between the domestic and foreign streamlined programmes?
Both are for filers whose failure to report was non-willful, and both ask for amended returns, the missing account reports and a signed certification. The difference is the penalty. The foreign route carries none; the domestic route carries one, and it is computed on the value of the assets that went unreported rather than on the tax that was underpaid. That is why the domestic penalty can be substantial even where little tax was ever due. Which route applies turns on residence, tested against the facts as filed rather than on the address printed on a return.
I live in the US, so can I still use the streamlined programme?
Yes, through the domestic version of it. That version exists for filers resident in the United States whose failure to report foreign accounts or foreign income was not willful. The submission is the same shape as the foreign route: amended returns, the missing account reports, and a certification explaining how the gap arose. The difference is that a penalty applies, and it is measured against the value of the unreported assets. The first thing we settle is whether your residence position actually places you in the domestic programme rather than the foreign one, because the answer changes the cost of the exercise entirely.
Is the streamlined penalty charged on my tax or on my accounts?
On the accounts. The domestic streamlined penalty is computed on the highest aggregate value of the assets that were not reported, not on the tax that was underpaid. The practical consequence is that the penalty follows the balance sheet rather than the income statement, so a dormant account holding a large balance and producing almost nothing still drives the number. Establishing the valuation base correctly, and excluding assets that do not belong in it, is therefore most of the work and most of the money on these files.
What does the non-willfulness certification actually have to say?
It has to describe, in your own account of events, why the accounts or the income were not reported: what you understood at the time, who advised you, and what you did once you learned otherwise. It is signed, and the whole submission rests on it. A certification that recites the rules back at the reader instead of explaining the facts is the common weakness we see. We draft it from your correspondence and your records, so that every statement in it can be supported if it is ever questioned later.
Which years do I have to amend for streamlined domestic offshore?
The programme sets its own look-back for the returns and a separate one for the account reports, and the two are not the same length. We confirm the current requirement against the programme instructions before anything is prepared, because a submission covering the wrong years is treated as incomplete. What can be said in general is that the years must be prepared consistently: the amended returns, the account reports and the certification have to tell one story, and the asset values used across them have to agree with each other.
Can I use streamlined if the IRS has already written to me?
Usually not. The streamlined programmes are for taxpayers who come forward first, so once an examination or an enquiry has begun the option is generally gone and the route changes. That makes the sequence more important than the paperwork. If a letter has arrived, send it on before filing anything, because a streamlined submission made when you were no longer eligible does not protect you and does put a signed certification on the record. Where streamlined is closed, the voluntary disclosure practice is the route that addresses the exposure instead.
What does "received a distribution from a foreign trust" mean on my return?
It is asking whether the trust conferred anything on you during the year — cash, property, or the use of trust property, including rent-free occupation of a house and, in some circumstances, a loan. Answering yes brings an information return, and where the distribution includes income accumulated in earlier years the tax computation can carry an interest charge for the delay. Trust accounts showing the composition of the distribution are what keep that computation from defaulting against you. See Form 3520.
Does the United States tax gifts I receive from a foreign person?
The recipient is not taxed on a gift, and a foreign donor with no US-situs property is outside US gift tax — so often no tax arises on either side. What does arise is reporting: a US person receiving gifts above the annual reporting thresholds from a foreign individual, or from a foreign corporation or partnership at a lower threshold, files the information return for the year. The distinction between a gift and a distribution from a foreign trust matters here, because they are reported differently. See Form 3520.
