A Fatca attorney focuses his or her practice on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the compliance  requirements for foreign corporations and individuals with an interest in or control over certain foreign accounts. Failure to comply can lead to severe civil penalties and in some cases criminal prosecution. If you are in any way uncertain about your responsibilities it is essential for you to contact an experienced tax attorney.

In 2013, the IRS released its final requirements for the FATCA, which was enacted in 2010, and it imposes a 30% Withholding tax on payments to certain foreign financial institutions (FFI) that fail to enter into an agreement with the IRS to disclose the identities of U.S. accountholders with the foreign institution. Along with the final requirements the IRS included a timeline for the implementation of FATCA.

• Payments made on or after January 2017, will be subject to withholding on gross proceeds from the disposition of property that can produce a U.S. source interest or dividends.
• The deadline for withholding agents (including participating and registered deemed compliant FFIs) to implement verification procedures under FATCA is January 1, 2014.
• The deadline for withholding agents and FFIs to verify the identity of account holders and payees is June 30, 2014 for prima facie FFIs and December 31, 2015 for other account holders and payees. Accordingly, FATCA withholding will not be required to be imposed by withholding agents on such accounts prior to July 1, 2014 and January 1, 2016, respectively.
• The deadline for an FFI to file FATCA information reports with the IRS with respect to the 2013 and 2014 calendar years was extended to March 31, 2015.

FATCA is a very complex act that requires guidance from an experienced tax attorney. It expands the IRS’s reach overseas and will require detailed reporting on accounts worth more than $50,000. It also allows the IRS to reach into these accounts and take as much as 30% of whatever is held in the account and subjects foreign governments to a fine for non-compliance.

This article regarding FATCA attorneys is brought to you by Verni Tax Law. If you are a U.S. expat and need an attorney with International experience to solve even the most sophisticated tax problems, contact Anthony Verni using the form on the right, or call 561-531-8809 for an initial consultation. With over 20 years of experience, Anthony delivers successful results to clients living in and outside of the U.S.

The post Why You May Need a Fatca Attorney appeared first on Anthony Verni.