Saturday, August 1, 2015

New Legislation Affecting FBAR and Tax Matters (8/1/15)

Yesterday, the President signed into law new legislation  H.R. 3236, the “Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015, here, which has provisions of interest for Federal Tax Crimes fans.  I was initially told of the signing by a Dennis Brager news letter (Dennis' web site is here.).  I have not yet read the legislation, but I picked up the following items of interest to readers of this blog from a Tax Litigator Blog earlier today.  New Filing Due Dates for FBARs, Partnership and C Corporation Returns! (Tax Litigator Blog 8/1/15), here.

1. FBARs for years 2016 and forward are due on April 15 rather than June 30 and filers may obtain a six month extension.  The filing date(s) thus are the same as the 1040 dates for calendar year individual taxpayers.  The IRS may waive a penalty for a late first time filer.  (As Dennis noted, the IRS always had considerable flexibility in not asserting the penalty anyway, so not clear that this provision will change the practice or perception of authority.)

2.  Partnership and S Corporation returns must be filed by March 15 for calendar year entities (or, if a fiscal year, 2 1/2 months after the end of the fiscal year).

3.  The holding in Home Concrete & Supply, LLC, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S. Ct. 1836 (2012) is legislatively reversed.  That holding was that overstated basis bullshit tax shelters did not give rise to an income omission for the 25% gross income omission in § 6501(e)(1)(A)(i), here.  (See my discussion of the Supreme Court's Home Concrete decision here: The Supreme Court Blesses Taxpayers Sheltering and Hiding Income from Six-Year Statute of Limitations (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 4/25/12), here.  Dennis advised that the effective date for this amendment is: (i) for returns filed after enactment; and (ii) for returns filed prior to enactment, if the Section 6501 assessment statute of limitations had not expired on the date of enactment.

I encourage readers to read the more detailed Tax Litigator Blog entry linked above.  I may add more items or nuance not covered in the Tax Litigator blog entry as I become aware of it.

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