William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

As we have discussed in the past at AdvisorFYI, there is no specific Federal law that prohibits an individual from owning any interest in a financial account in foreign jurisdictions.  “However, because offshore financial accounts can be used to hide criminal proceeds or evade taxes, federal law does require disclosure of such accounts.”

Generally, “Congress has directed the Secretary of the Treasury to require residents and citizens of the U.S., or persons in and doing business in the U.S., to maintain records and file reports of transactions and relations with foreign financial agencies.”

Specifically, every “U.S. citizen, resident and businessperson who has a financial interest in, or signatory authority over, one or more bank accounts, securities accounts or other financial accounts in a foreign country”, must “report that relationship to the U.S. Department of the Treasury if the aggregate value of the accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year”, annually through Form TD F 90-22.1.  Read the analysis at AdvisorFYI