Posts by Stephen J. Dunn
Required Minimum Distributions
Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 403(b) annuities, Section 401(k) plans, and Section 408 individual retirement arrangements, whether individual retirement accounts or simplified pension plans, are popular, tax-favored means of saving for retirement. If an employer purchases a Section 403(b) annuity for an employee, the employee is not currently taxable on the annuity premium(s), or on…
Read MoreSupreme Court Signals Reversal in Bittner
On November 2 the Supreme Court held oral arguments in Bittner,[1] on whether the failure to timely file a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Forms 114, “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” (FBAR) constitutes one violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, or one violation for each account properly reportable on the delinquent FBAR. In 2020…
Read MoreSupreme Court Grants Certiorari in Bittner
In United States v. Bittner, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the $10,000 penalty for non-willful violation of the FBAR filing requirement applies not for each FBAR which the taxpayer fails to file, but for each account reportable on an unfiled FBAR.[1] The Supreme Court has granted certiorari. Oral argument…
Read MoreMichigan Durable Powers Of Attorney
If an individual (“principal”) while mentally competent executes a durable power of attorney, then his agent (also-called “attorney-in-fact”) acting under the power of attorney can make transactions in the principal’s property for the principal’s benefit notwithstanding the principal’s later incapacity. Without a durable power of attorney in place, transactions can be made for an incapacitated…
Read MoreExpatriation From The United States
Renunciation of United States citizenship or abandonment of United States lawful permanent resident (“green card”) status is a major event in an individual’s life. Nonresidents of the United States can shed their obligation to file U.S. tax returns and pay U.S. taxes under the Internal Revenue Code, and their obligation to file FinCEN Forms 114,…
Read MoreUnited States Income Taxation Of United Kingdom-Based Pension Plans
Many United Kingdom citizens retire in the United States after working in the United Kingdom. Such individuals’ interests in United Kingdom-based pension plans raise complex issues of United States income taxation and reporting. United Kingdom law allows defined benefit as well as defined contribution pension plans. United-Kingdom-based defined benefit plans are generally funded entirely by…
Read MoreForeign Accounts Compliance Update
Immigration to the United States continues at a strong pace. The people coming over tend to be members of the technical, educated class, from countries like India. We are also seeing many people retiring in the U.S. from countries like the United Kingdom. Most of these individuals have assets in their native country, and they…
Read MoreInternal Revenue Code § 965 and the Streamlined Procedures
Internal Revenue Code § 965, as added by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, requires a controlled foreign corporation (“CFC”) to include in its Subpart F income its post-1986 accumulated but previously untaxed earnings as of November 2, 2017 or December 31, 2017. A CFC is a foreign corporation more than 50 percent…
Read MoreAdvantageous Abandonment of a U.S. Green Card
If you have the status of lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., you are a “green card” holder), and you reside in the United Kingdom, and you intend to abandon your green card, you should know that by planning may enable you to avoid substantial U.S. income tax upon expatriating. American citizens and…
Read MoreNew Law Expands U.S. Government’s Discovery of Americans’ Foreign Accounts
The United States taxes its citizens and residents (“U.S. persons”) on their worldwide income. U.S. persons commonly used foreign financial accounts to evade U.S. income tax. Unlike U.S. financial institutions, foreign financial institutions do not report to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service income paid or credited on accounts. Some U.S. persons interposed shell companies to…
Read More