Open An OffShore Accounts

The Internal Revenue Service is offering a one-time extension of the deadline for voluntary disclosure by taxpayers with unreported income from hidden offshore accounts.  Taxpayers now have until October 15, 2009 to make that disclosure, the IRS said.  Under rules issued in March, taxpayers with hidden offshore accounts originally had until Sept. 23 to report income.

 

"IRS officials decided to extend this deadline after receiving repeated requests from tax practitioners and attorneys around the country following an influx of taxpayer requests," the agency said in an updated tax bulletin.
 

"The extension will allow tax preparers and attorneys the necessary time to interview and advise their backlog of taxpayers with these hidden accounts, and prepare the necessary paperwork to qualify for the special penalty provisions," the official IRS alert said.

Those who fail to report offshore income by the new deadline face civil penalties and possible criminal prosecution. The IRS also announced that there will be no further extensions.  You can learn more at