Another Court Finds Failure to Check Off Foreign Account on Income Tax Return Is Enough to Find Willfulness For FBAR Penalty
As discussed on numerous occasions in this blog, a substantial penalty applies if a foreign account is not reported on an annual FBAR filing and the failure to report was willful. As more attention has been focused on FBAR filing failures over the last 10 years or so, more courts are addressing when a failure to file is willful.
Problematic for taxpayers who claim a lack of knowledge of the FBAR filing requirement is the question on Schedule B of their federal income tax return that asks if they have an interest in or authority over an account. . .