Bryan Camp has published an article on the TaxProf Blog, titled “Lesson From The Tax Court: Fill Out The Damn Form,” which discusses Bittner v. U.S.. The article begins as follows
The fuss has focused on FBARs. The FBAR requirements and penalty provisions have been hotly litigated. Recently the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Bittner v. U.S., deciding that the penalties were not as harsh as the government thought they should be.
But forget FBAR. Today’s lesson is about a different, yet equally important, foreign account reporting requirement: the one found in 26 U.S.C. §6048 that relates to foreign trusts. The FBAR stuff is over in 31 U.S.C. §5314. Completely different title.
And today’s lesson is not about penalties. It’s about the assessment limitations period. In Leigh C. Fairbank and Barbara J. Fairbank v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-19 (Feb. 23, 2023) (Judge Weiler), we learn that a failure to comply with the §6048 reporting requirement by never filing the proper form—not even during audit—extends the time in which the IRS can assess really old tax deficiencies. How old? Try 15 years old. Regardless of the outcome in Bittner, folks need to learn this lesson! Details below the fold.
Click here to see the full article: “Lesson From The Tax Court: Fill Out The Damn Form”
Posted by Nicholas Ward, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal
Wealth Strategies Journal 