BarbriSFCourseDetails
  1. keyboard_arrow_leftBack

Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Tax Law

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, October 19, 2023

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

  • BARBRI is a NASBA CPE sponsor and this 110-minute webinar is accredited for 2.0 CPE credits.

  • BARBRI is an IRS-approved continuing education provider offering certified courses for Enrolled Agents (EA) and Tax Return Preparers (RTRP).

$347.00
CLE
CPE
ALL

This CLE/CPE course will provide tax counsel with a comprehensive and practical guide to a deep exploration into the reporting regime for U.S. taxpayers' ownership of foreign trust assets on IRS Form 3520, Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts. The panel will detail the events and transactions that require reporting and discuss tax counsel's role in remedying an absent or incorrect filing, including navigating the penalty abatement process for failure to correctly and timely file a Form 3520.

Faculty

Anthony V. Diosdi
Partner
Diosdi & Liu, LLP

Mr. Diosdi is an experienced trial lawyer who regularly defends individuals and corporations in matters involving tax controversies and government regulatory enforcement. He also has vast experience assisting clients who find themselves with unreported or undeclared bank accounts outside the U.S. Mr. Diosdi is acknowledged as one of the nation’s leading experts in contesting penalties associated with failing to file FBARs. In addition to representing clients in tax controversy matters, he advises clients on U.S. international tax matters, including tax planning with respect to their structures and transactions. In particular, Mr. Diosdi has experience advising on issues relating to tax treaties, pre-immigration planning for foreigners moving to the U.S., expatriation planning, tax planning for foreign companies doing business in the U.S., and subpart F income minimization. More recently, he has focused on helping clients navigate U.S. tax reform, including the regimes for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income and Foreign-Derived Intangible Income, and the new limitations on foreign tax credits.

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio
Steven L. Walker
Attorney
Law Offices of Steven L. Walker, PLC

Mr. Walker's practice focuses on representing businesses and individuals facing tax controversies before the federal and state taxing agencies. He also handles estate planning, trust and probate administration. Mr. Walker is personable and knowledgeable and known for providing skilled advocacy and expertise.

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio
Alison N. Dougherty
Managing Member
Googolplex Tax, LLC

Ms. Dougherty provides U.S. tax reporting, compliance, consulting, planning, and structuring solutions to U.S. and foreign corporations, partnerships, LLCs, individuals, and trusts. She specializes in U.S. international tax reporting and compliance with the preparation and review of the U.S. federal Forms 5471, 926, 8992, 8993, 5472, 8865, 8858, 8621, 8804, 8805, Schedules K-2 and K-3, 1116, 1118, 1042, 1042-T, 1042-S, 8832, 8833, 2555, 3520, 3520-A, 5713, 1120-F, 1040-NR, 8288, 8288-A, 8288-B, 8233, 8840, 8843, 8854, 8938, and FBAR. Ms. Dougherty has extensive experience working with U.S. businesses and individuals with outbound activities in foreign countries. She has also worked with foreign companies and nonresident individuals with inbound activities in the United States. Ms. Dougherty has significant experience with U.S. nonresident withholding tax, foreign partnership withholding tax, and FIRPTA withholding tax. She has managed U.S. tax compliance and advisory client engagements for U.S. C corporations, S corporations, partnerships, LLCs, U.S. individuals, U.S. trusts, foreign corporations, foreign partnerships, foreign LLCs, nonresident individuals, and foreign  trusts. 





Ms. Dougherty is a CPA and a tax attorney with more than 15 years of combined experience in public accounting, the practice of law, and corporate industry. She was previously a tax partner in a large regional public accounting firm in the Washington, DC area. Ms. Dougherty has served clients in various industries including technology, U.S. government contracting, commercial services, telecommunications, real estate, investment partnerships, commodities, high net worth individuals, and family offices. She has also served as a technical resource to other CPAs, accountants, tax professionals, public accounting firms, attorneys, and law firms.  

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio

Description

Form 3520, Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts, is one of the most complex tax reporting forms in the IRS international tax reporting regime. Taxpayers who own an interest in a foreign-based trust or receive gifts, inheritances, or distributions from a foreign source are required to report these foreign "reportable events," even if the taxpayer does not receive income from these foreign sources.

A significant challenge for taxpayers is determining whether a taxpayer qualifies as a "responsible party" for purposes of filing Form 3520. As in most U.S. tax reporting of foreign activities, extremely steep penalties apply for failure to correctly and timely file Form 3520, including a base penalty of 35 percent of the value of the reportable event. While Section 6677 provides for reasonable cause relief, the provisions to claim that relief are complex and burdensome for taxpayers and tax counsel alike.

Tax counsel and advisers need to have a thorough understanding of the regime for reporting foreign-based trusts, including claiming relief from penalties for failure to file or incorrect filing of Form 3520. Tax advisers can help their clients avoid costly penalties by navigating foreign trust reporting rules.

Listen as our experienced panel provides a deep dive into the filing requirements and specific sections of Form 3520, along with a discussion of penalties and relief provisions, to help you keep clients with foreign trust holdings compliant with IRS rules.

Outline

  1. Determining owners and responsible parties
  2. Reportable events
    1. Obligations
    2. Gratuitous transfers
    3. Qualified obligations
    4. Distributions and calculations
    5. Gifts and bequests
    6. Other form items
  3. IRC Section 6677 penalties for failure to file and relief provisions
    1. Calculation of penalties
    2. Section 6048 special rules
    3. Reasonable cause exception
  4. Form 3520 reporting and schedule preparation

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What "reportable events" trigger a Form 3520 filing requirement?
  • What is the overlap between Form 3520 and other foreign information reporting requirements?
  • What are the filing requirements for the U.S. beneficiary of a foreign non-grantor trust?
  • What are the penalties and relief provisions for failing to file a Form 3520 or Form 3520-A?
  • What are the processes for establishing a reasonable cause exception for penalty abatement?
  • Are there statutory defenses to the 3520 and 3520-A Penalty Regime?

NASBA Details

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Determine which taxpayers are subject to Form 3520 reporting requirements
  • Discern what transfers and ownership structures must be reported
  • Identify when qualified obligations must be reported
  • Establish how to document a "reasonable cause" exception for penalty abatement
  • Recognize the IRS audit process for determining Form 3520 or 3520-A delinquency

  • Field of Study: Taxes
  • Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
  • Advance Preparation: None
  • Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
  • Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
  • Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
  • Prerequisite: Three years+ business or public firm experience at mid-level within the organization, preparing complex tax forms and schedules, supervising other attorneys. Specific knowledge and understanding of foreign asset reporting requirements, identifying foreign-based trusts, and collection due process rules; familiarity with beneficial ownership rules, familiarity with income tax treaty treatment of foreign trust income.

Strafford Publications, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

IRS Approved Provider

Strafford is an IRS-approved continuing education provider offering certified courses for Enrolled Agents (EA) and Tax Return Preparers (RTRP).