# New Streamlined compliance program - Experiences/Opinion?



## someNri (Jun 12, 2014)

Hello,
Those of you who have submitted/participated in the revised streamlined compliance procedure - Could you share your thoughts on how they have fared so far? Your opinion on what to watch out for.

Was there push back/queries back from IRS? The specific reasons a tax payer has to give in the certification - What have you all done? 

Can they be in layman terms? Is it sufficient if one "attempts" to explain of how one was unaware of global income reporting and the term fbar? 

Especially being a foreign worker in the US on a H1b visa who sent portion of his savings to his home country for potential future needs, family needs & if one returns back. And lack of knowledge being the sole reason for selecting "No" to the do have foreign accounts question?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

If you're only using the streamline program to get up to date on your reporting of foreign accounts, then keep it simple and (above all) keep it honest. If you didn't realize you had to report your foreign accounts, then say so.

If you were failing to report some or all of your income, you may have more difficulty. The line about sending part of your savings to your home country won't cut much with the IRS. But as long as you paid your taxes due on the income as you earned it, and before you started sending it back home, you shouldn't have any difficulty.
Cheers,
Bev


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## someNri (Jun 12, 2014)

Bevdeforges said:


> If you're only using the streamline program to get up to date on your reporting of foreign accounts, then keep it simple and (above all) keep it honest. If you didn't realize you had to report your foreign accounts, then say so.
> 
> If you were failing to report some or all of your income, you may have more difficulty. The line about sending part of your savings to your home country won't cut much with the IRS. But as long as you paid your taxes due on the income as you earned it, and before you started sending it back home, you shouldn't have any difficulty.
> Cheers,
> Bev


I didn't get your first versus second paragraph. 

I do have some unreported overseas interest income, else I won't be looking into SDOP. Yes, the money I sent back home was from my after-tax salary/saving here in the USA. 
(But I put that in a CD back home which earned interest. That's what I missed reporting in my US tax return cause I had no idea that global income is to be reported and also had no idea about fbars. Nor do banks overseas send any thing close to a 1099).


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

OK, then it sounds like you should be ok with the streamlined program. You only need to do the back FBAR filings if the total of your non-US accounts is greater than $10,000 but obviously you just didn't know you had to report these. (And that's one of the options available when you file the back reports.)

For the income taxes - I misunderstood and thought that you were perhaps deducting what you were sending back home from your income for tax purposes. As long as the interest income doesn't result in some huge additional tax bill (like thousands or tens of thousands), it should be fine to simply say that you didn't realize you were supposed to declare income from outside the US. (And if you paid tax on it back home, be sure to claim that on your amendment against any additional tax liability - Foreign Tax Credit.)
Cheers,
Bev


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