The
federal district court struck down the IRS's imposition of a 35% civil penalty
for failing to timely file a Form 3520, an information return used to report,
among other things, transactions with foreign trusts, and limited the penalty
to a 5% penalty.
The court ruled that the
penalty must be computed based upon the year-end value of the trust's bank
account, which meant that the penalty amount was zero and not $3,221,183, as
the IRS asserted. The ruling is a clear taxpayer victory and provides much
needed guidance by a federal district court on the application of the civil
penalties for unfiled Forms 3520 for foreign trusts.
In Wilson, No. 19-cv-5037
(BMC) (E.D.N.Y. 11/18/19), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
New York ruled that the IRS could assess only a 5% penalty (not both a 5%
penalty and a 35% penalty) for an individual's untimely filing of a 2007 Form
3520. Wilson illustrates that practitioners
should carefully review IRS penalty computations and not merely take them for
granted.
A reasonable cause exception exists
for unfiled information returns, such as Form 3520 or even a Form 5471, Information
Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations, and
this may be a valid defense in most situations. Under Sec. 6677(d), no penalty
is imposed "on any failure which is shown to be due to reasonable cause
and not due to willful neglect."
However, as taxpayers face more and
more steep information return penalties, it is prudent to do more than assert
that reasonable cause exists for the untimely filed form to mount a strong
defense. Practitioners must understand how the IRS computed the penalty, and as
in the Wilson case, determine whether the IRS got it right. This could
be a golden nugget in the hands of a taxpayer that significantly reduces the
penalty amount and provides needed financial relief.
Civil penalties for late-filed
Forms 3520 is an evolving area of the law and taxpayers should be prepared that
the agent assigned to the case may not be thoroughly familiar with the
intricacies of the Code, especially since there are few published cases. The
tax professional should be ready to answer the agent's questions on the law and
the facts (particularly, the mechanics of the foreign trust). The IRS's mission
is to apply the tax law with integrity and fairness to all. In complex cases,
the best results are often reached when both sides work together collaboratively.
A taxpayer who has received an IRS
Notice CP 15 for an unfiled Form 3520 involving a foreign trust would be wise
to contact a competent tax counsel, who can review the facts of the case,
explain the options, and formulate a defensible position.
We Recently Successfully Represented A Taxpayer
In Having Abated $325,178.70 in Late Filed
Form 3520–A Penalty, On March 30, 2020.
The key to successfully having these penalties abated,
more so today than ever before, is to hire an
Experienced Tax Attorney, to develop the facts and distinguish adverse case law, especially when requesting penalty abatement based upon "Reasonable Cause".
Penalties for Late Filing or Failure to File Form 3520
IRC section 6677 provides for stiff penalties if Form 3520 is not timely filed or is incomplete or incorrect. The initial penalty is the greater of $10,000 or—
- 35% of the gross value of any property transferred to a foreign trust if a U.S. person fails to report the creation of or transfer to a foreign trust;
- 35% of the gross value of the distributions received from a foreign trust by a U.S. person who fails to report receipt of the distribution; and
- 5% of the gross value of all of a foreign trust’s assets treated as owned by a U.S. person under the grantor trust rules (IRC sections 671–679) if the U.S. owner fails to report required information. The owner is also subject to an additional 5% penalty if the foreign trust itself fails to file a timely Form 3520-A [“Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust With a U.S. Owner”; see IRC section 6048(b)], does not provide all required information, or provides incorrect information.
Penalties for Late Filing or Failure to File Form 3520-A
The U.S. owner is subject to an initial penalty equal to the greater of $10,000 or 5% of the gross value of the portion of the trust's assets treated as owned by the U.S. person at the close of that tax year if the foreign trust (a) fails to file a timely Form 3520-A, or (b) does not furnish all of the information required by section 6048(b) or includes incorrect information. Criminal penalties may be imposed under sections 7203, 7206, and 7207 for failure to file on time and for filing a false or fraudulent return.
Have You Been Assessed a Semi-Automatic Penalty
for a Late Form 3520 or 3520-A?
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
for a FREE Tax Consultation at
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243)
Sources:
Wilson, No. 19-cv-5037 (BMC) (E.D.N.Y. 11/18/19)
Steven L. Walker
