Offshore & International Tax Attorney: Foreign Accounts, FBAR, and Voluntary Disclosure

Kugelman Law is an offshore and international tax attorney practice that helps U.S. taxpayers resolve foreign-account and foreign-reporting problems with the IRS. We represent clients with unreported foreign bank and brokerage accounts, missed FBAR and Form 8938 filings, foreign gifts and inheritances, foreign corporations and trusts, and penalties for late international information returns.

We advise on the disclosure decision that matters most, streamlined versus formal voluntary disclosure, and we defend offshore examinations. Consultations are paid and fully protected by attorney-client privilege. To speak with an attorney, call (415) 968-1780.

We are a boutique California firm that represents clients nationwide on federal tax matters, with all representation handled remotely. Foreign-account cases carry outsized penalties and, in the wrong facts, criminal exposure, so they call for counsel who understands both how the IRS builds these cases and how to bring a taxpayer back into compliance safely.

Our team is led by founder and managing attorney Alex Kugelman, and includes Otto Bosch, a former IRS Revenue Agent from the Large Business & International (LB&I) division, the IRS unit responsible for international and offshore examinations.

Who we help with offshore and international tax problems

If any of these describe your situation, the reporting rules and the penalties are steep enough that a privileged conversation is worth having before you act:

• You have foreign bank or brokerage accounts you did not report on an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) or Form 8938.
• You received a foreign gift or inheritance and may have missed Form 3520.
• You own or hold an interest in a foreign corporation, partnership, or trust (Forms 5471, 5472, 8865, 3520-A).
• You hold foreign mutual funds or ETFs that may be passive foreign investment companies, or PFICs (Form 8621).
• You are weighing a voluntary disclosure and need to know whether the streamlined program or the formal Voluntary Disclosure Practice fits your facts.
• You are under an IRS offshore examination or received a notice proposing foreign-reporting penalties.
• You are expatriating and need to understand the exit tax and Form 8854.

The foreign-reporting landscape, briefly

U.S. taxpayers are taxed on worldwide income and must report a wide range of foreign accounts, assets, and relationships every year. The filings that most often create exposure are these:

• FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) reports foreign financial accounts once their combined value tops $10,000 at any point in the year. See FBAR filing requirements and FBAR penalties.
• Form 8938 (FATCA) reports specified foreign financial assets above higher thresholds and is separate from the FBAR. We explain the overlap in FBAR vs. Form 8938.
• Form 3520 and Form 3520-A report foreign gifts and inheritances and transactions with foreign trusts. See the Form 3520 foreign-gift penalty guide and foreign trusts and Form 3520-A.
• Form 5471 reports interests in foreign corporations, and Form 8865 foreign partnerships. See Form 5471: who must file.
• Form 8621 reports PFICs. See PFIC rules and Form 8621.

Most of these carry a $10,000-per-failure penalty as a starting point, and several have no dollar cap. The FBAR penalties are higher still. Getting the filings right, or fixing them correctly, is far cheaper than a penalty assessment.

Coming into compliance: streamlined, delinquent procedures, or voluntary disclosure

If you have unreported foreign accounts or missed information returns, there is almost always a path back into compliance. The right one depends on a single pivotal question: whether your failure to file was non-willful or willful.

Non-willful taxpayers often use the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures, the Delinquent FBAR Procedures, or the Delinquent International Information Return Procedures. Where willfulness or criminal exposure is a real concern, the formal IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice is usually the safer route.

Choosing wrong can be costly, and a “quiet” amended-return fix can make things worse. We walk through the decision in Streamlined vs. IRS Voluntary Disclosure: Which Path Fits Your Case. This is a decision to make with an attorney, under privilege, before you file anything.

Why Kugelman Law for offshore and international matters

The offshore field is crowded with return preparers and expat-focused accountants. What high-exposure cases need is a lawyer, and specifically one who has seen how the IRS examines these issues from the inside.

Otto Bosch is a tax controversy attorney and a former IRS Revenue Agent from the Global High Wealth group within the IRS Large Business & International (LB&I) division, the part of the IRS responsible for international information-return compliance and offshore examinations. He is an IRS Enrolled Agent with an LL.M. in Taxation, focuses on IRS audit defense and high-net-worth examinations, and represents Spanish-speaking clients in federal tax matters. He was quoted in Tax Notes in May 2026 on IRS examination training and LB&I audit campaigns. That insider perspective on how offshore exams are built is the firm’s sharpest advantage in this area.

Alex Kugelman is the founder and managing attorney, with nearly two decades of federal tax controversy experience including U.S. Tax Court and U.S. District Court litigation. He is admitted in California and before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. District Court (Northern and Eastern Districts of California), and served as San Francisco Chair of the Federal Bar Association Tax Division in 2018. He is nationally recognized for cryptocurrency tax, which increasingly overlaps with offshore reporting, and has been quoted in the Financial Times and the New York Post on California tax enforcement.

Offshore and international tax services

Our clients rely on us across the full range of foreign-reporting and offshore-disclosure matters:

• Unreported foreign income, assets, and financial accounts
• Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures
• Delinquent FBAR Procedures
• Delinquent International Information Return Procedures
• Foreign gift penalty abatement (Form 3520)
• IRS audit defense, including offshore and LB&I examinations
• U.S. Tax Court litigation
• General tax help and representation
• Cryptocurrency accounting and audits, where offshore exchanges are involved

Featured guidance on foreign accounts and international tax

Start with our in-depth articles on the issues that create the most exposure:

• FBAR Filing Requirements: Who Has to Report Foreign Bank Accounts
• FBAR vs. Form 8938: Do You Have to File Both?
• FBAR Penalties: Willful vs. Non-Willful and How to Reduce Them
• Streamlined vs. IRS Voluntary Disclosure: Which Path Fits Your Case
• Form 5471: Who Must File for a Foreign Corporation
• Foreign Trusts and Form 3520-A: Reporting, Throwback Tax, and Penalties
• PFIC Rules and Form 8621: The Tax Trap in Foreign Mutual Funds
• Form 3520 Penalty: Foreign Gifts and Inheritances

Results that matter

Our work is measured in liabilities eliminated and exposure avoided. In one matter, we reduced a $365,000 tax debt to a zero-dollar liability. In another, two IRS Notices of Deficiency proposed more than $557,000 in tax and penalties across six years; we settled the case in U.S. Tax Court down to roughly $38,000 in federal liability, and with avoided interest and California exposure the client effectively saved over $1.2 million.

Results depend on specific facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the penalty for not filing an FBAR?

FBAR penalties are among the steepest in the tax code. Non-willful violations run to roughly $16,500 per report for 2026, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Bittner v. United States confirmed the non-willful penalty applies per report rather than per account. Willful violations are far higher, generally the greater of about $165,000 or 50% of the account balance, with criminal exposure possible in extreme cases. These figures adjust for inflation, so confirm the current amounts.

Is the streamlined program still available?

As of 2026 the IRS Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures remain available for taxpayers whose failure to report was non-willful. The IRS can change or end the program, so program status should be confirmed at the time you file. If your conduct may have been willful, the streamlined program is not the right path, and the formal Voluntary Disclosure Practice should be considered instead.

Do I need a lawyer or a CPA for offshore disclosure?

An accountant can prepare the returns, but only an attorney provides attorney-client privilege, and privilege matters most precisely when willfulness or criminal exposure is in question. Because the streamlined-versus-voluntary-disclosure decision turns on that question, it is best made with a lawyer first, who can then direct the return preparation.

The IRS already knows about my foreign account. Is it too late?

It depends on where the matter stands. Once the IRS has opened an examination or made contact about the specific accounts, the streamlined and delinquent procedures generally close, but other options may remain. The sooner you get counsel involved, the more paths stay open, which is why acting before you respond to the government matters.

What does a consultation cost?

We offer paid consultations that are fully protected by attorney-client privilege. We do not offer free consultations. Paying for the consultation keeps your conversation confidential and privileged from the start and delivers real analysis of your exposure rather than a sales pitch. Call (415) 968-1780 to schedule.

Speak with an offshore and international tax attorney

If you have unreported foreign accounts, a foreign-reporting penalty, or a disclosure decision to make, talk to us before you file or respond to the IRS. Schedule a paid, privileged consultation with Kugelman Law by calling (415) 968-1780 or visiting our contact page.

This page is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice. Every tax matter turns on its own facts. Contacting Kugelman Law does not create an attorney-client relationship.