If I opt out of the OVDP and undergo a regular examination, is there a chance my case could be referred back to Criminal Investigation for penalties or prosecution?

Yes. Criminal Investigation’s Voluntary Disclosure Practice provides a recommendation that you not be prosecuted for violations up to the date of your disclosure. If your disclosure is ultimately determined to have not been complete, accurate, and truthful, or if you commit a crime after the date of your voluntary disclosure, you are potentially subject to penalties and prosecution.

If, after making a voluntary disclosure, a taxpayer disagrees with the application of the offshore penalty, what can the taxpayer do?

If the offshore penalty is unacceptable to a taxpayer, that taxpayer must indicate in writing his decision to withdraw from or opt out of the program. Once made, this election is irrevocable. An “opt out” is an election made by a taxpayer to have his case handled under the standard audit process. Some taxpayers may prefer this approach; in some cases the results under the OVDP may appear too severe given the facts of the case. In other cases, this is less clear. In these less clear cases, the IRS will protect its interests and the integrity of the voluntary disclosure program. In these cases, the IRS will likely conduct full scope examinations. Given that opting out will be appropriate for a discrete minority of cases, you should first seek tax counsel before making a decision especially since to the extent that issues are found in a full-scope examination that were not disclosed by the taxpayer, those issues may be the subject of review by Criminal Investigation. In either case, opting out is at the sole discretion of the taxpayer and the taxpayer will not be treated in a negative fashion merely because he chooses to opt out.
Even after opting out of the IRS’ civil settlement structure, a taxpayer remains within Criminal Investigation’s Voluntary Disclosure Practice. Therefore, taxpayers are still required to cooperate fully with the examiner by providing all requested information and records and must still pay or make arrangements to pay the tax, interest, and penalties they are ultimately determined to owe. If a taxpayer does not cooperate and make payment arrangements, or if after examination, issues exist that were not disclosed prior to opt out, the case may be referred back to Criminal Investigation.

On May 13, 2015 the IRS released the memorandum titled “Interim Guidance for Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) Penalties.” Does the May 13, 2015 Interim FBAR Guidance impact the computation of maximum FBAR penalties? If so, how?

Yes. The May 13, 2015 Interim FBAR Guidance impacts the maximum penalty analysis. The maximum willful FBAR penalty under the May 13, 2015 Interim FBAR Guidance is “100% of the highest aggregate balance of all unreported foreign financial accounts during the years under examination.” Hence, the analysis now requires using the lesser of the maximum willful FBAR penalty under the May 13, 2015 Interim FBAR Guidance or the statutory maximum penalty for all years within the disclosure period.