Offshore accounts  – – whether in trusts, LLCs or just in your own name – – can have a variety of financial, business and asset protection advantages.  But they will generally be subject to U.S. tax.  And they have special reporting requirements.  See for example my post from last year about IRS Form 8938.  So make sure your tax preparer knows about the applicable filing requirements.

The IRS and the United States Justice Department are relentlessly pursuing wealthy Americans with secret offshore assets.  U.S. authorities seemed to initially target accounts at banks in Switzerland.  But the Wall Street Journal recently reported that there are also actions by U.S. officials involving accounts in numerous other offshore locations – – including India, Israel, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

So make sure your tax preparer is aware of your offshore accounts – – and comply with the U.S. reporting requirements applicable to those accounts.