Serbinski Accounting Firms

Btw, the IRS has extended the deadline for the current OVDI program to Sept. 9, 2011 because of the likely disruptions to be caused by Hurricane Irene.

I'm curious about this too, especially in light of this recent article in Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/irswatch/20 ... ng-abroad/

The most troubling paragraphs from the article are these two:

"The IRS has indicated that it will be looking for individuals who make quiet disclosures and will audit those individuals. Also, the IRS has stated that it will consider criminal prosecution of those individuals when appropriate. If criminal prosecution is not warranted, the IRS said that it will impose the maximum penalties that apply, including the penalty for willfully failing to file an FBAR — the greater of $100,000 or 50 percent of the amount in the foreign financial account for each violation.

U.S. citizens living abroad (including dual citizens) are taking a significant risk in filing quiet disclosures, particularly if they would otherwise qualify for the reduced 5 percent penalty under the IRS’s OVDI. They may find out that their quiet disclosures will not be “quietâ€￾ after all and they may face much harsher penalties when the IRS discovers and audits them."

Nelsona has repeatedly stated that s/he has no knowledge of ANYONE in the past being punished by the IRS following a quiet disclosure. But will that hold true in the future? It seems like a pure money grab on the part of the US Treasury Dept....lord knows they need it, but I deal with many long-time Canadian residents/USCs who in no way deserve this sort of harsh treatment.

I expect this will set off a firestorm of debate on "To OVDI or to not OVDI" but Forbes is a respected financial publication and there may be something to this.

I don't think it's a provincial issue...it has to do with some of the US brokerage firms not being licensed to trade securities on behalf of non-US residents. Before I moved to Canada, all my IRA and Roth IRA accounts were with Vanguard. In 2008, Vanguard informed me that as a Canadian resident, I c...

US exempts capital gains on the sale of your principal residence, just like Canada, but only up to a point. You can exclude from income a gain of up to US$250,000 if you're single, US$500,000 if legally married (i.e., not common-law). If you have a gain that exceeds the amount you're allowed to excl...

I'm guessing the fees at Fidelity will be lower. I'm a DIY investor also with a bias towards buy-and-hold or buy-and-rebalance ala' the Bogleheads. When I do trade the odd ETF now and then, it's $7.95 per trade. And Fidelity has a suite of 30 commission-free ETFs as well that get you in/out of all o...

I'm a US citizen who moved to Canada about 4 years ago as a Permanent Resident. I'm semi-retired and plan to say in Canada indefinitely. I have substantial IRA and Roth IRA assets from my working days in the US. Fidelity Investments is perfectly fine with letting me transact in my accounts, even tho...

Since Roth IRAs are given no tax preference when the account holder is a tax resident of Canada, does it make sense for a US citizen to convert a Roth IRA to a traditional IRA before taking up tax residence in Canada? I am a US citizen in (hopefully) the final stages of gaining permanent resident st...