The disclosure regime for offshore income and assets

A new Revenue campaign was announced in Budget 2017 which targets offshore income and assets which have been undeclared or underdeclared to Revenue. Revenue provided a warning of the offshore clampdown back in February, sending out letters to almost 500,000 taxpayers ahead of the 1 May deadline for disclosing assets held offshore. While the primary focus is to catch and/or deter large-scale tax evaders, the new rules could impact anyone with a bank account in another jurisdiction or an inherited property that is being rented out for part of the year.

With less than a month to the deadline for making a qualifying disclosure in relation to offshore matters, Julie Burke, Partner in Ronan Daly Jermyn’s Tax Group, chaired a briefing hosted by the Irish Tax Institute in Dublin where panellists from Revenue and practice addressed a range of members' queries about the offshore disclosure regime, including questions on:

• What to do if you do not have all the information you need to finalise the disclosure by the 30 April deadline.
• Revenue's approach to cases where clients cannot pay the settlement in one lump sum.
• Practical tips on calculating the tax due on offshore funds.
• Practice management issues for your firm i.e. communicating with clients about the deadline and preparing engagement letters.

To learn more, listen to the full briefing here.