Florida FATCA Compliance Attorney – Form 8938 & Audit Defense

Florida residents face sharper FATCA exposure for several reasons:

• Dual citizens who hold accounts in their home country assume that U.S. tax rules don’t apply to them
• High-net-worth taxpayers with foreign investment portfolios, offshore structures, or real estate abroad
• Recent U.S. residents (immigrants and green card holders) who still maintain accounts in their home country

Most of the FATCA problems Anthony handles are genuinely complicated rules, and small misunderstandings create large penalties.

The mistakes he sees most often:

• Valuation errors: Reporting the wrong fair market value for foreign securities, funds, or partnership interests
• FBAR overlap: FATCA (Form 8938) and FBAR (FinCEN 114) are two separate forms with different thresholds. Many taxpayers file one and assume the other is covered
• Missed thresholds: Reporting thresholds shift based on filing status and whether you live in the U.S. or abroad; most taxpayers aren’t sure which rule applies to them

When a foreign bank reports your account to the IRS, that information goes into an automated matching system. If your tax return doesn’t include a Form 8938 with matching data, the system can open a civil audit.

If the IRS determines that a taxpayer knowingly skipped Form 8938, civil penalties can reach $50,000 per violation. Beyond that, criminal referrals happen, especially when unreported foreign income is involved alongside the missing form.

Penalties under FATCA are negotiable if you know how to argue them and if you start before the IRS closes the window.

The IRS allows taxpayers to argue “reasonable cause” that the failure to file was not willful and that the taxpayer acted in good faith.

To succeed, a reasonable cause argument needs documented proof, such as reliance on a tax professional who gave incorrect guidance or a genuine filing misunderstanding.

The standard IRS statute of limitations is 3 years. Under FATCA, that window extends to 6 years when unreported foreign income exceeds $5,000. If the IRS classifies the failure as fraudulent or willful, the statute can remain open indefinitely.

The window to fix past mistakes on your own terms is open right now. The moment the IRS contacts you first, your options drop significantly, and the cost goes up.

Coming into compliance before the IRS contacts you is always the better path. The IRS offers specific programs for taxpayers who self-report past errors, including the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures, which significantly reduce penalties for non-willful violations.

Voluntary disclosure has strict requirements that trip up taxpayers and accountants who don’t specialize in this area. As a Florida FATCA compliance attorney, Anthony verifies valuations, confirms asset classifications, checks thresholds, and ensures the narrative holds up under scrutiny.

Anthony N. Verni holds credentials as an Attorney (J.D.), Certified Public Accountant, and MBA. He has spent over 25 years handling FATCA compliance, Form 8938 filings, IRS audits, and offshore disclosure cases for clients across Florida and worldwide.

As a Florida FATCA compliance attorney licensed in the U.S. Tax Court and U.S. District Courts, Anthony brings both legal strategy and accounting precision to every case. 

His clients have had FBAR penalties waived by the IRS. Others avoided criminal exposure by acting early. If you have foreign accounts, missed a Form 8938 filing, or received any IRS correspondence, the right time to act is now.