OVDI — Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative

OVDP – Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program

WHAT ARE OVDP AND OVDI?

• Both have the same objective: to bring taxpayers that have used undisclosed foreign accounts and undisclosed foreign entities to avoid or evade tax into compliance with US tax laws.
• OVDP was a 2009 IRS program for taxpayers with previously unreported income from offshore transactions.
• OVDI was launched in 2011 to give more taxpayers with offshore accounts a similar opportunity to come forward.
• OVDP had demonstrated the value of a uniform penalty structure for taxpayers who voluntarily came forward to report their previously undisclosed foreign accounts and assets.
• Both programs gave consistency and predictability to taxpayers to help them determine the amount of tax and penalties they faced.
• The initiative also helped the IRS centralize the civil processing of offshore voluntary disclosures.