January 5, 2027

Webcast

2 CPE Credits

Don Farmer's Basics of Foreign Reporting for Individuals: How to Avoid Large Penalties

January 5, 2027
Webcast
2 CPE Credits

Don Farmer's Basics of Foreign Reporting for Individuals: How to Avoid Large Penalties

  • View Bio

    Instructor

    Nick
    Preusch

    View Bio

    Nick Preusch

    Bio

    Nick Preusch's, CPA, JD, LLM, primary focus is performing tax services for high wealth individuals and mid-to-large business entities. His responsibilities include tax research related to complex business transactions and tax return preparation and review. Nick also works closely with businesses to find tax efficiencies through ever-changing tax legislation.

    Nick is an IRS attorney at the IRS National Office in Washington, DC, where he was the lead attorney for several significant tax ethics cases. He is a licensed attorney in New York and a certified public accountant in Virginia. Nick earned an LLM in Taxation from Georgetown University, a JD from Case Western Reserve University, and an MS in Accounting from the University of Connecticut.

U.S. individuals with foreign financial accounts and assets face complex reporting requirements and potentially severe civil penalties for noncompliance. This focused 2-hour program provides a practical overview of key international reporting obligations for individuals, including FBAR (FinCEN Form 114), FATCA reporting (Form 8938), and related information returns.

Participants will review filing thresholds, definitions of foreign financial accounts and specified foreign financial assets, and common problem areas such as foreign trusts, gifts, and ownership of foreign entities. The course emphasizes penalty structures, IRS enforcement trends, and compliance strategies designed to help practitioners identify risks and guide clients in avoiding costly mistakes.

Through practical examples and case-based discussion, participants will examine when reporting is required, how the forms interact, and how to minimize exposure to significant penalties.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify U.S. reporting requirements for foreign financial accounts and specified foreign financial assets

2. Determine when FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) and Form 8938 filing thresholds are met

3. Differentiate between common international information returns required of individuals (e.g., Forms 3520, 5471, 8865)

4. Identify civil penalty structures and IRS enforcement mechanisms related to foreign reporting failures

5. Apply practical compliance and documentation strategies to reduce client exposure to significant penalties

Major Topics

Overview of U.S. International Reporting Regime

FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)

FATCA Reporting – Form 8938

Other Common Individual Foreign Information Returns

Penalties and Enforcement

Compliance and Risk Management

CPE Credits Available

2 CPE Credits
2
Taxes

Things to Know About This Course

Course Level

  • Intermediate

Professional Area of Focus

  • Tax

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of federal individual income taxation. No prior experience with international information reporting is required.

Advanced Preparation

None

Intended Audience

CPAs and tax practitioners in public practice, tax professionals, and practitioners who advise individual clients with foreign financial accounts, foreign investments, or cross-border financial interests.

Provider

Don Farmer Tax Education

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