For U.S. taxpayers who own offshore bank accounts and other foreign financial assets, understanding their obligations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) can be difficult. But, it is also extremely important—FATCA violations can carry civil or criminal penalties depending on the circumstances involved. In this article, New Jersey international tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, highlights some key information from the IRS’s FATCA FAQs.

If you own “specified foreign financial assets,” you may have an obligation to disclose these assets to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). So, what types of assets qualify, and what do you need to disclose on IRS Form 8938? New Jersey FATCA attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group, explains.