IRS Voluntary Classification Settlement Program is Broken

Sometimes employers misclassify their workers as independent contractors (self-employed) when, in fact, they are employees.  And when I say “sometimes” I mean millions of times.  It is very common.  I’m sure some of them do it unknowingly, but I am also certain that some employers do it because they don’t want the responsibility and costs associated with having actual employees.  The difference is that employers must withhold and/or pay a number of taxes when a worker is also an employee, including income taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment.

The IRS would love it if taxpayers (including employers) would fall in line with the IRS’ dreams of “voluntary compliance,” but one of the things they do when this doesn’t happen is they set up programs to entice them to come clean on their own.  The IRS doesn’t call it an amnesty program; I don’t think they particularly like that word.  In fact, I put the word “amnesty” in the search box of the IRS website and exactly two results came up, and both of them were in the context of a state amnesty program.  The word tends to have the connotation of getting out of paying taxes or making use of a legal loophole, and the IRS really doesn’t want to suggest that.

But I can use it.  I like the word.  The IRS has an amnesty program for reporting offshore accounts called the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program.  And the IRS has an amnesty program for coming clean on worker classification issues called the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program.  But the VCSP has been very poorly administered over the years.  It appears that just about every aspect of the program has some kind of flaw.  Even the most basic things are not working, like correctly determining eligibility for the program, monitoring compliance with the program, and analyzing program performance.  If you want to read about how screwed up VCSP is, be my guest.  Full report here.

Foreign Accounts & Quiet Disclosures

There is a general, overriding principle in the world of Federal Tax that goes something like this: if you voluntarily come forward to admit your prior tax shenanigans and get yourself back in the good graces of the IRS, there will be less negative consequences than if the IRS catches you trying to get away with it.

This principle holds true with respect to the reporting of foreign bank accounts.  Taxpayers who are caught hiding assets in foreign accounts are subject to criminal prosecution, and could very well face jail time.  But under the IRS voluntary amnesty programs, those who come forward and disclose their offshore assets are promised they won’t go to jail in exchange for payment of penalties that are based on a percentage of their account balances.

There are some who want to get back on the grid without having to pay hefty penalties.  They do this by making a so-called “quiet disclosure” of foreign assets; they report their foreign accounts without giving the government information about accounts held in previous years.  This type of disclosure sometimes tricks the IRS into believing the accounts are brand new.

According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), there may be more quiet disclosures happening around the nation than the IRS has the ability to identify.  The IRS is taking tips from GAO on how to detect more of these quiet disclosures.