If you have undeclared financial accounts offshore, you have probably heard of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and you may have considered taking part in the program. Since OVDP started in 2009 to allow people who did not file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Account to come forward and report their accounts-- while minimizing penalties-- more than $9.9 billion in taxes, interest, and penalties has been paid by more than 55,800 OVDP participants. May have chosen to participate in the OVDP because penalties can otherwise be draconian for undeclared offshore accounts, with some taxpayers facing penalties of 150 percent of the account balance.

A FATCA letter typically comes from a Foreign Financial Institution (FFI). The letter will contain a request for information about your tax filing status within the United States. Along with the letter, you may also receive certain forms that your FFI requests be returned, including a W-8 or W-9 form. The purpose of these forms is to confirm your status as a United States taxpayer so the FFI can make a determination regarding whether the bank must provide information about your accounts to the United States taxing authorities.

FinCEN Form 114 is a form that must be filed by certain U.S. connected persons who have an offshore account or who have signature authority on any kind of offshore account. FinCEN Form 114 may be better known as a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). The form must be filed annually by those who have accounts that must be reported.

In 2008, the idea was formed for a program in which Swiss Banks could avoid criminal prosecution for the bank's role in facilitating the evasion of U.S. taxes. The goal was to catch U.S. affiliated individuals who had funds offshore they were not declaring. The U.S. and Swiss governments negotiated on how to structure efforts to fight tax evasion, and in 2013, the Swiss Bank Program launched.

If you have offshore funds at a Swiss bank account, the United States government wants to know about your account and about the money within it. You must file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) and could face serious penalties if you don't, especially if the IRS believes you willfully failed to disclose your offshore account.