How Serious is Failure to File Your US Tax Returns in Singapore?

Do you want to know how troublesome it will be if you fail to file your annual US tax returns in Singapore  or your quarterly taxes? Every action has certain consequences and when it comes to non-compliance with the country’s tax rules and regulations, the consequences are dreadful. To a certain extent you guessed it right, you’ll end up paying more fees and taxes, and may even end up imprisonment.

Living abroad like Singapore comes with all sorts of opportunities along with unexpected expenses in the form of US expat taxes. It’s a fact that the penalties of USA tax in Singaporehave a high price tag for expats, and this is why expats are prone to rack up fines as well as IRS penalties if fail to meet the tax return filing requirements.

There are repercussions for those who either forgot about filing taxes or decided not to file them by the deadline.

When you could be charged with US Expat Tax Penalties In Singapore By The IRS?

The IRS can charge US tax penalties for a number of reasons, but the most common are:

Failure to file the tax- If you fail to file your American tax in Singapore and FBAR by the due date without an extension period, you could be hit with failure to file fines. If you owe USA  tax in Singapore and you fail to file, fines start at 5% and go up to 25% of unpaid tax- and that doesn’t include fines and interest on the owed amount.

However, one thing to note here that there isn’t a significant penalty for filing US expat taxes late if you owe nothing, but you won’t have access to your refund until you file.

Failure to pay USA tax in Singapore- If you don’t pay your taxes, then you are subject to ‘failure-to-pay' fines for the non-payment of USA tax in Singapore. As a repercussion, first, you will accrue interest on the unpaid balance until you repay the amount in full. Second, you’ll be charged the late payment penalty of 0.5% of the overall tax amount you owe for each month it's late, and go up to 25%. The penalty doesn’t stop there- fines for serious US expat tax invaders can result in a freeze of passport and even imprisonment.

Also, there is an imposition of a tax penalty for the underpayment of US taxation in Singapore, so if you submit your taxes even quarterly, make sure you’re paying the right amount.

Dishonored check- If your US expat tax payment check bounces, rejected or your linked accounts have deficient money, still you will be fined for submitting a dishonored check.

An ideal way to avoid any penalty is to have the assistance of a professional US expat tax preparer to help you gather the essential records and documents to back you up. Therefore, if you want to avoid unnecessary tax penalties concerning the filing of US taxation in Singapore, hiring the right expat tax advisor or preparer is key.