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Big Penalties For Missing This Easy-To-Overlook Foreign Reporting
Published on by Linda Weigand in International Business, Tax Services
Every five years, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), part of the US Department of Commerce, issues a mandatory survey that must be filed by US Persons engaged in certain foreign activity. The last survey was required five years ago, and it is due again in 2018. There is no tax due with these forms, but the information must be provided to BEA by the due date of June 29, 2018 in order to avoid potentially large penalties.
You may need to file if you engaged in certain services or Intellectual Property transactions, including:
- Accounting;
- Advertising;
- Management fees;
- Construction services;
- Engineering services;
- Information services;
- Buying or selling IP rights related to patents, trademarks, recorded performances, software, and franchise fees; or
- Other specified transactions.
The filing threshold is foreign sales exceeding $2 million or foreign purchases exceeding $1 million.
The survey is filed on Form BE-120 and is due by June 29, 2018, or, if you sign up for the BEA’s e-file system, it is due by July 30, 2018. An extension of time to file may be requested by email or fax before the form is due. Additional information may be found at the BEA’s website.
If an individual or company fails submit the BEA-120 survey, they can be subject to civil fines of up to $45,000. Additional criminal penalties are possible if the noncompliance is willful.
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