How soon will the penalty bill come?

[RightOn]

A client forgot to file his 2010 FBAR (Form TD 90-22.1) last year and he has filed it together with his 2011 one in mid-May this year. But he did not attach a cover letter to explain why his 2010 FBAR was late. Now he is very worried that he will be penalized for it.

He filed the past due 2010 FBAR in mid-May. So if they decide to penalize him, is there a time frame that the penalty letter will come? If he does not receive a penalty bill by the end of September, is it pretty safe to assume that they will not penalize him?

Thank you for your help.

[taxea]

they have 3 years minimum to assess a penalty. tp will get notice when irs discovers the error

[OtisMozzetti]

He will be twisting in the wind until if and when the Treasury Dept. decides to assess a penalty. My own hunch is that they don't always assess the very substantial penalty. The moral of the story is that it is always wise to file the FBAR and to file it on time!

EA in California