The IRS has just announced that it has reopened the offshore voluntary disclosure program following ongoing efforts with the Justice Department to pursue criminal prosecution of international tax evasion.

“This new program makes good sense for taxpayers still hiding assets overseas and for the nation’s tax system,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, “As we’ve said all along, people need to come in and get right with us before we find you. We are following more leads and the risk for people who do not come in continues to increase.”

The new program is similar to the 2011 program, but with a few key differences. Although there is no set deadline for the submission of returns, the IRS has warned the terms of the program could change at any time going forward, and that penalties in the program may increase for all or some taxpayers or defined classes of taxpayers. The agency could also decide to end the program entirely at any point.

With FATCA rolling out in 2014, this is a good opportunity for U.S. taxpayers to get up to date with filings before the IRS finds them.

For more information, please go to our dedicated compliance and voluntary disclosure page.