Form 14653 vs Form 14654: which one do I file?
Form 14653 is for an eligible Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures submission, which requires the program's non-residency test. Form 14654 is for an eligible Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures submission, which requires failure of that test and previously filed original returns for the covered years. Current location alone does not select the form.
Same certification, different economics
Both forms require a factual non-willfulness certification signed under penalties of perjury. The program's non-residency test, not current geography alone, distinguishes the tracks. SFOP uses Form 14653 and provides a 0% offshore penalty. SDOP uses Form 14654 and generally imposes 5% on the highest aggregate year-end value of foreign financial assets subject to the miscellaneous offshore penalty (omitted FBAR or Form 8938 assets, plus properly reported assets whose income went unreported; assets not reportable on either form are excluded) during the covered years. SDOP also requires that original returns for the covered years were filed previously.
The judgment inside the form
The certification must state the specific facts supporting non-willfulness. An investment's sophistication does not by itself establish willfulness, but knowledge, professional advice, recklessness, willful blindness, and concealment can matter. A possible willfulness issue warrants legal advice before either form is signed.
Reference information, not legal or tax advice. Figures come from our verified fact base and are checked against superseded values on every site update.