Just last year, a taxpayer in the Fifth Circuit won a case against the IRS challenging its assertion of non-willful FBAR penalties on a per account basis. Now, there is more of the same in 2021. In Kaufman, DC Conn. Jan. 19, 2021, the Court ruled that the statutory cap for non-willful FBAR violations are not determined on a per account basis, but rather a per year or per FBAR basis. The District Court held that statutory cap for non-willful FBAR violations to be determined on a per Form basis, not per account basis. The IRS sought to enforce civil penalties assessed against the taxpayer for his non-willful failure to file timely reports of his financial interest in or signatory authority over certain foreign bank accounts in three successive tax years. Noting Congress’s intent to treat non-willful violations differently than willful violations, the Court concluded that Congress did not intend for the statutory cap for non-willful violations to be determined on a per account basis. Of note, IRS guidance on this matter has not changed.