The US Internal Revenue Service is giving people a third opportunity to declare hidden overseas assets and pay a penalty to avoid criminal prosecution.

After collecting $4.4 billion in two disclosure programmes for offshore accounts, the IRS yesterday announced plans for another episode in this campaign. Participants will pay as much as 27.5 per cent of their most valuable offshore assets or their biggest overseas bank account. Citizens must disclose the banks and advisors that were involved in evading any taxes.

“The third offshore program comes as the IRS continues working on a wide range of international tax issues and follows ongoing efforts with the Justice Department to pursue criminal prosecution of international tax evasion. This program will be open for an indefinite period until otherwise announced,” the IRS said in a statement.

“Our focus on offshore tax evasion continues to produce strong, substantial results for the nation’s taxpayers,” said IRS commissioner Doug Shulman. “We have billions of dollars in hand from our previous efforts, and we have more people wanting to come in and get right with the government. This new programme makes good sense for taxpayers still hiding assets overseas and for the nation’s tax system.”

The IRS said the new programme is similar to the efforts in 2011, but with some changes. In a new approach, there is no set deadline although terms of the process could change at any time in the future. “For example, the IRS may increase penalties in the program for all or some taxpayers or defined classes of taxpayers – or decide to end the program entirely at any point,” the IRS said.

In all, the IRS has seen 33,000 voluntary disclosures from the 2009 and 2011 offshore initiatives.

The move to revive the voluntary disclosure system is part of a move by US authorities to crack down on alleged tax evaders, with banks such as UBS already settling civil and criminal cases. The latest bank to come in the IRS’s cross-hairs is Wegelin, the venerable Swiss private bank which faces risk of prosecution for aiding tax evaders, as reported here this week.

Detailing how the programme will work, the IRS said the penalty framework requires individuals to pay a penalty of 27.5 per cent of the “highest aggregate balance in foreign bank accounts/entities or value of foreign assets during the eight full tax years prior to the disclosure”. That percentage represents a rise from 25 per cent in the 2011 programme.

“Some taxpayers will be eligible for 5 or 12.5 per cent penalties; these remain the same in the new program as in 2011,” it said.

Participants must file all original and amended tax returns and include payment for back-taxes and interest for up to eight years as well as paying accuracy-related and/or delinquency penalties. Participants face a 27.5 per cent penalty, but taxpayers in limited situations can qualify for a 5 per cent penalty, the IRS said.

Smaller offshore accounts will face a 12.5 per cent penalty. People whose offshore accounts or assets did not surpass $75,000 in any calendar year covered by the new OVDP will qualify for this lower rate, it said.