Legal
FATCA & CRS
What these international tax reporting regimes mean for your account, and what we may need from you.
FATCA
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is United States legislation that requires financial institutions outside the US to identify accounts held by US persons and report certain information about them. Barbados has an intergovernmental agreement in place, so Sagicor Bank reports through the local competent authority.
It applies if you are a US citizen or resident, hold a US green card, were born in the US, or have certain other connections to the United States — such as a US address or a standing instruction to transfer funds to a US account.
We may ask you to confirm your tax residency and, where relevant, to complete a US tax form (typically a W-9 or W-8BEN). We may also ask for documentary evidence supporting your declaration.
If we cannot establish your status because a request goes unanswered, we may be required to treat the account as reportable, and in some cases to restrict it. It is always better to respond, even if the answer is simply that FATCA does not apply to you.
CRS
Common Reporting Standard
The CRS is an OECD standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information between participating jurisdictions. It works much like FATCA, but covers many countries rather than just the United States.
FATCA is concerned only with US persons. The CRS asks about tax residency in any participating jurisdiction, so it can apply to you even if you have no connection to the United States at all.
Where an account is reportable, the information typically includes the account holder's name, address, jurisdiction of tax residence, taxpayer identification number, account number, account balance and certain payments made to the account.
Sagicor Bank cannot give tax advice. If you are unsure about your tax residency or your obligations, speak to a professional tax adviser. For questions about what we have asked you to provide, contact us on (246) 228-7225 or at support@sagicor.bank.
Need a hand?
We can explain what we've asked for.
We can't give tax advice, but we can tell you exactly which form we need and why.