Need a little more help telling us about your tax residency status?

All UK banks and financial institutions are required by law to follow the FATCA and CRS rules. A completed form is used to confirm where you're a tax resident, or for businesses, its entity classification.

If you've had a form from us, it could be for a few reasons:

• we think your country or jurisdiction of tax residency has changed
• we didn't need to ask for this information when you opened your account, but now we do
• some information is missing from our records and we need to check this with you.

You'll need to fill in this form every time your country or jurisdiction of tax residency changes.

 

A Tax Identification Number (TIN) is a code that governments or tax authorities use to identify you. Each country or jurisdiction have a different name for it - in the UK, it's known as your National Insurance Number, or in the US, it’s a Social Security Number. You can find out what the TIN for your country is called on the OECD Tax Identification Numbers page.

FATCA and CRS have different rules about what information should be shared. Generally,  we share information such as:

• your name and address,
• the country you're a tax resident of and your tax number, and
• your account details, like the account number and balance.

To find out what information is reported under FATCA, please see the HMRC FATCA page. 

To find out what information is reported under CRS, please click HMRC CRS page. 

We share your information with HMRC, who then share it with your local tax authority.

Each country or jurisdiction's tax authority has a different name; for example in the UK, it's known as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and in the USA, it's the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You can find out the name of your local tax authority on the OECD page.

This will depend on where you live and your circumstances. Each country or jurisdiction has different rules on what tax residency means. The OECD Tax Residency page explains the rules for most countries and jurisdictions, but if you're still not sure, we recommend speaking to a qualified tax adviser.

If we think you're a tax resident outside of the UK, legally we may need to send your information to the tax authorities, even if we haven't heard back from you. This means that we could be reporting your information when we don't need to.

If your account has been closed within the last 12 months, we still need to request your tax residency information from you. This is because you could still be reportable for this reporting period.

If your account was closed over 12 months ago, you don't need to do anything else.

You only need to supply supporting documents if you think our letter is wrong.

For example, if our letter says that we think that you're a tax resident of Spain, but you reply that you're actually a tax resident of Germany, you'll need to supply a document that proves you are a tax resident of Germany.

Please note that all supporting documents must be certified as a true copy of an original document. Please do not send originals.

If you’re in the UK, you can pop into any branch where a member of staff will be able to certify your documents. If you have a Premier Banking Manager or a Relationship Manager, they can also do this for you. Remember to bring your letter, the return cover sheet and prepaid envelope so they can post it all for you.

If you're not able to do this, or are outside of the UK, the following are also accepted:

• A lawyer or solicitor who is listed on a law society or bar association website.
• An accountant who is listed on the Institute of Chartered Accountants or equivalent recognised professional body.

Certification guidance notes

Please take a black and white copy of each page of the original document and certify each page of the copy by including: 

1. Certification statement(s): The phrase “I certify that this document is a true copy of the original seen document.” OR (where photo identification is provided) “I certify that the photograph is a true likeness of the named person”,
2. Certifier’s signature, full name (printed in capital letters) and date of certification,
3. Details of the certifier’s position or the capacity in which they are signing,
4. Details of the name of the regulating body of the certifier,
5. Details of the certifier’s registration number issued by the regulating body (if applicable),
6. The certifier’s contact information in case we have a query.

Yes, we'll still need you to tell us your tax residency information if you're under 18, however your parent or guardian can fill in the form on your behalf, so long as they're a signatory on your account.

Some countries or jurisdictions don't send out Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) until you reach a certain age - for example, in the UK this would be when you turn 16. Other countries or jurisdictions issue TINs when you're a child, such as the USA. Even if you've not received a TIN yet, you still need to tell us where you're a tax resident.

If you want to check the rules on when you'd be issued with a TIN, you can find this on the OECD Tax Identification Numbers page.

All supporting documents must be for the country or jurisdiction of your correct tax residency. The following are acceptable as supporting documents:

If we've sent you a letter because we think you're a tax resident (and not a citizen) of the USA:

• Valid non-US passport

 

If we've sent you a letter because we think you're a US tax resident due to citizenship:

• Certificate of Loss of Nationality, OR
• The reason that the you do not have a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the USA despite relinquishing US citizenship, OR
• The reason you did not obtain US citizenship at birth.

 

If we've sent you a letter because we think you're a tax resident of any non-US country or jurisdiction:

• Passport
• Driving License
• EU National ID card
• (National Insurance) NI card
• Document from Benefits agency
• OAP or Concessionary Travel pass
• Certification of Tax Residency in the country you claim to be tax resident of (for example P45)
• Third party credit report (for example Experian Credit Report)

 

Please note that all supporting documents must be certified as a true copy of an original document. Please do not send originals.

A Financial Institution is defined as a Depository Institution, Custodial Institution, Specified Insurance Company, Managed Investment Entity or Activity Based Investment Entity. 

Very simply, it's a company whose main purpose is dealing with financial and monetary transactions, such as a loans, deposits, investments, etc.

A Non-Financial Entity is any company which is not a Financial Institution.

Whether your business is an Active or Passive Non-Financial Entity (NFE) depends on where the main source of your income comes from.

If more than 50% of your income comes from Passive Income (such as rents and royalties, dividends interest etc), then you're likely to be regarded as a Passive NFE. You can find a full breakdown of what is meant by Passive Income on the HMRC Passive Income page.

If you don't meet the criteria to be a Passive NFE, you must then be an Active NFE. You can find out more about the different types of Active NFEs on the HMRC Active NFE page.

If you're still unsure which one to choose, you should speak to a qualified tax adviser.

All supporting documents must be for the country or jurisdiction of your correct tax residency. The following are acceptable as supporting documents:

If we've sent you a letter because we think your business or controlling person/s might be a tax resident of the USA:

For corporations: A copy of the certificate of incorporation, OR any official documentation issued by an authorized government body that includes the name of the Entity and either the address of its principal office in the country in which it claims to be a resident or the country in which the Entity was incorporated or organized.

Please note if the reason for us contacting you is because of a Care of Address, a country for a Power of Attorney or a country in a Signatory's address, you do not need to supply supporting documents.

 

If we've sent you a letter because we think your business or controlling person/s might be a tax resident of any non-US country or jurisdiction:

For partnerships: A copy of the partnership agreement.

For corporations: A copy of the certificate of incorporation.

For trusts: A copy of the trust deed and any subsidiary deed evidencing the appointment and powers of trustees, OR certified copies of extracts from the deeds.

For all: Audited Financial accounts.

 

Please note that all supporting documents must be certified as a true copy of an original document. Please do not send originals.