Is FATCA applicable to personal or business customers?
FATCA legislation will impact both personal and business customers who hold an account, policy or agreement with HSBC.
Am I only affected if I am a citizen of the US?
No. If an individual’s account holds any of the following seven criteria, HSBC may request further information/documentation to determine if you are a US Person under FATCA.
- US citizenship or US residence
- US place of birth
- US address including US PO boxes
- US telephone number
- Repeating payment instructions to pay amounts to a US address or an account maintained in the US
- Current Power of Attorney or signatory authority granted to a person with a US address
- In Care of or Hold mail address which is the sole address for the account holder
What does FATCA mean for me if I am a US Person?
If you are considered a US Person (see glossary), you may be asked to supply HSBC with additional information/documentation. You may also wish to visit the IRS website to determine if you need to complete and submit any additional IRS forms.
If you are a specified US Person (see glossary), HSBC will be required to report information about you and your account to the local tax authority or the IRS on an annual basis.
Whilst we will correspond with affected customers in due course, HSBC cannot offer any advice relating to FATCA and we recommend you contact a professional tax adviser to discuss your personal tax situation.
What does FATCA mean for me if I am not a US Person?
For most customers, FATCA will have minimal impact, and there will be no action required.
However, HSBC may still contact you to confirm your status as a non-US Person if we have reason to believe you are potentially a US Person for FATCA purposes.
Does FATCA replace existing tax rules I already follow?
FATCA does not replace the existing US tax regimes, it may however add additional requirements and complexity to the existing tax rules you may already follow. We recommend you contact a professional tax adviser to discuss your personal tax situation.
What happens if a joint account is held by a US Person and a non-US person?
A joint account which has one US owner is treated as a US account and therefore the entire account is subject to the FATCA legislation.
How frequently will I have to provide information for FATCA purposes?
FATCA is an ongoing process. If your account information changes, we may be required to contact you to obtain additional information or documentation so that we are able to update your account classification under FATCA.
What information will HSBC report to the IRS or local tax authority?
The information reported to the IRS or local tax authority will depend on the FATCA classification of the customer. This information will typically be of a personal nature (for example, Name, Address, US Taxpayer Identification Number), and of a financial nature (e.g. Account number, Account balance/Value). We will be communicating with the affected customers in detail on these requirements.
Am I only affected if I am a US Company?
No. The impacts of FATCA are wider than just US companies. HSBC will be reaching out to many business customers globally to determine their status under FATCA. The aim of this exercise is to identify customers which are reportable under FATCA. We will be communicating with customers who need to take further action.
What do I need to do as a business customer?
In order to establish your tax status under FATCA, we may need you to provide additional information/documentation. This documentation could be an HSBC declaration or a US tax form from the IRS. We will be communicating with affected customers that need to complete these forms, detailing when they will need to be completed by.
Does FATCA replace existing tax rules I already follow?
FATCA does not replace the existing US tax regimes, it may however add additional requirements and complexity to the existing tax rules you may already follow. Should you need further advice on your tax status or FATCA classification, you should contact a professional tax adviser.
Why has my other bank asked for different documentation than HSBC?
The way in which Banks and Financial Organisations collect information from their customers in order to confirm their tax status under FATCA may vary. This may mean that in some instances you are asked for different documentation from HSBC than from another Bank.
HSBC cannot offer advice on your FATCA tax status or classification.If you need further support you should visit the IRS website or contact a professional tax adviser.
How frequently will I have to provide information for FATCA purposes?
FATCA is an ongoing process. If your account information changes, we may be required to contact you to obtain additional information/documentation so that we are able to update your account classification under FATCA.
Under what circumstances would HSBC need to report information about my account to the IRS or local tax authority?
The purpose of FATCA is to prevent US Persons (see glossary) from using Banks and other Financial Organisations to avoid US taxation on their global income and assets. HSBC will therefore report information to the IRS or local tax authority on all accounts held directly or indirectly by US Persons. In addition, HSBC may also need to report information about customers who do not provide the required documentation to us.
What information will HSBC report to the local tax authority or the IRS?
The information reported to the IRS or the local tax authority will depend on the FATCA classification of the customer. This information will typically be of a personal nature in relation to the substantial US owners of a business (for example, Name, Address, US Taxpayer Identification Number), and of a financial nature (e.g. Account number, Account balance/Value). We will be communicating with the affected customers in detail on these requirements.