FATCA overview
Retail Banking and Wealth Management – Sri Lanka
There are a number of substantial changes being made by financial regulators, governments and banks to ensure the protection and long-term safety of both the financial system and our customers’ interests.
One of these regulations is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), effective as of 1 July 2014. This is a new piece of legislation by the United States Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to counter tax evasion in the US.
The UK has signed an agreement with the US to implement FATCA, so all banks affected are obliged to obtain certain information about customers who may be considered US persons and report any relevant information to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who may pass it to the IRS. Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are in the process of implementing similar regulations that will require the reporting of information to the IRS via their local tax authority.
FATCA will affect many of HSBC’s personal and business customers. The degree to which customers will be affected will vary, depending on the type of account, policy or agreement they hold with HSBC.
Impact to HSBC and our customers
HSBC is proud of our commitment to being fully FATCA compliant in all countries where we operate. Other banks and financial organisations will also be affected. However, their approach to adopting FATCA may differ to that of HSBC.
We’re currently reviewing the effect of the legislation for our customers, in order to identify where we need to report information to the IRS or HMRC. We may be contacting you to request further information or documentation in order to verify your tax status under FATCA.
Please note that you may receive more than one request for information if you have multiple relationships with different members of the HSBC Group. Therefore, it is important that you respond to all requests, even if you believe you have already supplied the requested information.
Additional information
W-9 form: This is the withholding certificate referred to as a ‘W-9’ on the IRS website. This form is completed to confirm US tax status.
W-8 forms: This is a link to the withholding certificates referred to as ‘W-8s’ on the IRS website. This is a series of forms that are completed to confirm non-US tax status.
In order to provide customers with further support when completing IRS W forms, we have provided some additional customer guidance for the forms W-9 and W-8BEN.
(Page last updated April 2020)