Under the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE) of 2010 the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Pub. L. 111-147 (H.R. 2847) (the Act) was enacted by Congress to target non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts. Section 501(a) of the Act added chapter 4 (sections 1471-1474) to Subtitle A of the Code. Chapter 4 generally requires that FFIs and certain other non-financial foreign entities (NFFEs) report on the foreign assets held by their U.S. account holders or be subject to 30% withholding on withholdable payments. In addition, U.S. financial institutions (USFIs) and other types of U.S. withholding agents are required to withhold 30% on certain U.S. source payments made to foreign entities if they are unable to document such entities for purposes of FATCA.

FATCA is intended to increase transparency with respect to U.S. taxpayers holding assets in non-U.S. financial accounts and non-U.S. entities. The overall purpose is to detect, deter and discourage offshore tax abuses through increased transparency, enhanced reporting, and strong sanctions.

FATCA requires FFIs to report to the IRS information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers, or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest. FFIs are encouraged to either directly register with the IRS to comply with the FATCA regulations (and FFI agreement, if applicable) or comply with the FATCA Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA) treated as in effect in their jurisdictions. For access to the FATCA regulations and administrative guidance related to FATCA and to learn about taxpayer obligations please visit Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) under FATCA are bilateral agreements between the United States and foreign governments that implement or facilitate the implementation of FATCA through the reporting and exchange of financial account data. The FFI agreement (Revenue Procedure 2017-16) provides guidance on the FATCA requirements for participating FFIs and reporting Model 2 FFIs. This agreement sets forth the FFI’s due diligence, withholding, information reporting, tax return filing, and other obligations as a participating FFI. Refer to Revenue Procedure 2017-16 Updated FFI Agreement and view the Table of FATCA Agreements and Understandings in Effect by Jurisdiction to find a list of Model Intergovernmental Agreements and assorted additional statements related to FATCA and its implementation. A general description of each model type as it relates to FATCA is found below:

While the focus of this IRM is the FATCA registration review of foreign financial institutions (FFIs), please note that the HIRE Act also contains legislation requiring U.S. persons (individuals) to report, depending on the value, their foreign financial accounts, and foreign assets. Certain assets are reported to the IRS generally using Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets. For more information, please refer to FATCA Information for Individuals, and Summary of FATCA Reporting for U.S. Taxpayers.

The IRS FFI List is issued by the IRS and includes all financial institutions, branches, direct reporting non-financial foreign entities, sponsored entities, and sponsored subsidiary branches that have submitted a registration and have been assigned a GIIN at the time the list was compiled. The FFI list is compiled monthly and published the first day of each month. The IRS ensures that all FFIs that ultimately appear on the FFI list do so in accordance with FATCA legislation. The FFI list publishes the legal name, GIIN and country for tax purposes of approved entities meeting the criteria for inclusion on the list. Financial Institution (FI) registration information includes the names of registered FFIs, GIINs, responsible officers, contact and other information that is self-reported by the FFIs through the FATCA registration portal during the registration process.

Legal authority is derived from Income Tax Regulations (26 CFR Part 1) under chapter 4 (sections 1471 through 1474) commonly known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

Director, WEIIC, is the executive responsible for the policies and procedures in this IRM section.

Director of Field Operations (DFO), FPP & AEOI is the executive responsible for the FPP & AEOI areas.

The program manager provides oversight for the FPP & AEOI program office programs.

Team managers provide oversight to the FATCA Compliance Team(s) operations and are responsible for upholding the integrity of the FFI List by ensuring that all FFIs that appear on the list do so in accordance with the FATCA legislation.

The FATCA Compliance Team(s) is responsible for reviewing FFI registrations to ensure accuracy and completeness, maintaining the integrity of the published FFI List, and issuing Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN), in accordance with established compliance procedures.

Program Reports: The program manager for program office prepares periodic briefing reports for Director, WEIIC, focusing on:

The FATCA team manager(s) report progress on their projects and workstreams to the program office program manager.

The Director of the WEIIC Practice Area Reports to LB&I executive leadership on a continuous basis.

DFO of FPP & AEOI, as the program owner, monitors activities of FATCA Compliance by:

FATCA Compliance has developed program controls to oversee registration operations including:

FATCA Compliance daily registration review for first and second reviewers is assigned by the team manager(s) and published on the program SharePoint site and strictly adheres to the following requirements:

The table below lists the common acronyms and their definitions:

Refer to Pub 5118, FATCA Online Registration User Guide, for more definitions and acronyms. Note that the abbreviations FFI and FI are sometimes used interchangeably.

IRS FATCA Website

Pub 5118, FATCA Online Registration User Guide

Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA) List

FATCA Registration Country Jurisdiction Listing

IRM 4.60.1.10.1, FATCA Overview

Key FATCA Provisions: Summary of Key FATCA Provisions

The monthly listing of approved foreign institutions that have obtained a GIIN, is available using the FATCA Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) List Search and Download Tool

Pub 5147, (FATCA) Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) List Search and Download Tool User Guide

Rev. Proc. 2017-16, FFI Agreement for Participating FFI and Reporting Model 2 FFI.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to FATCA registration system

General Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to FATCA

International Data Exchange Service (IDES)

FATCA Reporting for US Taxpayers

FATCA Related Forms

FATCA Information for Governments

FATCA Information for United States Entities

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FATCA Compliance team members will:

Incomplete Registrations are registrations identified as having incomplete information and/or conflicting data, potentially warranting temporary status changes to "Registration Incomplete" within the EUP system to allow the registrant the ability to edit their registration and re-submit for IRS review.

OFAC-SDN Registrations are registrations involving entities appearing on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list (“SDN List”) or entities located in an OFAC-sanctioned jurisdiction ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡

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Technical Support for FATCA Registration System – In the event that a Financial Institution (FI) or an authorized party is unable to access their FATCA account, system support for the online FATCA Registration System is available. This includes assistance with login issues, error messages, and other system-related technical problems.

Technical Support may be requested by contacting the FATCA Financial institution (FI) technical support or by contacting the FATCA Registration System technical support team via the IRS Help Desk following the appropriate internal ticketing process or public facing support channels, as applicable.

FATCA Compliance team’s responsibilities – When assigned a login related technical support request, employees must: