FATCA and CRS reporting: What US expats need to know
FATCA and CRS are two automatic financial account reporting systems that run in parallel. FATCA is a US law that requires foreign banks to report accounts held by US persons to the IRS, while the Common Reporting Standard is a global OECD framework where banks report account holders to the tax authority of their country of residence.
For US expats, this usually means both regimes apply at once: your foreign bank reports you to the IRS under FATCA, and may also exchange data with your country of residence under CRS.
The two overlap, but the obligations are not identical – FATCA/CRS rules can create both bank-side reporting and a personal US filing, while CRS alone does not add a separate US form.
Quick answer
- FATCA and CRS reporting is automatic – your bank collects the data and forwards it.
- FATCA targets US persons globally; CRS targets tax residents of participating countries.
- The United States is not a CRS participating jurisdiction, which is why FATCA and CRS operate in parallel.
- As a US expat, you may still owe Form 8938 and FBAR on the US side.
What do FATCA and CRS mean?
FATCA and CRS are two separate legal frameworks built for the same goal – curbing offshore tax evasion – but on different foundations. The CRS FATCA full form is therefore not a single thing: one is a US statute, the other an OECD standard.
FATCA full form
FATCA stands for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a US law enacted in 2010 under IRC sections 1471–1474. It requires foreign financial institutions to identify accounts held by US persons and report them to the IRS, either directly or through an intergovernmental agreement with their local tax authority.
FATCA can create two layers of reporting at once: your bank reports you to the IRS, and you may separately need to file Form 8938 with your tax return once your foreign assets cross the threshold. This is also what makes FATCA different from the FBAR, which is a separate Treasury filing.
CRS full form
CRS stands for the Common Reporting Standard, developed by the OECD in 2014 and adopted by more than 125 jurisdictions. Banks in participating countries report accounts of foreign tax residents to their local tax authority, which then exchanges that data with the account holder's country of tax residence.
Unlike FATCA, CRS is mainly a bank-to-government exchange and usually does not generate a personal form for you to file.
How the two fit together
The CRS FATCA meaning in practice: FATCA is US-focused and citizenship-based, CRS is global and residence-based. They overlap because banks ask about both in the same onboarding form, but they remain legally separate.
Common misconception: CRS is sometimes treated as a sub-part of FATCA, but the two are legally separate frameworks. CRS is the OECD's parallel answer to the same problem that FATCA tackled first.
For US expats, the practical takeaway: many foreign accounts are reportable under FATCA or CRS, but only if the account and jurisdiction meet the relevant rules. Not every foreign account is automatically exchanged.
FATCA vs CRS: Key differences
The difference between CRS and FATCA comes down to scope and mechanism: FATCA is a US law that follows US persons globally, while CRS is an OECD standard that follows tax residents within its participating jurisdictions.
FATCA is citizenship-based and US-only; CRS is residence-based and adopted by more than 125 countries. The US participates in FATCA but not in CRS.
| Feature | FATCA | CRS |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Combat US tax evasion through foreign accounts | Combat global tax evasion through cross-border accounts |
| Legal basis | IRC sections 1471–1474 (HIRE Act, 2010) | OECD framework, 2014 |
| Who it targets | US persons (citizens, green card holders, resident aliens) | Tax residents of participating jurisdictions |
| Reporting basis | Citizenship and US person status | Tax residency |
| Who reports | Foreign financial institutions to the IRS; US persons via Form 8938 | Financial institutions report to the local tax authority, then are exchanged abroad |
| Personal filing | Form 8938 attached to the US tax return | Usually, none–bank–side reporting only |
| Thresholds | $50,000–$600,000 depending on filing status and residence | No personal threshold; institutions report all reportable accounts |
| Penalties | $10,000 for failing to file Form 8938 correctly and on time; continuation penalties up to $50,000; 40% understatement penalty may apply (IRC §6038D) | Set by each local jurisdiction |
| Countries involved | US plus IGA partner countries | More than 125 CRS jurisdictions |
The other practical split in FATCA vs CRS reporting is what lands on you personally. FATCA can create a US filing obligation on top of bank-side reporting, while CRS rarely does – your role under CRS is mostly limited to answering self-certification forms correctly at account opening.
Who is reportable under FATCA?
FATCA reaches any US person with foreign financial accounts, regardless of where they live. Reporting flows in two directions at once: foreign banks identify and report US-held accounts to the IRS, and US persons may separately need to file Form 8938 once their foreign assets cross a threshold.
Individuals covered
- US citizens – whether living in the US or abroad
- Green card holders – even during long stays outside the US
- Resident aliens – those meeting the substantial presence test
- Dual-status filers – under the dual-status rules for the year of arrival or departure
US person status and US indicia can trigger FATCA review at the bank level, and US citizens are reportable wherever they live. Moving abroad does not switch FATCA off, and this is the single biggest source of confusion for new expats.
Entities covered
- US domestic entities holding foreign financial assets – certain corporations, partnerships, and trusts
- Foreign financial institutions (FFIs) – banks, brokers, investment funds, and certain insurance companies, which identify and report US account holders to the IRS
- Non-financial foreign entities (NFFEs) – reportable when they have substantial US owners
Exemptions
Some accounts are exempt from FATCA reporting, such as certain retirement and government-affiliated accounts, but exemptions are narrow and country-specific.
Who is reportable under CRS?
CRS looks at tax residency, not citizenship. A person becomes reportable when they hold a financial account in a CRS jurisdiction other than the one where they are tax resident, at which point the bank reports the account to its local tax authority, which then exchanges the data with the account holder's country of residence.
Individuals covered
- Tax residents of any CRS participating jurisdiction holding accounts abroad
- Dual tax residents – reportable in each country where they are resident
- US citizens living abroad – reportable under CRS only if they are tax residents in a CRS participating jurisdiction; that is separate from any US filing obligation
A US expat living in Germany, for example, is a German tax resident for CRS purposes. Their German bank reports their accounts to German tax authorities (CRS) and may also report them to the IRS (FATCA). Citizenship does not change CRS status – residency does.
Entities covered
- Reporting Financial Institutions in CRS jurisdictions – banks, custodians, investment entities, and specified insurance companies
- Active NFEs – generally outside scope, but still required to self-certify
- Passive NFEs – reportable, including their controlling persons
Controlling persons
For Passive NFEs (trusts, holding companies, certain investment vehicles), CRS looks through the entity to its controlling persons – individuals who ultimately own or control it. Their tax residency, not the entity's, drives the reporting. This is why CRS self-certification forms ask about beneficial owners, not just the account holder on paper.
What gets exchanged
CRS only exchanges information about accounts held outside the account holder's tax-residence country. An account in your home country is not a CRS reportable account – it becomes one only when held cross-border within the CRS network.
What is a FATCA and CRS self-certification form?
A FATCA and CRS self-certification is the form a bank, broker, payment platform, or investment provider asks you to sign at account opening – and sometimes during periodic reviews – to confirm your tax status. It is how financial institutions collect the information they need to comply with FATCA and CRS reporting obligations.
Without a completed FATCA CRS declaration form, the bank may not be able to classify the account and may have to treat it as undocumented and ask you to correct it.
What the form asks for
- Tax Identification Number (TIN) – your SSN or ITIN for US persons; the equivalent local TIN for other tax residences
- Country of tax residence – one or more
- US person status – citizen, green card holder, resident alien, or none of the above
- Entity classification – for accounts held by businesses or trusts (financial institution, Active NFE, Passive NFE)
- Controlling persons – for Passive NFEs, the individuals who ultimately own or control the entity
Why do both regimes use one form?
Most banks combine FATCA and CRS into a single CRS and FATCA form because the data points overlap. A US expat opening an account in Spain will typically declare US citizenship for FATCA and Spanish tax residency for CRS on the same document – the bank uses the FATCA/CRS self-declaration to decide whether it must report the account to the IRS, the local tax authority, or both.
Why accuracy matters
Whatever you declare on the form should match what you report on your tax returns. If your self-certification says you are a tax resident in one country but your IRS filings show another, or if you omit US person status, the mismatch can trigger account freezes and amended reports. It can also expose you to Form 8938 filing issues on the US side.
How to fill out a FATCA CRS declaration form
Below is a step-by-step walkthrough of the seven sections you will fill in. Most institutions use a combined form, but the structure is consistent across providers.
Step 1: Personal details
Enter your full legal name, date of birth, place of birth, and current residential address. Use the same spelling and address that appear on your tax returns. Most CRS self-certifications require a residence address, and some local rules also allow a mailing address or PO box where permitted by local law.
Step 2: Country of tax residence
List every country where you are tax resident under local law. US citizens and green card holders may still have US filing obligations, but CRS residency is determined separately by each jurisdiction's tax rules. If you are a tax resident in more than one country, list all of them.
Step 3: TIN or SSN
Provide the Taxpayer Identification Number for each country listed. For US persons, this is your SSN or ITIN. For other countries, it is the local equivalent (NIE in Spain, NIF in Portugal, Steueridentifikationsnummer in Germany, and so on). If a country does not issue TINs, the form usually asks you to confirm that in writing.
Step 4: US indicia
The form will ask whether any of the following apply: US citizenship, US place of birth, US mailing or residential address, US phone number, standing instructions to transfer funds to a US account, or a power of attorney granted to someone with a US address. Any "yes" answer flags the account as potentially US-reportable under FATCA.
Step 5: Entity status (for non-individual accounts)
If the account is held by a business or trust, classify the entity as one of three types:
- Financial Institution – banks, brokers, investment entities, and certain insurance companies
- Active NFE/NFFE – operating businesses, generally with less than 50% passive income
- Passive NFE/NFFE – entities holding mostly investment assets, including most holding companies and some trusts
Holding companies, family investment vehicles, and dormant entities almost always fall on the passive side.
Step 6: Controlling persons
For Passive NFEs, list the people identified as controlling persons under local AML/KYC rules; that often includes owners with about 25% control, and for trusts, it always includes settlors, trustees, protectors, beneficiaries, and anyone else with ultimate effective control. Each controlling person's tax residency and TIN must be declared separately.
Step 7: Signature and certification
Sign and date the form. You are certifying under penalty of perjury (in the US context) that the information is accurate. Some banks or local rules ask you to update your self-certification promptly if your tax residence or status changes, but the deadline depends on the institution and local law – new citizenship, new tax residency, or change of address.
FATCA and CRS classification: Individuals, entities, and controlling persons
FATCA and CRS classification is the process of deciding which category an account holder belongs to – individual, entity, or controlling person of a passive entity. The classification drives everything that follows: which form the bank uses, what information it collects, and whether the account ends up reported.
Individual vs entity
Individuals are classified by their tax residency and US person status. Entities – companies, trusts, partnerships, foundations – are classified by what they do and how they earn income. The two paths use different versions of the self-certification form, and mixing them up is one of the most common bank-side errors.
Financial Institution vs NFFE/NFE
For entity accounts, the first split is whether the entity itself is a financial institution:
- Financial Institution – banks, custodial institutions, investment entities, and certain insurance companies; they handle their own FATCA/CRS reporting and are usually not reportable as account holders
- Non-Financial Foreign Entity (NFFE) under FATCA or Non-Financial Entity (NFE) under CRS – everything else, from operating businesses to family holding companies
The label changes (NFFE for FATCA, NFE for CRS), but the underlying concept is the same.
Active vs passive
The second split, and the one most often misclassified, is whether an NFE is active or passive:
- Active NFE – generally an operating business where less than 50% of gross income is passive (dividends, interest, royalties, rents) and less than 50% of assets produce passive income
- Passive NFE – everything else: investment-holding companies, dormant entities, family wealth vehicles, and most foreign trusts
Passive NFEs are reportable not just at the entity level – the bank must also look through to the controlling persons and report their tax residency separately.
Why entity self-certification matters
Misclassifying an entity has practical consequences. A passive NFE incorrectly declared as active will skip the controlling-person disclosure, which the bank or its regulator will later catch and request to correct – often with a frozen account in the meantime. The reverse mistake (active wrongly declared as passive) exposes owners to reporting that they did not need to trigger.
Banks use your self-certification as the starting point, but they are expected to check whether it is reasonable against the other information they already hold and to correct any mismatch.
What information gets reported under FATCA and CRS?
FATCA and CRS information flowing to tax authorities covers specific data points such as your name, address, tax residence, TIN, account number, year-end balance, and certain interest, dividends, other income, and gross proceeds. The exact dataset varies by jurisdiction and account type, but the core fields are standardized.
Account holder details
- Full legal name
- Residential address
- Date and place of birth (individuals)
- TIN for each country of tax residence
- US person status (FATCA only)
Account details
- Account number or functional equivalent
- Name and identifying number of the reporting financial institution
- Account balance or value as of the end of the calendar year (or at closure, if the account was closed during the year)
Income and proceeds
The income side is where FATCA and CRS diverge slightly in scope, but in practice most banks report:
- Interest paid or credited
- Dividends paid or credited
- Other income generated by the account
- Gross proceeds from the sale or redemption of financial assets (custodial accounts)
For US persons, this overlaps significantly with what you separately report on Schedule B, Form 8938, and the FBAR. The IRS receives the data twice – once from you, once from your bank – and cross-checks them.
Entity and controlling person details
For accounts held by Passive NFEs, the reporting also includes the controlling persons: their names, addresses, TINs, and tax residencies. A single entity account can therefore generate reporting on multiple individuals at once.
What varies by country
The exact data points depend on the local implementing law and the type of account:
- Depository accounts – mainly balance and interest
- Custodial accounts – balance, dividends, interest, gross proceeds
- Cash value insurance and annuity contracts – cash value or surrender value
- Equity and debt interests in investment entities – value and distributions
Some jurisdictions report more than the CRS minimum; some collect additional fields for their own audit purposes. The bank's local regulator decides what stays domestic and what is exchanged abroad.
Does FATCA or CRS mean you personally need to file something?
FATCA may trigger a personal US filing (Form 8938), but CRS usually does not. The FBAR is a separate Treasury filing that runs in parallel to both. Whether you owe anything depends on which thresholds you cross and where your accounts sit.
FATCA: Form 8938
If your foreign financial assets exceed the relevant threshold, you must attach Form 8938 to your federal income tax return. This is a FATCA CRS filing obligation that falls directly on you, not on your bank. Thresholds vary by filing status and whether you live in the US or abroad – the abroad thresholds are significantly higher (covered in the next section).
Form 8938 is filed with your 1040, due on the same date, including extensions. Failing to file it correctly and on time triggers a $10,000 penalty under IRC §6038D, with continuation penalties up to $50,000 and a potential 40% understatement penalty on tax tied to undisclosed assets.
CRS: usually no personal form
CRS is structured as a bank-to-government exchange. The financial institution collects your self-certification, identifies whether you are a reportable person, and forwards the data through its local tax authority to your country of residence. You normally do not file a separate CRS form yourself.
What CRS can do, indirectly, is alert a foreign tax authority to assets they did not previously know about. If you are a US citizen tax resident in Germany, for example, your German bank's CRS report goes to the Finanzamt, which may then ask why those accounts were not on your German return.
FBAR: separate from both
The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is a Treasury filing under the Bank Secrecy Act, not part of FATCA or CRS. You must file it if your aggregate foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, regardless of whether you owe Form 8938.
Key differences from Form 8938:
- Filed electronically through the FinCEN BSA E-Filing System, not with your tax return
- The threshold is $10,000 aggregate, far lower than Form 8938
- Due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15
- Penalties under 31 U.S.C. §5321 reach $16,536 per non-willful violation (inflation-adjusted), with willful violations up to $165,353 or 50% of the account balance
For US expats, the practical pattern is: most will need an FBAR, some will need Form 8938 on top, and CRS typically does not add a personal filing.
FATCA reporting thresholds for Form 8938
Form 8938 thresholds depend on filing status and whether you live in the US or abroad. US expats get significantly higher thresholds – $200,000 year-end or $300,000 anytime for single filers abroad, compared to $50,000/$75,000 for the same filer in the US.
These are the FATCA CRS reporting requirements that fall directly on individual taxpayers, not on banks. Both 2024 and 2025 thresholds are the same; the IRS has not adjusted them for inflation.
Thresholds are roughly 4× higher for taxpayers living abroad than for those in the US, and roughly 2× higher for joint filers than for single filers.
| Filing status | Living in the US | Living abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Single or MFS – year-end | $50,000 | $200,000 |
| Single or MFS – anytime during the year | $75,000 | $300,000 |
| MFJ – year-end | $100,000 | $400,000 |
| MFJ – anytime during the year | $150,000 | $600,000 |
Source: IRS Instructions for Form 8938.
You are treated as living abroad if you meet either the bona fide residence test (a US citizen who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted tax year) or the physical presence test (a US citizen or resident present in a foreign country for at least 330 full days in any 12-month period).
The aggregate value counts all specified foreign financial assets together – foreign bank accounts, foreign brokerage accounts, foreign stocks and securities held directly, interests in foreign entities, and foreign-issued life insurance or annuity contracts with cash value.
Assets reported on Form 3520, 5471, 8621, or 8865 do not need to be re-reported, but they still count toward the threshold calculation.
FATCA, CRS, FBAR, and Form 8938 are not the same
These four are routinely confused, but each has a different filer, threshold, and purpose. FATCA CRS regulations create bank-side reporting obligations, while Form 8938 and FBAR are personal filings you submit yourself.
FATCA and CRS are what your bank does. Form 8938 and FBAR are what you do.
| Who files | Filed with | Threshold | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FATCA bank reporting | Your foreign bank | IRS (directly or via local authority) | FFIs report certain US accounts and US-owned foreign entities; no personal filing threshold on the bank side | Identify US persons holding foreign accounts |
| Form 8938 | You | IRS, attached to Form 1040 | $50,000–$600,000 depending on filing status and residence | Personal disclosure of foreign financial assets |
| FBAR (FinCEN 114) | You | FinCEN (separate from IRS) | $10,000 aggregate at any point in the year | Treasury report of foreign accounts under the Bank Secrecy Act |
| CRS self-certification | You (form) → Bank reports | Your bank → local tax authority → country of residence | None for individuals; bank reports reportable accounts | Identify tax residents of CRS jurisdictions holding accounts abroad |
The key point from the IRS comparison: filing one does not exempt you from the other. A US expat can easily owe all four at once – the bank handles FATCA and CRS, while you file both Form 8938 and the FBAR.
The biggest practical confusion is between Form 8938 and the FBAR. They cover overlapping but different sets of accounts:
- On Form 8938, not on FBAR: foreign pension accounts, foreign mutual funds, directly held stocks and securities
- On FBAR, signature-authority-only accounts are generally reportable; on Form 8938, an account is reportable only if you have the required financial interest or other reportable interest.
What happens if your FATCA or CRS status is wrong?
An incorrect FATCA CRS status rarely triggers an immediate penalty. The first sign is usually a letter from your bank asking you to update or re-sign the self-certification form.
The typical sequence:
- Bank flags missing or contradictory data (US place of birth without US TIN, address change to a CRS jurisdiction not on file, entity classification that does not match the business activity)
- You receive a written request to provide updated self-certification within 30 to 90 days
- If you do not respond, the bank may freeze the account, restrict transfers, or close it entirely
- Once corrected, the bank files an amended report with the relevant tax authority, often covering prior years
It gets serious when the corrected bank report does not match what you filed with the IRS. If your bank reports $400,000 in foreign assets and your Form 8938 shows $0 because you never filed one, the IRS now has independent data showing you should have filed.
That can lead to:
- A $10,000 Form 8938 penalty under IRC §6038D for failing to file correctly and on time, with continuation penalties up to $50,000 and a potential 40% understatement penalty on tax tied to undisclosed assets
- Non-willful FBAR penalties up to $16,536 per year (inflation-adjusted under 31 U.S.C. §5321)
- Willful FBAR penalties up to $165,353 or 50% of the account balance, whichever is greater
For expats who realize they have years of missed filings, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures waive most penalties for non-willful conduct in exchange for catching up on three years of returns and six years of FBARs.
Also read. FATCA penalties for non-compliance
Non-FATCA and non-CRS countries: What this really means
Non-FATCA and CRS countries are jurisdictions that have not joined the CRS framework and have no FATCA intergovernmental agreement with the US.
They exist, but the practical implication for US taxpayers is narrower than it might sound – only a limited number of jurisdictions sit outside one, or both exchange networks, and the exact list changes over time. Check the current OECD CRS signatory list and the IRS/Treasury FATCA IGA list before relying on any country count. US filing duties apply regardless.
A non-CRS country does not automatically exchange financial account data under the OECD framework. A non-FATCA country has no IGA channel feeding bank data to the IRS. On paper, accounts in those countries do not flow through the automatic exchange pipes.
This does not change your US filing obligations. As a US citizen or green card holder, you must report worldwide income and foreign accounts regardless of where they are held. An account in a non-CRS jurisdiction is just as reportable on Form 8938 and the FBAR as one in Germany or Japan – the reporting duty sits on you, not on the country.
Four points worth being explicit about:
- Accounts in non-CRS countries are still reportable on Form 8938 and the FBAR once you cross the thresholds
- US-source income (dividends, royalties, interest) paid into such accounts is still subject to US tax
- The IRS has separate enforcement channels – treaty requests, John Doe summonses, whistleblower programs – that operate independently of FATCA and CRS
- Deliberately concealing foreign assets or willfully failing to report them can create civil and, in serious cases, criminal exposure under FBAR and tax-evasion rules – not a planning strategy
FATCA and CRS compliance checklist for US expats
FATCA and CRS compliance for a US expat comes down to seven recurring tasks – done once at account opening, then revisited annually or whenever your circumstances change. The goal is consistency: the data your bank holds should match the data on your IRS filings.
The seven steps:
- Confirm your tax residency in writing – your country of residence under local law, plus US citizenship or green card status. Most expats are tax residents in at least two places at once.
- Answer bank self-certification forms accurately – every US indicia question (place of birth, mailing address, phone, standing transfer instructions) must be answered the first time.
- Update your address, TIN, and citizenship status promptly – notification deadlines vary by institution and local law, but stale data is the most common trigger for amended bank reports.
- Reconcile your bank's reporting with your IRS filings – the amounts on Form 8938 and the FBAR should match the year-end and peak balances your bank reports to the IRS under FATCA.
- Track the FBAR threshold separately – $10,000 aggregate across all foreign accounts at any point in the year, far lower than Form 8938. Many expats need the FBAR but not Form 8938.
- Keep copies of every self-certification you sign – at least seven years, ideally with the date and account number noted, so you can show what you declared if it is later questioned.
- Respond to bank letters within the deadline – ignoring a FATCA letter or a CRS remediation request is what turns a paperwork issue into a frozen account. The same logic applies under the OECD's automatic exchange of information framework.
When to get professional help
Some situations push FATCA and CRS compliance past what self-preparation can reliably handle. The common pattern is multiple moving parts at once – two tax residences, an entity in the mix, or several years of missed filings.
The seven scenarios where DIY usually backfires:
- Multiple tax residences – dual residency under treaty tie-breakers, with conflicting CRS declarations across banks
- Foreign entities you own or control – corporations, partnerships, or LLCs that may also require Form 5471 or Form 8865
- Foreign trusts and foundations – grantor or non-grantor status, Form 3520/3520-A, and look-through reporting under CRS
- PFICs (Passive Foreign Investment Companies) – foreign mutual funds, ETFs, and pooled investments that trigger Form 8621 in addition to Form 8938
- Unsigned or incomplete bank declarations – including the entity self-certification form for FATCA and CRS, sitting in your inbox unanswered
- Missing FBAR or Form 8938 filings – years of foreign accounts that were never reported
- Prior-year noncompliance discovered after a bank report – when the IRS already has data from FATCA that your return does not match, often resolved through the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures
FAQs about FATCA and CRS
Two reporting systems that make foreign accounts visible to tax authorities. The FATCA CRS definition splits cleanly – FATCA is a US law (IRC §§1471–1474) requiring foreign banks to report US persons to the IRS, while CRS is an OECD framework where banks in more than 125 jurisdictions report account holders to their country of tax residence.
Both regimes apply at once. Your foreign bank reports you to the IRS under FATCA, and may also report you to your country of residence under CRS. You separately handle Form 8938 and the FBAR on the US side.
It is a misnomer. CRS (Common Reporting Standard) is not part of FATCA – it is a separate OECD framework built after FATCA proved the model could work. The two are routinely combined on the same bank form, which is why the term circulates.
US expats do not file a CRS form themselves. They complete a bank self-certification that the bank then uses to report under both FATCA and CRS. On the US side, the personal filings are Form 8938 (under FATCA) and the FBAR (under the Bank Secrecy Act).
A FATCA and CRS declaration is filled in seven steps: personal details, country of tax residence, TIN or SSN, US indicia, entity status, controlling persons, and signature. Every entry must match your tax filings. The full walkthrough is in the section above.
The structure is the same as for any other filer. For India-specific forms, follow the bank's instructions and the local tax-residency rules; NRI status by itself does not determine CRS tax residency.
Your classification under both regimes – whether you are a US person, your country of tax residence, and (for entity accounts) whether the entity is a Financial Institution, Active NFE, or Passive NFE. Banks rely on the FATCA CRS details you provide on the self-certification form to determine what they report and to whom.
A FATCA letter is sent when the bank's records show US indicia it cannot resolve – a US place of birth, a US mailing address, a US phone number, or standing transfer instructions to a US account – without a matching W-9 or self-certification on file. The bank asks you to confirm or deny US person status within a set deadline, usually 30 to 90 days. Ignoring it typically leads to account restrictions or closure.
