Common Reporting Standards (CRS)

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information. It was developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). CRS is designed to prevent offshore tax evasion and gives participating countries transparency on the financial assets held offshore by their residents. CRS requires financial institutions to identify customer tax residencies and report financial accounts held directly or indirectly by foreign tax residents to local tax authorities. It also requires tax authorities (in participating countries) to exchange this information. More than 100 countries have committed to CRS, including all EU member states and major financial centers around the world. The US has not committed to CRS, because it had already committed to the automatic exchange of information under pre-existing FATCA inter-governmental agreements.

Access the OECD’s website for more CRS information