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Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

Individuals with accounts and other assets in Financial Institutions operating within St. Kitts and Nevis, may have their account and asset information reported to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) where that individual meets the criteria of a U.S. Person, and where the account meets the criteria as a Reportable Account under FATCA.

The United States has defined a U.S. Person for the purposes of FATCA to be:

     

• A U.S. Citizen

• A U.S. Resident (Green card holder)    

• A U.S. Entity, Corporation, Partnership, Estate, Trust

        o includes a foreign entity with one or more substantial U.S.             owners

• A U.S. ‘Tax Resident;

Click here  for more information published by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

The United States has defined a Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) for FATCA purposes to be any entity that:

 

      • Accepts deposits in their ordinary course of business

            o Depository institutions (for example, banks)

 

      • Holds as a substantial portion of it’s business, financial assets for the account of others

            o Custodial institutions (for example, trusts)

 

      • Is engaged in investing, reinvesting or trading of securities

            o Investment entities (for example, hedge funds or private equity funds)

 

      • Are Insurance Companies (or the holding of Insurance Company) that issue contracts with an investment component.

 

Financial Institutions operating within the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis that have registered with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report under FATCA, are required to submit information to the St. Kitts and Nevis FATCA Competent Authority for onward transmission to the IRS. Information must be submitted using the St. Kitts and Nevis FATCA Portal. FFIs must first ensure they are registered with the IRS as information received upon IRS FATCA registration will be required for the St. Kitts and Nevis Portal Enrolment, including the Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN).

 

FFIs can also contact the St. Kitts and Nevis Competent Authority via email at fatca@sknird.com.

 

Click here  for more information published by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has enacted legislation to facilitate compliance by its Financial Institutions with the reporting requirements of the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The legislation gives authority to the Financial Institutions to share the necessary information with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through implementation and enforcement of the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) which the Federation has signed with the U.S. Government.

The Legislation also provides for the confidentiality of the information being transmitted and the restriction in use of such information by the United States Internal Revenue Service.

FATCA Implementation Act

The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis signed a Model 1B Inter-governmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States of America on August 31, 2015, to facilitate the reporting of information from the Financial Institutions within its jurisdiction that have registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for FATCA purposes.

Under this agreement, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is required to establish a Competent Authority which will be responsible for maintaining control of the FATCA process and facilitating the information transfer from the Financial Institutions to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Annex I and Annex II to the Model 1B IGA provides guidance on the processes to be employed by the Financial Institutions to review and identify existing and well as new accounts and to report account information where necessary. The Annexes also provide guidance on what entities and accounts may be exempt from the FATCA reporting requirements.

The Model 1B IGA, Annex I and Annex II can be accessed by clicking on the links below:

SKN IGA Model 1B Agreement SKN Alternat as Signed 31 Aug 2015

SKN Annex I to Model 1 Agreement

SKN Annex II to Model 1 Agreement

General FAQs

What is FATCA?
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was enacted by the United States of America in 2010 to combat tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers holding accounts or other assets in non-U.S. Financial Institutions. It requires Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) to report to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) information on assets held by U.S. taxpayers, or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold substantial ownership interest.
What are Foreign Financial Institutions?
What are Foreign Financial Institutions?

A Foreign Financial Institution includes non-U.S. Financial Institutions that accept deposits, hold financial assets for others, is engaged in investing and reinvesting or trading in securities for others, as well as insurance companies that issue contracts with an investment component. This includes entities such as Banks, Funds, Insurance Companies, Trusts, Private Equity Companies, and Special Purpose Entities.

Who is a U.S. Person under FATCA?
A U.S. person includes:
A U.S. citizen (including persons with dual citizenship)
• A U.S. resident or Green card holder
• Persons that meet the requirements as a “tax resident” of the United States
• A U.S. corporation, partnership, Estate or Trust
What Model Intergovernmental Agreement was sign by St. Kitts and Nevis?

The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis signed a Model 1B Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States Government on August 31, 2015. The Agreement requires the Financial Institutions with the Federation, registered with the US IRS for FATCA purposes, to submit such information to a Competent Authority. The Competent Authority would therefore be responsible for submitting such information to the US IRS. The IGA and Annexes are available on this website.

Who is the FATCA Competent Authority for St. Kitts and Nevis?

The Competent Authority for St. Kitts and Nevis is the Financial Secretary. The Competent Authority designate is the Comptroller of Inland Revenue.

How can I contact the FATCA Competent Authority for St. Kitts and Nevis?

All FATCA related inquiries should be submitted to the Competent Authority Designate at (869) 465-8485 or via email at www.fatca@sknird.com.

What is the Reporting Threshold under FATCA?

FATCA requires reporting by an FFI to the IRS, any off-shore asset or account held by a U.S. person with a value or balance exceeding US$50,000.00. FATCA also requires the reporting of accounts held by foreign entities with a value or balance exceeding US$250,000, where a U.S. taxpayer holds substantial ownership interest that is greater than 10% in such entity.

Who may be exempt from FATCA Reporting?
Some entities may be exempt from the reporting requirements of FATCA. These include:
• Foreign Governments
• International Organizations
• Centrals Banks
• Certain Retirement or Pension funds
• Small local banks or credit unions with a local client base and with low value accounts not exceeds US$50,000.
• Entities that qualify as Deemed-Compliant FFI See Annex II included on this website for more information.
What information is the FFI required to report under FATCA?
As part of the reporting requirements under FATCA, for accounts or other financial assets of a U.S. person, the FFI is required to report
• U.S. place of birth
• Nationality
• U.S. address (including a U.S. post office box, in-care-of address or hold mail address)
• U.S. Telephone number
• U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number or TIN
• Account numbers and their balances
How is an account jointly held by both a U.S. person and a Non-U.S. person or by more than one U.S. person, reported for FATCA purposes?

A Foreign Financial Institution includes non-U.S. Financial Institutions that accept deposits, hold financial assets for others, is engaged in investing and reinvesting or trading in securities for others, as well as insurance companies that issue contracts with an investment component. This includes entities such as Banks, Funds, Insurance Companies, Trusts, Private Equity Companies, and Special Purpose Entities.

Reporting FAQs

What are the different occurrences when a TIN has not been obtained by FIs

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has developed a series of codes that can be used to populate the TIN field of the FATCA XML Schema to assist them with understanding the circumstance under which a TIN has not been obtained by FIs. These relate to 2020 FATCA data and future years.

  • 222222222 – Preexisting individual account with only U.S. indicia being a U.S. place of birth.
  • 333333333 – New individual account that (1) has indicia of a U.S. place of birth, and (2) either:
    • (a) has a change in circumstances causing the self-certification originally obtained at account opening to be incorrect or unreliable, and a new self-certification has not been obtained, or
    • (b) was below the threshold for documenting and reporting the account at the time of account opening and subsequently exceeded the threshold, and a self-certification has not been obtained.
  • 444444444 – Preexisting individual and entity account that (1) has U.S, indicia other than a U.S. place of birth, and (2) either:
    • (a) has a change in circumstances, causing the self-certification or other documentation originally obtained to be incorrect or unreliable, and a new self-certification or other documentation has not been obtained, or
    • (b) was below the threshold for documenting and reporting the account at the time of account opening and subsequently exceeded the threshold, and a self-certification or other documentation has not been obtained.
  • 555555555 – New individual and entity account that has a U.S, indicia other than a U.S. place of birth, and (2) either:
    • (a) has a change in circumstances causing the self-certification or other documentation originally obtained to be incorrect or unreliable, and a new self-certification or other documentation has not been obtained, or
    • (b) was below the threshold for documenting and reporting the account at the time of account opening and subsequently exceeded the threshold, and a self-certification or other documentation has not been obtained.
  • 666666666 – Preexisting entity account with account balance exceeding $1,000,000 held by a passive NFFE with respect to which no self-certifications have not been obtained, and no U.S. indicia have been identified in relation to its controlling persons.
  • 777777777 – For pre-existing accounts where there is no TIN available and the account has been dormant or inactive, but remains above the reporting threshold, also known as a “dormant account”. For reference, the U.S. defines “dormant account” in U.S. Treasury Regulations §1.1471-4(d)(6)(ii).

Please note that the use of these codes is not mandatory and does not mean that an FI will not be at risk for being found significantly non-compliant due to a failure to report each required U.S. TIN. The IRS system will still generate an error notification to indicate the entry is invalid when one of the above codes is used. Moreover, entering nine As or 0s will no longer suppress the error notification beginning with the 2020 calendar year data. The error notification will provide 120 days to correct the issues.

When should Financial Institutions enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority?

Financial Institutions can enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority anytime beginning February 22, 2016, however the deadline to enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority to submit the 2014 FATCA data is February 29, 2016.

Do I have to enroll with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority every year?
No. A Financial Institution is only required to enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority once and their account details will remain valid until revoked
Are Financial Institutions required to enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority if there is nothing to report?

No. There is no requirement for Financial Institutions to submit a Nil Report and as such, Financial Institutions are not required to enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority if there is nothing to report. However, the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority will accept a Nil Report, so Financial Institutions wishing to submit a Nil Report will have to enrol to do so.

What is the submission deadline for submitting financial account information to the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority?

For the 2014 FATCA data, the submission deadline is March 11, 2016. For subsequent years the submission deadline is August 29th.

How many Users can a Financial Institution have for ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA?

Each Financial Institution can have up to four (4) users; a primary user and three (3) secondary users. The primary user will be responsible to create and manage the secondary users.

Are Financial Institutions required to obtain a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) before they can enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority?

Yes. Financial Institutions must register with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and obtain its GIIN before its enrolment is approved, as the GIIN is a mandatory field on the Enrolment Form

Are Sponsoring Entities required to enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority?

Yes. Sponsoring Entities are required to enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority, in order to submit information to the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS Competent Authority on behalf of their Sponsored Entities.

Does the Sponsoring Entity have to be located in ST. KITTS AND NEVIS?

No. The Sponsoring Entity can be located within or outside of ST. KITTS AND NEVIS. In the circumstances where the Sponsoring Entity is located outside of ST. KITTS AND NEVIS, the Sponsoring Entity will be allowed to use a non-ST. KITTS AND NEVIS address on the enrolment application.

Are Sponsoring Entities required to obtain a GIIN before they can enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority?

Yes. Sponsoring Entities must register with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and obtain a GIIN before they enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority.

Is a Sponsoring Entity required to enrol its Sponsored Entities with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority?

No. Sponsored Entities do not have to enrol with the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Competent Authority. However, Sponsoring Entities are to note that the enrolment application must be made in the name of the Sponsoring Entity and not in the name of the Sponsored Entity and the GIIN provided should be that of the Sponsoring Entity.

Can Financial Institutions submit multiple accounts in a single upload?

Yes. The ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Portal has the capability to accept multiple accounts in a single upload, whether directly from a Financial Institution or from Sponsoring Entities.

Can a Financial Institution submit its filings under the US FATCA Agreement to the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS Competent Authority by any other means?

No. Financial Institutions will only be able to submit information electronically, via the ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Portal to satisfy their obligations under the US FATCA Agreement.

Can a Financial Institution submit its filings in another format, other than XML?

ST. KITTS AND NEVIS FATCA Portal will only accept filings in an XML format, as this is the acceptable format stipulated by the US XML FATCA Schema. Alternatively, Financial Institutions can use the manual entry form to enter their data into the system. The system will convert the manual data to the required XML format before submission to the IRS.

Please click the following links for instructions of the:
SKN FATCA Manual V1.1
SKN FATCA Portal Guide

 

For FATCA enrollment form please click here

For FATCA Portal please click here

For Authorization Letter please click here

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