Frequently asked questions - FATCA

What is FATCA?

FATCA is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act valid in the United States.

The purpose of the act is to prevent tax evasion in the US. By virtue of FATCA, financial institutions must identify US Reportable Persons among their customers.

FATCA has been or will be transposed into local legislation in several countries, including all Nordic and Baltic countries.

What are the impacts of FATCA?

As a result of FATCA, financial institutions are under an obligation to identify those of their customers that are US persons, companies and corporations and subsequently report information about financial accounts and assets held by these customers, directly or indirectly, on an annual basis. The financial institutions usually report to the local tax authorities in their respective countries.

FATCA has been or will be transposed into local legislation in each Nordea country. An exception to this is Russia where Nordea has signed an agreement on compliance directly with the IRS.

Thus Nordea must comply with the FATCA requirements in each country and review all current and new customers to confirm their FATCA status. Where necessary, Nordea will contact customers for further information.

Nordea must also withhold tax on FDAP (fixed or determinable, annual or periodical) payments from a US source to certain financial institutions that do not comply with FATCA.

Does FATCA replace other US tax rules?
 

No. FATCA and the related local laws only regulate the customer due diligence and reporting that financial institutions must perform. It does not affect the tax laws you as a person must consider.

Nordea recommends that you consult a tax professional if you have any questions regarding tax rules.

What is Nordea required to do in order to comply?

Nordea must:

• Conduct a review of existing and new customers to identify those that are US reportable under FATCA.
• Report information to the local tax authorities about all accounts held directly or indirectly by US persons. In Russia and Switzerland Nordea reports directly to the IRS.
• Nordea will also have to report information about accounts and other assets held by customers who do not respond to questions regarding their US status.
• Withhold tax on FDAP (fixed or determinable, annual or periodical) payments from a US source to certain financial institutions that do not comply with FATCA.

Is Nordea the only bank doing this?

No, all financial institutions are required to comply with the requirements of FATCA. However, their approach may differ from the one taken by Nordea.

Financial institutions may have different approaches to how they collect information from customers in order to verify their FATCA status; therefore the forms may differ between banks.

Nordea cannot advise you on your FATCA classification or US tax status. If you need further support, you should consult a tax professional.

What information will Nordea report to the local tax authorities?
 

The information to be submitted on the year 2014 includes name, address and US taxpayer identification number as well as account numbers and balances.

How does this affect individual persons?

Am I only affected if I am a US citizen?
No. The law specifies a number of criteria that financial institutions must look for in respect of all customer accounts in order to determine if someone may be a US person. Customers that meet any of these criteria may be contacted in order to obtain further information:

• US citizenship or residence
• US place of birth
• Work permits (“Green Cards”)
• Persons who spend a significant number of days in the US each year
• US address in the beneficiary register
• US telephone number in the beneficiary register
• Recurring payments to an account maintained in the US
• Powers of attorney or signatory authority granted to a person with a US address
• Instances where a “care of” address or post office box address is the only address known to Nordea.

Note that financial institutions are required to search their customer bases for indications of US persons. They may therefore contact customers who in fact are not US persons.
 
I am a US person. How am I affected?
If you are a US person, Nordea may contact you in order to obtain further documentation. You may also wish to determine if you are required to submit any other information to the US authorities.

Note that Nordea cannot give you any advice on this, so please contact a professional tax adviser.

Nordea is required to report information about you and your accounts to the local tax authorities annually. In Russia and Switzerland Nordea reports directly to the IRS.
 
I am not a US person. How am I affected?
Most customers who are not US persons will see no impact and will not be required to act.

However, Nordea may contact you to confirm your status as a non-US person if there is reason to believe that you may be a US person for FATCA purposes.
Note that if you have a joint account with a US person, this account will be treated as being subject to the FATCA regulations.
 

I am a US person and own a large part of the shares of a company. How am I affected?
 

Since you own a large part of the shares of a company, you are most likely a beneficial owner/controlling person in that company.

Nordea may be required to report information about you, but that depends on the business your company is conducting. If your company’s business is “passive”, Nordea must report information about you if you are a beneficial owner/controlling person in that company. A company may be seen as passive if, for instance, more than 50 per cent of the income of the company consists of interest or dividends.

What are the impacts on companies and corporations?
 

Are only US companies affected?
No, FATCA has a wider impact that goes beyond just US companies.

Nordea will contact many customers worldwide to determine their FATCA status in order to be able to classify each customer. This may take place using Nordea forms or US tax forms, depending on what information is needed.

What types of documentation will I have to provide?

Nordea will contact affected customers and provide full details as to what information is needed and what forms must be completed for FATCA purposes. 

Will Nordea provide me with all necessary forms?
 

When Nordea contacts a customer, we will either include the relevant forms or provide links to a website from which they can be downloaded.

What will Nordea do if I do not provide the information requested under FATCA?

Under the FATCA regulations, financial institutions are under an obligation to treat customers who do not provide the information requested as US reportable persons. This means that Nordea will report the same information about such customers to the local tax authorities as it will about those who have provided documentation confirming their status as US persons.

In some exceptional circumstances, financial institutions may be required to withhold tax on certain payments from US sources coming into accounts held by customers who have not provided the information requested.