IGA guidance notes
Our IGA guidance notes provide practical assistance to finance industry staff who have clients affected by the agreements with the US and the UK and other automatic exchange of information exchange agreements based on FATCA.
IGA guidance notes June 2016
If you want to compare the changes that have been made from the previous draft, see the version below.
Annotated IGA guidance notes June 2016
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
FATCA requires financial institutions outside the USA to report information on financial accounts held by their US customers to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The information to be reported by foreign financial institutions is equivalent to that required to be reported by US citizens in their tax returns.
If financial institutions do not comply with the US regulations, a 30% withholding tax is imposed on US source income of that financial institution. Financial institutions are also required to close accounts where their US customers do not provide the information that has to be collected.
The agreement between Jersey and the US
On 13 December 2013, Jersey and the US signed an agreement to improve international tax compliance and to implement FATCA. As a result, the 30% withholding tax and account closure requirements will not apply, apart from in circumstances of unresolved significant non-compliance.
Under the terms of the agreement, financial institutions will provide the Jersey Taxes Office with the required information. We will then forward that information to the Competent Authority in the US.
Agreement signed between Jersey and the US
IT guidance notes
We have produced draft IT guidance notes to help local financial institutions to prepare for the exchange of information with the Taxes Office.
These notes include details on our online portal including how to register, the required file format for data exchange and the test platform designed to help financial institutions test their file formats.
IT guidance notes updated May 2016
Submitting a FATCA return
The deadline for submitting a return is 30 June each year. Returns should be submitted to the Comptroller online, through the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) portal.
Before registering on the portal, you must first register with the US Inland Revenue Service in order to obtain a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN).
Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) online returns portal
For practical guidance on how to report to us ahead of the reporting deadline on 30 June 2016, see the following information.
Practical FATCA reporting guidance
Nil returns
Reporting Financial Institutions do not have to submit nil returns if there is nothing to report. Regulation 6, paragraph 3 of Jersey’s domestic regulations states this clearly.
However, you should check every year to ensure that there is nothing to report in that reporting year. You can find out more about Jersey's domestic FATCA regulations below.
About IGAs
Inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) aim to improve international tax compliance through domestic reporting and the automatic exchange of information.
IGAs establish legal frameworks for the exchange of information between financial institutions and tax authorities in other jurisdictions.
Domestic regulations
The exchange of information with the USA under the IGA is governed in Jersey by the relevant regulations. These regulations set out:
- the role and responsibilities of Jersey financial institutions
- the timescales for reporting information to the Comptroller
- the penalties for non-compliance with the regulations
- certain exemptions for the exchange of information
Taxation (Implementation) (International Tax Compliance) (United States of America) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 on the Jersey Law website
gov.je