CRS-FATCA related regulatory obligations

Key dates

• July 1, 2017: over 100 countries including Canada adopted an international standard, the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which has been incorporated into Canada's Income Tax Act.
• January 1, 2020: self-certification must be completed before opening an account for individuals and businesses.
• January 1, 2021: in the absence of valid self-certification, the Bank is required to declare you a U.S. resident or a resident of another country if evidence of foreign residence is detected. If you fail to provide a tax identification number (TIN), you could receive penalties of $100 to $500 from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

What are your obligations?

You must now provide Canadian financial institutions with information about your tax residence and U.S. citizenship.

Consider consulting an independent tax specialist if you need help to clarify your situation.

*If you are a resident of a country other than Canada, please ensure that you have the Tax Identification Number (TIN) for all your countries of residence on hand for tax purposes.

How to make the update online?

1. Access your online bank;
2. Click on your name (at the top of the page on the right);
3. Click Edit under Tax Information (at the bottom of the page);
4. Complete the requested information and click on Save.

How to make the update in person?

1. Read the self-certification document;
2. Make an appointment with your advisor.

To learn more, consult our document detailing your obligations and reporting accounts.

Enhanced International Information Reporting

In March 2010, The U.S. Treasury Department signed into law the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” (known as FATCA), to enable U.S. tax authorities to counter tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers (U.S. Persons) who hold accounts outside the United States.

This U.S. law has implications for a wide range of financial products including depository and custodial accounts, regardless of their currency, whether held by individuals or entities.

The term U.S. Person means:

• a U.S. citizen or resident individual,
• a partnership or corporation organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States or any State thereof,
• a trust if
  • a court within the United States would have authority under applicable law to render orders or judgments concerning substantially all issues regarding administration of the trust, and
  • one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or
• an estate* of a decedent that is a citizen or resident of the United States.

On February 5, 2014, Canada and the United States signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) under the Convention between the United States of America and Canada to improve information exchange and to integrate the FATCA-related dispositions to the Canadian legislative framework.

This agreement is consistent with Canada’s support for the G8 and G20 commitments to develop a global standard for the automatic exchange of fiscal information.

On June 20th, 2014, Bill C-31, in which Part 5 enacts the IGA, received Royal Assent. The dispositions of this agreement are thus implemented through an amendment to the Canadian Income Tax Act (Part XVIII – Enhanced International Information Reporting) that provides Canadian financial institutions a local legislative framework on which to rely on for the application of FATCA related compliance procedures.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is responsible for administering the legal framework.

Under the provisions of the Canadian Income Tax Act, effective July 1st, 2014, Canadian financial institutions are required to determine whether financial Accounts are held by U.S. Persons and annually report information on those accounts to the CRA.

Accounts held by U.S. Persons, Specified U.S. Persons (entities) and Passive non-financial non-U.S. entities controlled by one or more U.S. Persons are reportable to the CRA.

Protection of personal information

Canadian financial institutions will report information on their U.S. account holders directly to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which guarantees that the collection and use of the information is consistent with the Canadian Privacy Act. In addition, information exchanged between the CRA and IRS is protected by the provisions of the Convention between the United States of America and Canada with respect to taxes on income and capital gains.

National Bank understands the importance of uncompromised ethics in ensuring respect for our clients and the communities we serve as well as compliance with laws and regulations. It will continue to comply with all laws and regulations applicable throughout the jurisdictions in which it conducts business activities.

National Bank related entities have also been registered with the IRS and were attributed a GIIN (Global Intermediary Identification Number).