Irs Fatca Foreign Financial Institution List Search And Download Tool

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Vernon Butte

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Jan 21, 2024, 5:49:17 AM1/21/24

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Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), withholding agents must withhold tax on certain payments to foreign financial institutions (FFIs) that do not agree to report certain information to the IRS about their U.S. accounts or accounts of certain foreign entities with substantial U.S. owners.

irs fatca foreign financial institution list search and download tool

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An updated FFI List is posted on the first day of each month, and will only include FIs, branches, direct reporting non-financial foreign entities, sponsored entities, and sponsored subsidiary branches that are in approved status on the first day of the month and have been approved at least 5 business days prior to the first day of the month. The date of the last updated list is displayed on the FFI List Search and Download Tool page.

It can download the entire list of Financial Institutions or search for a particular one by its legal name, Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN), or country. See the FFI List Search and Download Tool User GuidePDF for instructions to use the tool.

A registered and compliant financial institution that has been issued a global intermediary identification number (GIIN) will appear on a monthly published IRS FFI list. For an overview of the FFI List and how to access it, please see About the FATCA FFI List Search and Download Tool. To learn more about the FFI List and coordination, including withholding and FATCA registration, please see information on FATCA compliance.

On July 1, 2014, FATCA has come into effect, with implications for financial institutions operating within the USA, as well as abroad. FATCA expands the existing documentation, reporting, and withholding requirements related to USA taxpayers investing outside the USA, in an effort to minimize USA tax evasion. New legislation encourages better tax compliance by preventing USA Persons from using non-USA financial organizations and foreign entities to avoid USA taxation on their income and assets.

The Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) List is issued by the IRS and includes all financial institutions, branches, direct reporting non-financial foreign entities, sponsored entities, and sponsored subsidiary branches that have submitted a registration and have been assigned a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GINN) at the time the list was compiled. The list is compiled on a monthly basis and published the first day of each month.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) introduced a new reporting and tax withholding regime, effective July 1, 2014, that is directed at both foreign financial institutions (FFIs) and nonfinancial foreign entities (NFFEs) to prevent tax evasion by U.S. citizens and residents through use of offshore accounts. The FATCA provisions were part of the HIRE Act, which was signed into law on March 18, 2010. 1

However, only Model 1 allows a partner's jurisdiction to avoid complying with the IGA until the IRS reports similar information back to it. 75 In addition, an IGA is treated as being in effect if the jurisdiction is listed on Treasury's website as having an IGA in effect. 76 The IRS has created an FFI list search tool that is updated on the first day of every month and can be used to search for approved institutions. 77 This list includes countries with a signed IGA, as well as those that have indicated a firm intent to have a signed IGA in effect. 78

When the IRS audits a U.S. taxpayer, U.S. law gives the IRS broad investigatory powers, including the ability to compel U.S. financial institutions to turn over information related to the audit. However, if a U.S. taxpayer holds foreign assets overseas, but fails to report taxable income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), they can continue to evade taxes owed unless the account is discovered. This creates ample opportunity for U.S. taxpayers to both intentionally or unintentionally misreport their worldwide income. Before FATCA, the IRS had limited ability to even detect, let alone thoroughly investigate, assets held offshore in foreign entities. Under FATCA, financial accounts held offshore are subject to a level of scrutiny necessary to ensure these U.S. taxpayers are tax compliant.

The search tool has ben developed to be used when there is a need to refine results by Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN), by financial institution name and/or by country of an FFI or its branch.

The IRS intends to review each registration and then issue approvals; each approved FI will receive a GIIN. The names and GIINs of approved FIs - those not subject to 30 per cent withholding - will be posted on the IRS website on June 2, 2014 and thereafter updated on a monthly basis. The initial deadline to register so as to ensure inclusion on the opening list was April 25, 2014. Certain financial institutions will not be required to provide proof of registration prior to January 1, 2015.

A16: The deadline for Canadian financial institutions to register with the IRS in order to be included on the first IRS FFI list was extended to May 5, 2014. However, under the registration guidance released by the IRS, many Model 1 IGA Financial Institutions were not required to register and receive a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) prior to January 1, 2015. In order to be included on the list for January 1, 2015, a financial institution must register prior to December 22, 2014.

As at September 30, 2023, CIBC Mellon had more than C$2.4 trillion of assets under administration on behalf of banks, pension funds, investment funds, corporations, governments, insurance companies, foreign insurance trusts, foundations and global financial institutions whose clients invest in Canada. CIBC Mellon is part of the BNY Mellon network, which as at September 30, 2023 had US$45.7 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration. CIBC Mellon is a licensed user of the CIBC trade-mark and certain BNY Mellon trade-marks, is the corporate brand of CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services Company and CIBC Mellon Trust Company, and may be used as a generic term to refer to either or both companies.