Hsbc Documentation

[Vickey Melling]

Introducedby the United States Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the purpose of FATCA is to encourage better tax compliance by preventing US persons (see glossary) from using banks and other financial organisations to avoid US taxation on their income and assets.

A significant number of countries and territories worldwide are expected to sign inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) relating to FATCA compliance with the United States government. These IGAs will result in the FATCA legislation becoming part of their local laws (please refer to the glossary for IGA definition).

HSBC is committed to being fully FATCA compliant in all countries and territories where we operate. We will therefore be reviewing our existing customer base to confirm the FATCA statuses of our customers and where necessary we may have to contact our customers for further information and documentation.

FATCA legislation affects both personal and business customers who are treated as a US person (see glossary) for US tax purposes. The FATCA legislation also affects certain types of businesses with US owners.

No. All banks and other financial organisations are affected by FATCA, however their approach to adopting FATCA may differ. HSBC is committed to being fully FATCA compliant in all countries and territories where we operate.

In certain circumstances and where customers fail to provide the appropriate documentation or when doing business with non-compliant entities, HSBC may be required to apply 30% US withholding tax on certain types of US income paid to such customers.

If you are considered a US person (see glossary), you may be asked to supply HSBC with additional information or documentation. You may also wish to visit the IRS website: External site: Link opens in an overlay to determine if you need to complete and submit any additional IRS forms.

Whilst we will correspond with affected customers in due course, HSBC cannot offer any advice relating to FATCA and we recommend that you contact a professional tax advisor to discuss your personal tax situation.

FATCA does not replace the existing US tax regimes, it may however add additional requirements and complexity to the existing US tax rules you may already follow. We recommend you contact a professional tax advisor to discuss your personal tax situation.

FATCA is an ongoing process. If your account information changes, we may be required to contact you to obtain additional information or documentation so that we are able to update your account classification under FATCA.

The information reported to the IRS or local tax authority will depend on the FATCA classification of the customer. This information will typically be of a personal nature (for example, name, address, US taxpayer identification number), and of a financial nature (for example, account number, account balance, amounts paid into the account). We will be communicating with the affected customers in detail on these requirements.

No. The impacts of FATCA are wider than just US companies. HSBC will be reaching out to many business customers globally to determine their status under FATCA. The aim of this exercise is to identify customers which are reportable under FATCA. We will be communicating with customers who will need to take further action.

In order to establish your tax status under FATCA, we may need you to provide additional information or documentation. This documentation could be an HSBC declaration or a US tax form from the IRS. We will be communicating with affected customers that need to complete these forms, detailing when they will need to be completed by.

FATCA does not replace the existing US tax regimes, it may however add additional requirements and complexity to the existing US tax rules you may already follow. Should you need further advice on your tax status or FATCA classification, you should contact a professional tax advisor.

The way in which banks and financial organisations collect information from their customers in order to confirm their tax status under FATCA may vary. This may mean that in some instances you are asked for different documentation from HSBC than from another bank.

HSBC cannot offer advice on your FATCA tax status or classification. If you need further support you should visit the IRS website: External site: Link opens in an overlay or contact a professional tax advisor.

The purpose of FATCA is to prevent US persons (see glossary) from using banks and other financial organisations to avoid US taxation on their global income and assets. HSBC will therefore report information to the IRS or local tax authority on all accounts held directly or indirectly by US persons. In addition, HSBC may also need to report information about customers who do not provide the required documentation to us.

The information reported to the IRS or local tax authority will depend on the FATCA classification of the customer. This information will typically be of a personal nature in relation to the substantial US owners of a business (for example, name, address, US taxpayer identification number), and of a financial nature (for example, account number, account balance, amounts paid into the account). We will be communicating with the affected customers in detail on these requirements.

We will be communicating with the affected customers to provide full details of the information and documentation HSBC needs for FATCA purposes. Documents may include US tax forms (also referred to as withholding certificates or W forms) or self-declarations of FATCA status.

We will continue to review the impact of the legislation for our customers and will correspond with affected customers in due course. For more information regarding FATCA, please visit the IRS website, or contact your professional tax advisor for advice.

Please note that you may receive more than one request for documentation if you have multiple relationships with different members of the HSBC Group. It is important that you respond to all requests, even if you believe you have already supplied the requested information.

This link will direct you to information regarding another HSBC Group member. Please use the links provided to read the local terms of use, which may differ from the terms and conditions of fatca.hsbc.com.

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