FATCA: Frequently asked questions

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislation was introduced by the US Treasury Department and the US tax collection agency: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

It aims to give the IRS more information about US Persons who invest in and earn money through foreign financial institutions or non-US entities.

It's intended to stop US Persons from using such accounts to evade US income and wealth tax.

On 14 November 2013, France signed an IGA (Inter-governmental Agreement) which allows FATCA to be adopted into French law. View our glossary for more information on the IGA.

FATCA is a US legislation that applies to financial institutions, insurance companies and other financial intermediaries around the world.

Once a year, these institutions must share information they collect about the financial assets held directly or indirectly by any customers who are considered US Persons under FATCA.

HSBC is committed to full compliance with the FATCA legislation, which applies to all our legal entities worldwide. We review the FATCA status of all our customers and will contact you if we need more information or documentation.

FATCA applies to individuals and businesses considered US Persons by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It also applies to businesses with US shareholdings.

The term 'US Person' includes:

We always check how FATCA affects our customers, and will share any relevant information when we can.

Visit the IRS website to find out more about FATCA, or get in touch with your financial adviser.

FATCA came into effect on 30 June 2014.

HSBC fully complies with this new legislation in all the countries and regions where we operate, in line with local laws.

No. FATCA applies to all banks and financial institutions, but the way it's adopted may be different. HSBC is fully compliant with FATCA in all the countries and regions where we operate.

To comply, we need to:

• review all new and existing customers to check which ones fall under the scope of FATCA
• share information we collect about the financial assets held directly or indirectly by customers who are considered US Persons under FATCA
• share information about customers who don't provide the required information or documents to confirm their FATCA status

We may apply a 30% withholding tax on certain types of US income earned by customers who don't provide the required information to confirm their FATCA status.

We may also refuse new accounts or additional products and services to those customers.

For more on the definitions of 'US Person' and 'withholding tax', view our glossary.

FATCA applies to all customers, both individuals and companies, who have an account or a business relationship with HSBC.

No. To determine if you're a US Person under FATCA, we'll only ask for more information or documents if you:

• are a US citizen or resident
• were born in the US
• have an address listed in the US
• have a US phone number
• pay standing orders to a US account
• have a US mailing address or 'in care of' in the US

If you're considered a US Person under FATCA (view our glossary for more), we'll ask you for more information or documents. You can check the IRS website to see if they need you to provide any other forms.

HSBC is required to share information about your financial assets with the French tax authority once a year, who then share it with the IRS. We'll let you know if this happens. We can't offer specific advice about your FATCA status. We recommend contacting a financial adviser to discuss your personal situation in more detail.

For most of our customers, FATCA will have a limited impact and you won't need to do anything. We may still contact you to confirm your status as a non-US Person.

No. But it may mean you're subject to additional requirements and tax rules. We recommend contacting a financial adviser to discuss your personal situation in more detail.

If one of the account holders is a US Person, FATCA legislation applies. We'll also share information about the account once a year with the French tax authority, who then share it with the IRS.

FATCA is an ongoing process. If your account details change, we'll contact you for more information to make sure you still comply.

The information we share depends on your FATCA status. It includes personal information like your name, address and US Tax ID Number, and financial information like your account number and balance. We'll always tell you what we share.

No. FATCA applies to all companies. We'll contact you if we need information or documents to confirm your company's FATCA status. We'll also explain the rules established in the inter-government agreement (IGA) between France and the US, and how we apply this legislation in France.

To determine your company's FATCA status, we may need more information or documents. This could be an HSBC tax declaration or an IRS tax return form. We'll let you know which documents we need.

No. But it may mean you're subject to additional requirements and tax rules. We recommend contacting a financial adviser to discuss your company's situation in more detail.

Banks and other financial institutions may collect information in different ways to confirm your FATCA status. This means you could be asked to provide different documentation by another bank.

We can't offer specific advice about your FATCA status. We recommend contacting a financial adviser to discuss your company's financial situation in more detail.

FATCA is an ongoing process. If your account details change, we'll contact you for more information to make sure your company still complies.

FATCA aims to prevent the evasion of US taxes. To do this, we need to share information about customer accounts held directly or indirectly by US Persons under FATCA. We must also tell tax authorities about customers who don't provide the required documents.

The information we share depends on your FATCA status. It could include business information like your name, address and US Tax ID Number, and financial information like your account number and balance.

We'll let you know what kind of information or documents we need. We may ask for a US tax 'W' form or a declaration of honour confirming your FATCA status.

Yes. We'll send you the relevant forms or give you a link to download them from hsbc.fr.

You'll find the deadline for sending us any information or documents on the letter we send you.

If we don't get information or documents we need, we're required to tell the French tax authority so it can be shared with the IRS. We also may need to apply a tax on certain US payments you get.

HSBC Group may also refuse new accounts or additional products and services to customers who don't confirm their FATCA status.

US Persons under FATCA also need to provide their Financial ID Number (NIF), also known as Tax ID Number (TIN) issued by the IRS.

If FATCA applies to you, we'll contact you about next steps. For more information about FATCA, visit the IRS website, or contact your financial adviser.

If you have multiple HSBC accounts, you may get more than one FATCA information request - depending on what they are. It's important you respond to all requests, even if you think you've already provided the required documentation.