Information about CRS and FATCA

Providing Overseas Tax Residence Status Information

As per the Common Report Standard (CRS) and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), we are legally required to collect overseas tax residency status information from all Bank of Sydney customers.

We have a legal obligation to request tax residency information from all new customers upon application to open an account with Bank of Sydney. Additionally, we may request tax residency information from our existing customers, if we do not already hold this information.

CRS/FATCA Self-Certification Form

Frequently Asked Questions

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) are global standards for the collection and reporting of information on financial accounts held by foreign tax residents. Australian Financial Institutions are required to collect information regarding foreign tax residency from their customers and to provide the information to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

 

If you are an individual or an organisation as described below (and a Bank of Sydney customer), you are required to submit your overseas tax residency status information to us.

  1. An individual (including a child, or a sole trader/ sole proprietor) who is an account holder or a joint account holder or an individual who is a beneficial owner and/or a controlling person of an organisation must complete section 1 of the CRS/FATCA Self-Certification Form.

    This information may also be provided by the child's authorised representative.

(A beneficial owner or a controlling person is an individual that directly or indirectly owns a legal interest in the organisation of 25% or more and/or exercises actual effective control over the organisation, whether from an economic or other perspective such as voting powers. In the case of a trust, this includes trustee/s, settlor/s, appointer/s, protector/s, beneficiary/ies or classes of beneficiaries and in the case of organisations other than trusts, this includes persons in similar positions.)

  1. An Organisation who is an account holder or a joint account holder, must complete section 2 of the CRS/FATCA Self-Certification Form.

(Some organisations such as Government entities, listed companies and financial entities are exempt from CRS but may need to declare for FATCA purposes.)

We’re legally required to collect overseas tax residency status information from all of our customers, as per the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). If you have received a letter from us, it means that we currently don’t hold this information for you and we’d appreciate your assistance to collect it.

  • Complete a copy of the Bank of Sydney CRS/FATCA Self-Certification Form and post it to:

    Attn: Bank of Sydney Central Operations Unit
    GPO BOX 4288,
    Sydney NSW 2001

  • Send us an Internet Banking Secure Message (individual customers only). For those replying via Secure Message, we’ll need the details outlined in the next FAQ.

  • Visit any of our branches.

  • Call us Mon - Fri, 9:30am - 5:00pm AEST on:
    o Australia: 13 95 00
    o International: +61 2 8262 9191

If you are an individual customer, you can provide your overseas tax residency status information via Internet Banking Secure Message (not applicable to entity or business customers).

  1. Log into the Bank of Sydney Internet Banking platform.
  2. Click on the envelope icon on the top right corner of your home page
  3. Select ‘+ New Message’
  4. Select the following topic “Other”
  5. Provide the following subject line “CRS/FATCA Details for Individual”
  6. Please replicate the wording provided below and input the fields as required

“No – I am not an overseas tax resident."
OR

"Yes – I am an overseas tax resident of _______________(name of country).
My overseas Tax Identification Number (TIN) is: ___________.
If you are an overseas tax resident and don’t have a TIN, please list the reason why you do not have a TIN from that country in the Secure Message.
If you are a tax resident of more than one overseas jurisdiction, please list all your tax residencies in the Secure Message."

I confirm correctness of details and undertake to advise Bank of Sydney promptly of updated details within 30 days where my above circumstances change.”

7. Send.
8. Confirm via SMS or push notification.

If you would like to submit your overseas tax residency status information in person, we can assist you with this at any Bank of Sydney branch.

You are required to submit your overseas tax residency status information to us, regardless of whether you are an Overseas Tax Resident or not by filling in the CRS/FATCA Self-Certification Form telling us that you are not.

 

Yes. If your business has an account/s with Bank of Sydney, please ensure that a form is submitted for the business and for any controlling persons. Additional copies of the form can be downloaded here.

Each account holder will need to submit their own overseas tax residency status information. If you would like to complete this in a branch, you are not required to go to the branch together, unless you would like to, as each of you will need to complete their own form. If you are responding via secure message, each accountholder (or controlling person) needs to send their own message.

Names may vary from country to country. If it is the equivalent to an overseas tax identification number of that country, then please provide these details.

Please check your records for any letters/notices that may contain this information. You may also wish to check with your tax advisor (if you have one overseas or in Australia) or check with your overseas tax authority.

If you are still unable to find this information, please select ‘Other’ as the ‘TIN Reason’ in the form and provide the reason why you are unable to provide the number. If you find your number in the future you can submit it to the Bank.

Please check your records for any letters/notices that may contain this information. You may wish to check with your tax advisor (if you have one overseas or in Australia) or check with your overseas tax authority.

We may need to periodically update our records to check if your circumstances have changed. Please respond to this request to confirm your current overseas tax residency status.

Additionally, you must also advise Bank of Sydney of any changes which affect your tax residency status.

If we request your overseas tax residency status information, however do not receive this from you by the requested date, we may be required to restrict your account/s so that no deposits or withdrawals can be made.

Bank of Sydney will request tax residency information from all new customers upon application to open a Bank of Sydney account. We may also contact our existing customers to request this information, if we do not already hold this information.

As legally required, overseas tax residency status information collected by Bank of Sydney will be reported to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). We will only collect and share information required to meet our statutory obligations in accordance with our Privacy and Credit Reporting Policy.

For information on the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), you can visit the Australian Taxation Office website here.

For information on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), you can visit the Australian Taxation Office website here.

If you require assistance to determine your overseas tax residency status, please contact your tax advisor as Bank of Sydney is unable to provide tax advice.

Should you have any further questions about submitting your overseas tax residency status information to Bank of Sydney, please contact us Monday – Friday, between 9.30am – 5.00pm AEST on 13 95 00 (Australia) or +61 2 8262 9191 (International).

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