A FATCA letter from a UK bank is a request to confirm whether you are a US person for tax purposes. The right response is to establish your status and answer truthfully, with a US taxpayer identification number if you are one. The letter comes from the bank, not from the IRS, and receiving it does not mean anyone is investigating you.
This post is for UK account holders who have received a self-certification form, particularly those with a US place of birth or a US parent who have never filed a US return. It covers why the bank is asking, what the form means, what is reported, and what to do if your US filings are behind, which our guide to IRS streamlined filing from the UK takes further.
Why has my UK bank sent me a FATCA form?
Because the bank is legally required to find out which of its customers are US persons, and something in your records suggests you might be. The usual trigger is a US place of birth. Others are a US address, a US telephone number, or standing instructions to pay money to a US account.
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (opens the official IRS page in a new tab) is a US law that asks financial institutions outside the United States to identify accounts held by US persons. The UK gave it effect through an intergovernmental agreement with the United States and its own regulations. HMRC's guidance on the automatic exchange of information (opens the official HMRC page in a new tab) explains that UK financial institutions report on US customers to HMRC, which shares the information with the United States. The duty falls on banks, building societies, investment platforms and many insurers.
The letter is therefore routine compliance by the institution. It may arrive when an account is opened, when the bank reviews older accounts, or when your details change. Several institutions may write separately, since each has its own duty. A letter does not mean the bank has concluded you are American. It means it holds an indicator that it has to resolve, with a signed statement from you and sometimes with documents.
What does the self-certification form ask?
It asks where you are resident for tax, whether you are a US citizen or other US person, and for your taxpayer identification number in each country named. For a US citizen that number is a Social Security number. The form ends with a signed declaration that the answers are correct.
Many UK banks use their own form. Some send IRS forms instead, and the two IRS forms are not interchangeable. Form W-9 is the form on which a US person gives their name and taxpayer number. Form W-8BEN (opens the official IRS page in a new tab) is a certificate of foreign status, on which an individual declares that they are not a US person. A US citizen living in Britain is a US person and should not sign a Form W-8BEN, however long they have lived here.
The first step is to settle your own status before writing anything. Birth in the United States almost always means citizenship. A US parent may or may not, depending on the rules at your date of birth. If you are unsure, tell the bank you are confirming the position and ask for time, which is better than guessing in either direction.
- US citizens, including dual nationals and those who have never held a US passport, are US persons
- Green card holders are US persons until the status is formally ended
- People born in the US who have renounced are not, on showing the Certificate of Loss of Nationality
- People with a US parent are US persons only if citizenship in fact passed to them at birth
What happens if you answer wrongly or ignore the letter?
A false answer is a signed false declaration, and it can damage your position with the IRS more than the unfiled returns do. Ignoring the letter does not make the question go away either. The bank may treat the account as reportable on the information it already holds, and may restrict or close it.
The IRS forms are signed under penalty of perjury, and a bank's own form carries a declaration that the answers are true. Stating that you are not a US person when you are is the one response that turns an innocent history into a difficult one. The streamlined procedures depend on a certification that past failures were non-wilful. A false self-certification, made after the bank has asked the question directly, sits badly beside that certification.
Silence has quieter consequences. Where a customer with US indicators does not respond, the institution still has to decide how to treat the account, and it may report it. Its own terms may also allow it to stop new transactions, refuse new products or end the relationship. Practice differs between institutions, so we do not predict what a particular bank will do. Answering fully is the reliable way to keep the account in good standing.
What does the bank report, and to whom?
For each account held by a US person, the bank reports identifying details and financial information to HMRC each year, and HMRC passes it to the IRS. The report covers the holder's name, address and US taxpayer number, the account number, the year-end balance or value, and income paid to the account.
The bank does not report to the IRS directly, and it does not report your tax position. It has no view on whether you have filed returns. The data is, though, the data a US citizen is meant to report personally: balances on the FBAR, filed with FinCEN (opens the official FinCEN page in a new tab), and, above higher thresholds, on Form 8938 with the return. The IRS summary of FATCA reporting for US taxpayers (opens the official IRS page in a new tab) describes the individual's side of the regime.
The FBAR is required once a person's foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year, which a current account and a modest savings balance can do. The practical effect of FATCA is that the IRS can receive a figure from the bank and compare it with what the account holder filed. For someone who has filed nothing, there is nothing to compare. Our guide to FBAR and FATCA reporting in the UK sets the two reports side by side.
Does a FATCA letter mean the IRS is investigating you?
No. The letter is sent by a UK institution under UK regulations, and the IRS has no part in sending it. It is not an IRS notice, an examination or an enquiry, and it does not by itself close any catch-up route. It does mean your account details are likely to reach the IRS in due course.
The distinction matters because the streamlined procedures are unavailable once the IRS has begun a civil examination or a criminal investigation for any year. A bank's self-certification request is neither. A person who receives one and has never filed is, in most cases, still free to choose a route. Anything that does come from the IRS itself should be read before a route is chosen, and our IRS representation page explains how the different kinds of notice are handled.
The letter does change one thing. It is often the first time a person is told, in writing, that the United States may regard them as a taxpayer. Acting within a reasonable time afterwards supports an account of the earlier years as a mistake. Leaving the matter for several years after being told is much harder to describe that way. Keep the letter and a copy of what you sent back.
What should you do if your US returns and FBARs are not up to date?
Answer the bank truthfully, then bring the filings up to date through the route that fits your facts. For a UK resident whose failure was not wilful, that is usually the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures. Worry about the past is never a reason to give the bank a false answer in the present.
The streamlined filing compliance procedures (opens the official IRS page in a new tab) have two routes with the same core package: three years of returns, six years of FBARs, payment of tax and interest, and a written certification of non-wilful conduct signed under penalty of perjury. The routes differ on residence and on penalty, as the list below shows.
A worked example: a US-born graphic designer employed in Glasgow, who left Ohio as a toddler, receives a self-certification form from her investment platform. She confirms she is a citizen, returns the form saying so, and notes that she is applying for a Social Security number. She then gathers the account balances and income records for a Foreign route submission. Her UK tax through PAYE is likely to cover the US tax on her salary, though funds held in her ISA need separate analysis. Nothing in that sequence guarantees an outcome.
Our IRS streamlined filing service covers the submission, the foreign income and FBAR service covers the account reports, and a shorter article explains how the two streamlined routes differ.
- Foreign route (opens the official IRS page in a new tab): no US abode and at least 330 full days outside the United States in one of the three most recent return years; no penalty for a filer who qualifies and complies
- Domestic route (opens the official IRS page in a new tab): for those who fail that test and have already filed returns; a 5% miscellaneous offshore penalty on the relevant foreign assets
- Both routes: conduct must be non-wilful, certified in writing with specific facts
- Both routes: unavailable once the IRS has begun an examination, and neither is a closing agreement
What if the bank wants a US TIN and you have no Social Security number?
Say so on the form. Declare that you are a US citizen, state that you do not yet hold a Social Security number, and tell the bank you are applying for one. Then apply, and send the number when it is issued. A missing number is not a reason to deny the citizenship.
A US citizen is eligible for a Social Security number and cannot use an individual taxpayer identification number in its place. An adult in the UK applying for a first number does so through the Federal Benefits Unit at the US Embassy in London, with proof of citizenship, proof of identity and evidence of having lived outside the United States. The application takes time, so start it as soon as the citizenship is confirmed and keep proof of the date you applied.
The number is also needed for the tax filings, since the streamlined instructions require a valid taxpayer identification number on every return. The order is therefore the form, the number, then the submission. The streamlined filing guide sets out the application steps and the catch-up routes in detail, and you can contact US UK Tax Returns to have your status and dates reviewed before you reply to the bank.
General information, not advice. The right answer depends on your circumstances and the tax year concerned.
