The Internal Revenue Service recently upgraded their FATCA (Foreign Tax Compliance Act) online registration system. The most notable update is the ability for Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) to register their sponsored entities to obtain a global intermediary identification number (GIIN). A GIIN is used by an FFI to establish its status for withholding purposes and identify the institution for reporting purposes.
General Information on the FATCA Online Registration System
Other Updates to the FATCA Online Registration System
Other updates to the FATCA Online Registration System include:
• Adding two new registration questions: country tax identification number (Question 3B) and common parent entity information (Question 13A and 13B);
• Allowing certain financial institutions to change the “Financial Institution Type”;
• Allowing certain member financial institutions to transfer to another “expanded affiliated group” without canceling the current registration or creating a new registration.