Have you received a #FATCA letter or been warned of the consequences of being a U.S. person? http://t.co/p8g1Er2d0G – What, why and how
— US Taxation Abroad (@TaxationAbroad) December 8, 2014
“FATCA” stands for “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act”. It was enacted in March of 2010 as part of the “HIRE Act” (which is an unrelated piece of legislation). “FATCA” will change the lives of U.S. citizens abroad in two ways:
1. It imposes an additional filing requirement on U.S. citizens when they file their tax returns (Form 8938).
2. It will force your local bank, located outside the U.S., into becoming a branch of the IRS.
The purpose of this page is to introduce the problem. For those who want to learn more about FATCA, there are thousands of articles online.
What you need to understand is this:
FATCA = big problems for U.S. citizens abroad. On a pragmatic level, there are numerous reports of U.S. citizens in Europe who are no longer able to get bank accounts.
An article explaining more and suggestions on how to respond if you receive a FATCA letter here.
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