Tax information for Cushon customers

If you are one of our many international customers, we likely have a few extra responsibilities to do with reporting your taxes overseas.

These responsibilities come in the form of government legislation, the most common being the Foreign Account Tax Compliance (FATCA) for the USA and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) elsewhere.

Here, we'll explain what they mean and whether they apply to you.

What is FATCA?

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is United States legislation, passed in March 2010, that was enacted to help the US Inland Revenue Service (IRS) ensure it collects taxes from US Persons. A significant part of the rules requires non-US financial institutions, like Cushon, to provide annual reports on any accounts held by US persons. We securely create and send these FATCA reports to HMRC, who then pass them on to the United States IRS.

What is CRS?

Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a similar set of rules to FATCA but covers a much larger number of countries across the globe. It's a legal framework created by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and adopted by the UK to help ensure individuals pay their taxes where they are due. There is a requirement for financial institutions, such as Cushon, to report information about the financial assets they hold for customers who pay tax in countries that are a part of the CRS agreement. When required, the information is exchanged automatically every year. We also securely create and send these CRS reports to HMRC, who then pass them on to the relevant countries across the world.

Will I be affected?

We require all general investment account (GIA) customers to complete a self-certification, providing us with the necessary information required for both FATCA & CRS.
If you're classed as a 'US person' then FATCA applies to you. If it does, please let us know as soon as possible.

The term 'US person' includes, but isn't limited to, the following:

• A citizen of the US, including any person born in the US but living in another country (who has retained their US citizenship).
• A person living in the US, including US Green Card holders.
• Certain people who spend a significant number of days in the US each year.

US persons are not allowed to hold ISA or GIA accounts with us as part of our terms and conditions. If you are classed as a US person and currently hold an ISA or GIA account with us, please get in touch.

If you have tax residencies in addition to your UK tax residency, then CRS may apply to you. If you think it does, again please let us know as soon as possible. We may ask you to provide further details so that we can apply the right CRS classification to your account(s).

Will I be reported?

Any customer who is deemed a US Person, or is considered a tax resident of a country participating in the CRS, will be part of the reporting we provide to HMRC on an annual basis. This information will contain details of the accounts you hold with us, your balances or value at year end, alongside certain income paid or credited to your account during the reporting period.

Any customer who does not provide us with a self-certification will also be reported to HMRC, who may then also share these details with other countries.

Where can I get more information?

If you need further support on using our platform, please get in touch with us directly at help@cushon.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Please note that Cushon cannot offer any advice around your individual circumstances, and you may wish to consider seeking professional advice if needed.

Further information about FATCA and CRS is available on our parent company's website at https://www.natwest.com/operational-tax-and-FATCA.html