Exchange of information

What is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)?

FATCA is an information sharing agreement between Ireland and the United States of America. In December 2012, both countries agreed to exchange financial account information supplied by Irish and United States (US) financial institutions. US financial institutions report details of accounts held by Irish tax residents. Irish financial institutions report details of accounts held by US tax residents.

When and how is the information exchanged?

Irish financial institutions must report the details of these accounts to Revenue by 30 June each year. Revenue will exchange this information with the US by 30 September each year. The first exchange of information between the US and Ireland happened in 2015.

How do you file a FATCA return?

Use the Revenue Online Service (ROS) to register for the FATCA reporting obligation if you are a financial institution. If you do not have access to ROS, you must register as a reporting entity. This can be done by completing a Reporting Entity Registration Form. If you are an agent representing a reporting entity, you can register your client through ROS. Once registered as a reporting entity you will be able to access ROS and register for the FATCA reporting obligation. 

Once registered, FATCA returns can be sent to Revenue through ROS. See the IRS guidance and the Filing Guidelines for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)for more information in relation to the return format.

See the Filing Guidelines for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) for more information on:

• how to register as a reporting entity 
• registering for a reporting obligation
• filing a return.

Irish legislation and guidance on FATCA

S.I. No. 292 of 2014, S.I. No. 501 of 2015 and and S.I. No. 19 of 2018 contain details of the due diligence required by Irish financial institutions for FATCA.

See the Guidance Notes on the Implementation of FATCA in Ireland for more information on how FATCA is implemented.

If you are the account holder, see Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) information for account holders for further information.

Next: What is the Common Reporting Standard (CRS)?