Complying With the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

This course covers the nuts and bolts of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), enacted in 2010 to discourage tax evasion by requiring greater transparency and reporting of payments made by U.S. individuals and certain corporations, to non-U.S. persons and entities.

In this course we discuss:

• An overview of FATCA’s origins and what it covers.
• Who must comply with FATCA and how to satisfy compliance obligations.
• Compliance procedures, with focus on Form 8938 and FBAR.
• Penalties incurred if obligations are not met.
• Options available in meeting those obligations.
• Reporting obligations and potential fines for foreign financial institutions.

Finally, the course provides a brief review of intergovernmental cooperation to enforce FATCA and how that may affect U.S. businesses. Currently, only individuals are required to comply, while businesses will eventually need to comply when the IRS issues regulations. Corporate compliance with FATCA will rest primarily with high-level executives such as CFOs; however this course will help any business executive understand compliance obligations under FATCA.