CRS
Common Reporting Standard
Automatic exchange of tax information: banks automatically report to the tax authority of your country about your accounts abroad — balances, interest, turnover. Over 100 countries take part. Vanuatu and the US do not (the US has its own FATCA).
- What it is
- Automatic exchange of tax information on foreign accounts between countries
- Where it applies
- Banks and tax authorities of 100+ countries
- What is reported
- Account balance, interest, turnover — to the country of tax residence
- What it looks at
- Tax residence, not citizenship
- Can you prepare
- Yes: determine residence and structure correctly in advance
In plain words
CRS (Common Reporting Standard) is a system for the automatic exchange of tax information between countries. Put simply: the bank where you hold an account abroad reports your account to the tax authority of your country once a year of its own accord — the balance, interest and turnover.
It works like this: the bank uses your details to determine which country you are a tax resident of and passes the information to its regulator, which passes it on to the tax authority of your country of residence. More than 100 countries take part in the exchange. An important exception is the United States, which has its own separate mechanism, FATCA. Vanuatu and a number of jurisdictions are not part of CRS, but the list keeps shrinking.
What it means for the client: hiding a foreign account from your tax authority is almost impossible today — the information goes automatically. The key point is to determine your tax residence correctly, because that is the country the data will go to. And remember: citizenship and tax residence are different things — a Grenadian passport does not make you a Grenadian tax resident.
Where you encounter CRS
How CRS works
- Account balance
- Interest and income
- Account turnover
- Tax residence
- From the bank’s questionnaire
- Not by citizenship
- More than 100 countries
- Banks and regulators
- The USA — separately (FATCA)
- Automatically, once a year
- Without a separate request
- Between tax authorities
How the automatic exchange works
- 01The bank determines your residence
- 02Collects the account data
- 03Passes it to its regulator
- 04The regulator, to the tax authority of residence
- 05The data are with your tax authority
What you need to know
- Hiding a foreign account from your tax authority is almost impossible
- CRS looks at tax residence, not citizenship
- A second passport does not in itself “switch off” reporting on the account
- The USA does not take part in CRS — it has its own mechanism, FATCA
- The list of jurisdictions outside CRS shrinks year by year
Common mistakes
- Thinking a second passport will hide an account from your home tax authority
- Confusing citizenship with tax residence
- Stating your residence incorrectly on the bank’s form
- Counting on “CRS-invisible” jurisdictions — there are almost none left
- Building a structure without working out where the data will go
What this means for a BRIDGES client
BRIDGES GLOBAL helps you build your structure with a clear understanding of where the data on your accounts goes under CRS: we determine your tax residence correctly and choose bank and programme jurisdictions so that the automatic exchange brings you no unpleasant surprises.
Frequently asked questions
01 /If I get a second passport, will my account stop being reported to my tax authority?
No. CRS looks at tax residence, not citizenship. As long as you are a tax resident of your country, the account data will go there.
02 /Do all countries take part in CRS?
More than 100 countries do. The United States follows its own mechanism, FATCA. Some jurisdictions remain outside CRS for now, but their list shrinks year by year.
03 /What data are reported under CRS?
As a rule, the account balance at year end, interest and income credited, and turnover. Plus the owner’s identification details and their country of tax residence.
04 /How does CRS differ from FATCA?
CRS is a multilateral exchange between 100+ countries. FATCA is a US law concerning only persons with a US connection, with reporting to the US tax authority (IRS). The United States operates under FATCA and does not take part in CRS.
05 /How do I determine my tax residence?
Most often by the 183-days-a-year rule, but the centre of vital interests is also taken into account: home, family, business. It is a separate subject that we work through before the account is opened.
06 /Can the volume of data reported be reduced lawfully?
An account cannot be hidden, but residence and structure can be planned properly. It is not about concealment but about making the picture transparent and predictable.
See also
Read next
This material has undergone editorial review by BRIDGES.
Work out where your data goes under CRS?
We will determine your tax residence and build your structure so that the automatic exchange brings no surprises.