At recent conferences IRS staff announced a change in certification requirements that has not yet been added to the IRS FATCA FAQs. Regardless of the date of initial Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) registration, an entity is now not required to complete FATCA certifications if it deregistered before July 22, 2018.

July 22, 2018 Cut-Off

Any entity that was deregistered from the IRS FATCA portal prior to July 22, 2018 is not required to submit a COPA or periodic certification. It will not be possible to access the FATCA portal accounts for these deregistered entities.

Any entity that was deregistered from the IRS FATCA portal on or after July 22, 2018 must submit certifications if it is one of the entities listed in the above chart. Although the FATCA registrations for these entities were deleted during deregistration, the IRS has made the accounts accessible for purposes of certification.

Access to Deleted Accounts

You must use the FATCA ID originally assigned by the IRS to the entity and the account access code / password that you created during the original registration process.

When you access the account, you will note that the only available account options are Certification of Pre-existing Account and Periodic Certification. Access to the account is available for a limited time so it is critical to complete the certifications by the IRS deadlines.

Certification Deadlines

For most entities, the certification deadline for the period ending December 31, 2017 is December 15, 2018. However, the certification deadline for a sponsoring entity and a trustee-documented trust is March 31, 2019.

Types of FATCA Certifications

There are two types of certifications that a Responsible Officer (RO) must make on behalf of an entity:

• Certification of preexisting accounts (COPA); and

• Periodic certification.

[For more detail regarding the specific certifications, see my September 10, 2018 blog: FATCA: Mandatory Certification for GIIN Deregistration].

Which Entities Must Certify?

* Compliance Financial Institutions (FIs) may make COPA and periodic certifications on behalf of electing FFIs that are part of the compliance FI’s consolidated compliance program. A compliance FI may have one of the following FATCA classifications:

• Participating FFI (PFFI), including a Reporting Financial Institution under a Model 2 IGA;

• Reporting FFI under a Model 1 IGA; or

• U.S. Financial Institution.

** A PFFI that is an electing FFI of a consolidated compliance group will be included in the certification of the compliance FI. *** A periodic certification is required only for a Trustee-Documented Trust that is subject to a Model 2 IGA.

For assistance, please contact me via my contact page or at elizabeth@elizabethmcmorrowlaw.com.

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