Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

To comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), we may need to ask you a few questions about your US tax status.

What is FATCA?

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a United States (US) law aimed at reducing tax evasion by US citizens and tax residents who have financial accounts outside the United States. FATCA was incorporated into New Zealand law with effect from 1 July 2014.

New Zealand financial institutions, including Kiwibank, are required to provide relevant information to Inland Revenue (IR) about customers who may be considered to be a ‘US person’ for FATCA purposes. IR passes this information on to the US Internal Revenue Service.

Who is affected by FATCA?

FATCA affects ‘US persons’ who have financial accounts outside the United States. US persons include:

  • US citizens, including those living outside the United States
  • US permanent residents, including ’Green Card’ holders
  • US tax residents
  • Certain persons who spend a significant number of days in the United States each year
  • US corporations, estates and trusts, and other entities controlled by US persons.

Joint account holders are considered separately for FATCA purposes.

How will FATCA impact me as a Kiwibank customer?

  • If you’re new to Kiwibank, we'll ask you a few additional questions to determine if you may be a US person.
  • If you're a US person, you may be contacted to provide further information.

What if I don’t answer?

If you choose not to provide this information, we may have a legal obligation to report your information to IR.

There are consequences for anyone who provides false or misleading information, fails to provide information, or fails to provide an update if there is a material change to the information the person has previously provided to us. IR can impose penalties of $1,000 per offence and criminal penalties can also apply for knowledge-based offences.

What information is Kiwibank required to report to IR?

The information we're required to report are your:

  • Name
  • Address
  • US tax identification number (or date of birth if no US tax number)
  • Account numbers
  • Account balances at 31 March
  • Income totals (e.g. interest) earned in the relevant year ending 31 March by account.

Where can I find out more?

The best places to find out more are: