US indicia under FATCA are the seven markers a foreign bank must search for in your account records to decide whether you might be a US taxpayer. If any one of them appears, the bank flags your account and asks you to prove your status with a W-9 or a W-8 form. Ignoring that request triggers 30 percent withholding on US-source payments and gets your account reported to the IRS.
The Seven US Indicia
Treasury regulations at 26 CFR § 1.1471-4(c)(5)(iv)(B) list exactly what a participating foreign financial institution must look for in your file:
- A designation in the bank’s records identifying you as a US citizen or resident.
- A US place of birth.
- A current US residence or mailing address, including a PO box.
- A US telephone number, even if it is not your only one on file.
- Standing instructions to transfer funds from the foreign account to an account at a US financial institution.
- A power of attorney or signatory authority granted to someone with a US address.
- An “in-care-of” or “hold mail” address that is the only address the bank has for you.
One indicium is enough. The flag does not mean the bank has concluded you owe US tax; it means your account moves into a documentation process where you have to clarify your status.1eCFR. 26 CFR 1.1471-4 – FFI Agreement
Which Accounts Get Reviewed
FATCA does not put every account through the same screen. For accounts that were already open when a bank’s FATCA obligations took effect, depository accounts at or below $50,000 were generally exempt from initial review. Above $50,000, the bank runs at minimum an electronic search of records for the seven indicia. Once the balance passes $1,000,000, the review is enhanced: paper files come into play, and the relationship manager assigned to the account is asked what they know about the client.
Accounts opened after FATCA took effect go through self-certification at the start. You sign a declaration of tax residency, and the bank checks it against whatever indicia sit in its records. Any conflict has to be resolved before the account is classified.1eCFR. 26 CFR 1.1471-4 – FFI Agreement
What Happens When Your Account Is Flagged
The bank contacts you and asks for documentation proving whether you are a US person for tax purposes. You get a response window set by the bank’s own policies or the intergovernmental agreement in force in that country. For most account holders, this letter is the first time they hear about FATCA at all.
Refuse or ignore it, and the bank classifies you as a “recalcitrant account holder.” Under 26 USC § 1471, a participating foreign bank must withhold 30 percent of any passthru payment made to a recalcitrant account holder.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1471 – Withholdable Payments to Foreign Financial Institutions Your account is also reported, either to the IRS directly or to the local tax authority for onward transmission. Some banks simply close the account rather than carry the compliance risk.
Responding quickly is the only way to stop both the withholding and the reporting. Which form you send back depends on whether you actually are a US person.
If You Are a US Person: Form W-9
US citizens, green card holders, and others who qualify as US persons for tax purposes complete Form W-9. You supply your Social Security Number or ITIN and certify under penalty of perjury that the information is correct.3Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 – Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification Once the bank has a valid W-9 on file, your account is classified as a US reportable account and information flows to the IRS.
If You Are Not a US Person: The W-8 Series
To rebut the flag, you use a W-8 form to certify foreign status:
- Form W-8BEN is for individuals. It also lets you claim a reduced withholding rate under a tax treaty between the United States and your country of residence.4Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-8 BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Individuals)
- Form W-8BEN-E is the entity version, used by foreign corporations, partnerships, and trusts to document their status and classification under US tax law.5Internal Revenue Service. Form W-8BEN – Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Individuals)
Both require your legal name, permanent residence address, and country of tax residency. Banks usually ask to see a non-US passport or government-issued ID alongside the form.
The US Birthplace Problem
A US place of birth is the hardest indicium to clear because it carries a strong presumption of citizenship. If you were born in the United States but are not a US citizen, the bank needs a Certificate of Loss of Nationality from the State Department. If you don’t have one, you need to give the bank a reasonable written explanation of why not and why you were never a citizen, together with a non-US passport or other government-issued ID showing citizenship elsewhere. Without one of those combinations, the flag stays.
W-8BEN Expiry and Changes in Circumstance
A W-8BEN is not permanent. It is generally valid from the day you sign it through the last day of the third calendar year that follows. A form signed in March 2026 expires on December 31, 2029, and the bank will ask for a fresh one. Miss the renewal and the bank treats you as undocumented and may start withholding.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-8BEN
A change in circumstances can also void the form before that. If you move to the United States, pick up a US phone number, or otherwise become a US resident, you have 30 days to notify the bank and submit either a new W-8BEN or a W-9.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-8BEN
Where the Information Goes
More than 110 jurisdictions have signed FATCA agreements with the United States, and how the report reaches the IRS depends on which model the country signed.7U.S. Department of the Treasury. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Under a Model 1 IGA, the bank reports to its own tax authority, which then passes the data to the IRS. Under a Model 2 IGA, the bank reports directly to the IRS, with the local government facilitating. The due diligence rules for spotting indicia are the same under both.8Internal Revenue Service. FATCA Governments
Your Own Filing Obligations Are Separate
FATCA moves information from your bank to the IRS. If you are a US person with foreign accounts, you also have your own filings running the other way, and clearing the bank’s flag does not clear those.
FBAR
If the combined value of all your foreign financial accounts crosses $10,000 at any point in the calendar year, you file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FinCEN Form 114) through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing system.9FinCEN.gov. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts The threshold is aggregate: five accounts of $2,500 each will trigger it.
Form 8938
Form 8938 is filed with your federal tax return and covers a broader range of assets, including foreign securities and interests in foreign entities. The thresholds depend on filing status and where you live:
- Single, living in the US: total foreign asset value over $50,000 on the last day of the tax year, or over $75,000 at any point during the year.
- Married filing jointly, living in the US: over $100,000 on the last day, or $150,000 at any point.
- Single, living abroad: over $200,000 on the last day, or $300,000 at any point.
- Married filing jointly, living abroad: over $400,000 on the last day, or $600,000 at any point.
The two filings overlap but are not interchangeable, and the same account may need to appear on both.10Internal Revenue Service. Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets
Penalties
The consequences are structured to make cooperating with the bank the cheapest option by far.
Ignoring the bank’s documentation request means 30 percent withholding on US-source payments through the account.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1471 – Withholdable Payments to Foreign Financial Institutions Failing to provide a correct taxpayer identification number on a W-9 when one is required brings backup withholding of 24 percent on certain income like interest and dividends.11Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding
Lying on a W-9 or W-8 is worse. Both forms are signed under penalty of perjury, and a fraudulent declaration on a tax document is a felony under 26 USC § 7206, carrying a fine of up to $100,000 (or $500,000 for a corporation) and up to three years in prison.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7206 – Fraud and False Statements
On the FBAR side, a non-willful failure to file tops out at $10,000 per violation. Willful non-filing is the greater of $100,000 or 50 percent of the highest account balance during the year, applied per account per year. That is how FBAR cases reach six and seven figures in practice.