Rudo Mugwagwa
Rudo advises on investment funds, corporate, and cross-border compliance matters, with experience across fund formation, governance, and investor-side advisory.
The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“U.S. FATCA“) reporting season is fast approaching, and early preparation remains critical for investment funds. In advance of filings, fund managers and their designated FATCA Responsible Officer (“Responsible Officer“) should take note of recent Internal Revenue Services (“IRS”) updates and use the questions below to guide their preparation.
Have you updated your FATCA Portal login credentials?
The IRS has updated the FATCA Portal to streamline login credentials across the IRS reporting systems. Responsible Officers now access the FATCA Portal through Login.gov or ID.me, using a single login for all entities under their oversight. Fund managers should confirm that credentials are active and that all relevant are correctly listed under their profile.
Have you downloaded the IRS public encryption key for Key IDES filings?
The IRS issued a new public key for FATCA report transmission on the International Data Exchange System Portal (“IDES Portal”) in October. Filers must download and use the new key for the upcoming deadline to ensure successful report submission.
Is this the year for your fund’s Responsible Officer FATCA must complete FATCA re-certification year?
Under the Foreign Financial Institution (“FFI”) Agreement, the Responsible Officer must recertify the FFI’s status every three years. The Responsible Officer should confirm whether the upcoming season is a recertification year and ensure before the annual reporting deadline.
Are your FATCA and IDES logins accessible to your reporting teams and agents?
Responsible Officers should confirm access to both the FATCA portal and IDES Portal early in the season. Access should be validated for internal compliance teams and third–party service providers that are engaged to support reporting. Given recent system changes, the Responsible Officer should verify that portal logins have transitioned to the authentication system and establish a secure process for sharing access details where appropriate.
Have your fund service providers been briefed on any recent changes?
Fund managers should confirm that administrator, tax agents and other service providers have been informed of any material developments including, but not limited to, any restructuring, key officer changes, compliance program updates and investor changes. Early coordination ensure all relevant updates are captured for accurate reporting, particularly where classification account data may be affected.
Have you properly identified and documented all US and non-US investors correctly?
FATCA obligations require FFs to identify all accounts to determine which are U.S. accounts under the Model IGA framework and FFI Agreement. Responsible Officers should confirm that investor documentation remains complete and accurate, and that controls are in place to capture updates to investor tax resident and profile data.
For tailored assistance with Model IGA obligations, including IDES submission and Responsible Officer certifications, Basswood can assist.
New to FATCA? Our Model 2 IGA FAQ for first-time fund managers is available here.