This update supplements our previous alert of 3 November 2014 entitled "Impact of FATCA on BVI entities" and our alert of 23 April 2015 entitled "FATCA – Impending Deadlines for BVI Financial Institutions". Please refer to those alerts for a recap of the provisions of FATCA and the equivalent UK regime (commonly referred to as "UK FATCA") and for an overview of the actions to be taken by BVI Reporting Financial Institutions ("BVI RFIs") in 2015, including their enrolment and reporting obligations.
Extension of FATCA enrolment and reporting deadlines for 2015
The deadlines for BVI RFIs to enrol with, and report to, the BVI International Tax Authority (the "BVI Tax Authority") have been extended.
Specifically:
- the deadline to enrol with the BVI Tax Authority has been extended to 30 June 2015; and
- the deadline for submitting a report to the BVI Tax Authority has been extended to 31 July 2015.
This is consistent with a number of extensions that have been made in other Model 1B jurisdictions and the extra time to enrol and report is to be welcomed. However, we recommend that BVI RFIs press ahead with their FATCA compliance as a matter of priority to ensure that these extended deadlines are not missed.
Please see our previous publications for information on how to enrol and report to the BVI Tax Authority via the BVI Financial Account Reporting System.
UK FATCA – extension of deadlines for alternative reporting regime elections
Enrolment and reporting for UK FATCA will commence next year and, as such, guidance and details remain to be finalised by the BVI Tax Authority. The deadlines mentioned above therefore apply to US FATCA only.
However, the BVI Tax Authority has also extended UK FATCA deadlines in 2015 for BVI RFIs with any UK-resident non-domiciled individual ("RND") wishing to apply the alternative reporting regime ("ARR") for the UK tax year 2014-15.
Specifically:
- the deadline for a BVI RFI to submit an election to the BVI Tax Authority confirming that it is offering the ARR to RND accountholders has been extended to 30 September 2015; and
- the deadline for each RND accountholder to submit an election to the BVI Tax Authority confirming that s/he wishes the relevant BVI RFI to apply the ARR for the UK tax year 2014-15 has been extended to 28 September 2015.
An RND electing to apply the ARR must also complete a self-certification regarding their UK tax status by 28 February following the end of the relevant tax year (i.e. by 28 February 2016 for the tax year 2014-15).
For further information, please see the section on UK FATCA and the ARR in our previous alert entitled "FATCA – Impending Deadlines for BVI Financial Institutions".
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
