Norway has signed international agreements involving the reciprocal exchange of tax information, the FATCA and CRS agreements. You can read more about what this means for you as a customer of SpareBank 1 here.
Internasjonal skatterapportering - FATCA og CRS
Because of these agreements, SpareBank 1 is required to notify the Norwegian Tax Administration of customers who, for tax purposes, are domiciled in countries other than Norway. The Norwegian Tax Administration will then forward the reported information to the tax authorities of the customers’ home country. The intention is to ensure that any financial relationships and insurance policies international customers have with Norwegian financial institutions are properly taxed in the customers’ home country.
What is FATCA?
Norway and the US have signed an agreement called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Pursuant to this agreement, Norwegian financial institutions are required to identify, and notify the Norwegian tax authorities of, US nationals and people who are resident/domiciled for tax purposes in the US.
What is CRS?
Norway has also signed an agreement concerning similar reciprocal tax reporting with other countries. The agreement is called the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Pursuant to this agreement, Norwegian financial institutions are required to identify, and notify the Norwegian tax authorities of, nationals of the countries that are signatories to the agreement, as well as people who are resident/domiciled for tax purposes in these countries.
You can read more about FATCA and CRS on the Norwegian Tax Administration's website.
What does this mean for you as a customer?
Retail customers
For retail customers, this means that the Bank will ask you about your nationality and which country you are domiciled in for tax purposes. If you are domiciled for tax purposes in a country other than Norway, the required information will be sent to the Norwegian Tax Administration. It will forward the relevant information to the country’s tax authorities.
It is important to respond to the Bank’s enquiries concerning this since the Bank is required to register information about all of its customers.
Corporate customers
The notification requirement also applies to corporate customers. As a rule, it applies to companies in which international owners own more than 25 per cent of the shares. The review will be similar to that conducted to identify actual beneficial owners pursuant to anti-money laundering regulations.
Frequently asked questions
What is a tax identification number?
A tax identification number (TIN) is used to identify a taxpayer and simplify the administration of their national tax affairs. TINs are also useful for identifying taxpayers who make investments in other EU countries and are more reliable than other identifiers such as a name and address. As a bank, every year, we have to report where our customers are domiciled for tax purposes, TINs and other information relevant for the tax authorities. TIN specifications (structure, syntax, etc.) are established by national authorities.
Examples of TINs in other countries:
Sweden: Svensk personnummer or samordningsnummer
Denmark: Dansk personnummer (CPR-nummer)
Germany: Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer
USA: Social security number
Poland: PESEL number
I do not have a TIN. What should I do?
You will need to contact the tax authorities of the country you are domiciled in for tax purposes to find out your TIN. You can find information about how your TIN is structured from the OECD.
Why do I, as a US national, have to provide this to my Norwegian bank?
What being ‘domiciled for tax purposes’ means is defined by individual countries. In the US, the tax system is based on both place of residence and nationality. Norwegian financial institutions must therefore register the tax information of US nationals. This is in line with the aforementioned FATCA agreement.
Where am I domiciled for tax purposes?
In order to be domiciled in Norway for tax purposes, you must have been in Norway for more than 183 days over the course of a year, or more than 270 days over the course of 3 years. If you are unsure about whether or not you are domiciled in another country for tax purposes, you must contact the tax authorities in the relevant country.
I do not want to provide this information to the Bank. What should I do?
This is information that is processed in accordance with the Bank’s duty of non-disclosure, and it will not be used for any other purposes. As a financial institution, we are required to collect this information and unfortunately you cannot be a customer of ours if we do not have the information we are required to have.
How do I update my TIN?
Click here to update your TIN and residential address. Select the country you are domiciled in for tax purposes and enter your TIN in accordance with the country’s TIN specifications.
If you are unable to update your TIN and residential address digitally, call us on +47 915 07040.