FATCA is an American law intended to prevent tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers and U.S. legal entities that have financial accounts outside of the United States. This legislation is applicable in Canada, as well as in the countries that have signed an intergovernmental agreement with the United States.

FATCA requires foreign financial institutions (located outside the U.S.) to identify clients who are U.S. taxpayers and provide their information to local authorities, for example the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA will then send this information to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the intergovernmental agreement signed between Canada and the U.S.

On July 1, 2014, FATCA took effect in Canada, as well as in other countries that are signatories to an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S.

FATCA affects most financial institutions around the world. Some countries, including Canada, have entered into an agreement with the U.S. government that requires their financial institutions to satisfy the conditions of FATCA. Since the Caisse populaire acadienne is a Canadian financial institution, we must comply with this law.

If a Canadian financial institution doesn?t comply with FATCA, it would be subject to sanctions imposed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

For questions concerning FATCA, please consult the following sites:

• Canada Revenue Agency
• Canadian Bankers Association
• U.S. Internal Revenue Service

For tax-related questions, please contact a tax specialist, lawyer or accountant about your individual situation.

According to U.S. tax law, you are a U.S. taxpayer, or a "U.S. person", if you are a:

• citizen of the United States (including individuals who were born in the U.S. but reside in Canada or another country and have not renounced their U.S. citizenship)
• permanent U.S. resident
• U.S. green card holder
• person who spends a considerable amount of time in the United States (e.g., a Canadian snowbird could be considered a U.S. person for tax purposes)
• U.S. corporation, trust or estate

For more information about U.S. persons and their U.S. tax obligations, visit the Internal Revenue Service website or contact a tax specialist, lawyer or accountant.

Generally, FATCA won?t affect most members.

Personal accounts
The Caisse populaire acadienne will review the information we have on file. Certain indicators (i.e., U.S. address, U.S. birthplace, U.S. phone number or U.S. place of incorporation) might suggest that you are a U.S. taxpayer.

If the information in your file includes such indicators, you?ll be asked to provide additional information, which could include information about your U.S. tax situation. We?ll then determine whether your account must be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Business accounts
The information we already have on file will be enough to determine whether your account must be reported.

However, we may ask you to provide additional documentation, depending on the type of business you own. If so, we?ll examine it according to applicable requirements to determine whether the account must be reported to the CRA.

For the reportable accounts, the Caisse populaire acadienne will have to provide the CRA with the following information:

• Name
• Address
• U.S. taxpayer identification number or date of birth
• Social insurance number (in Canada only)
• Account number
• Account balance or value
• Interest, dividends or other income credited to the account

Under Canadian law, the Caisse populaire acadienne would then be required to report your account to the Canada Revenue Agency.

The affected financial accounts include:

• bank accounts
• mutual funds
• brokerage accounts
• securities accounts
• guaranteed investment certificates
• annuity contracts (including segregated fund contracts)
• certain life insurance contracts with a cash value
• prepaid credit cards

As per FATCA, the following registered plan accounts are exempt from reporting:

• Registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)
• Tax-free savings account (TFSA)
• Registered disability savings plan (RDSP)
• Registered pension plan (RPP)
• Registered retirement income fund (RRIF)
• Registered education savings plan (RESP)
• AgriInvest Account

Under the Canada-U.S. Intergovernmental Agreement, if you?re a U.S. taxpayer, any personal information related to FATCA will be sent to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA will then send your personal information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which will be responsible for contacting you to determine your U.S. tax situation.

The intergovernmental agreement is in accordance with Canadian laws related to the protection of personal information of the Caisse populaire acadienne members. In addition, the confidentiality and use of information exchanged between the CRA and the IRS are protected by the provisions of the Convention Between Canada and the United States of America With Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital.

The Caisse populaire acadienne is making every effort to limit FATCA?s impact on its members.

Prior to the consolidation, each Caisse is required under FATCA to identify who among its members are US taxpayers. It is possible that you are contacted more than once by different concerned Caisses.

Each financial institution has set up its own processes to comply with FATCA.

The Caisse populaire acadienne will contact every member whose files contain any indicators that might suggest that they're a U.S. taxpayer.

A list of information to submit in order to identify your U.S. taxpayer status will be communicated to you by mail.

• Passport from a country other than the United States
• National identification card
• Driver's license
• Provincial health insurance card (if authorized by provincial law)
• Birth certificate provided by an individual under the age of 21
• Government-issued age of majority card
• Canadian citizenship card
• Record of Landing (IMM1000)
• Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292) issued before January 1, 2004
• Permanent resident card
• Canadian Forces identification card
• Government-issued Certificate of Indian Status
• Alberta photo identification card
• B.C. identification card
• Government of Newfoundland and Labrador photo identification card
• Nova Scotia photo identification card
• Ontario Photo Card
• New Brunswick Photo ID Card
• Prince Edward Island voluntary ID
• Saskatchewan mandatory photo ID
• Manitoba Identification Card
• Nexus card

The Caisse populaire acadienne will contact you by mail if your file contains any indicators that suggest that you're a U.S. taxpayer.

When you receive the mail, you'll have to send us the required documents to confirm your status as a US taxpayer.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assigns every U.S. taxpayer a unique identifier: a tax identification number. If you don?t have one and you?re a U.S. taxpayer, contact the IRS.

You may be considered a U.S. person if your primary residence is in the United States or if your stay exceeds a certain amount of time. Contact your tax specialist, lawyer or accountant for more information.

No. Currency is not among the criteria for reporting accounts.

If one of the co-owners of a joint account is a U.S. taxpayer, their personal account information will be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Personal information about the non-U.S. taxpayer who co-owns the account will not be reported to the CRA.

Unlike most countries, each U.S. taxpayer must pay U.S. taxes, whether or not they're based in the U.S., and whether or not their income is generated in the U.S. Contact your tax specialist, lawyer or accountant for more information about your individual situation.

FATCA requires financial institutions to identify their clients who are U.S. taxpayers. This means that an American citizen who no longer lives in the U.S. will be considered a U.S. taxpayer. Information on affected accounts will have to be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency, which is responsible for sending it to the Internal Revenue Service.

Yes. Having a dual Canada-U.S. citizenship makes you a U.S. taxpayer.

Yes. Having American citizenship makes you a U.S. taxpayer.

Spending only a few days in the U.S. does not necessarily make you a U.S. taxpayer. Only individuals who meet the above-mentioned definition of a U.S. taxpayer are subject to FATCA. Contact your tax specialist, lawyer or accountant for more information.

If your situation has changed since you last contacted the Caisse populaire acadienne, you may email us at factca@acadie.com. A FATCA analyst will contact you.

Depending on your U.S. tax situation, the IRS may contact you for more details about your U.S. tax situation. In this case, we advise you to contact your tax specialist, lawyer or accountant to take stock of your situation.

Even though your account was closed during the year, you've been identified as a potential U.S. taxpayer. Under FATCA, we're required to document your file.

If you don't follow through, under Canadian law and the Canada-U.S. Intergovernmental Agreement, the Caisse would then be required to report your account to the Canada Revenue Agency.