FATCA - Why we require certain information from our customers

As a financial institution, N26 is required to report information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers or by foreign entities (in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest according to FATCA) to the United States Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).

FATCA is an acronym for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and is a legislation designed to prevent tax evasion. Another purpose of FATCA is to encourage better tax compliance by preventing U.S. Persons from using foreign banks and other financial organizations in order to avoid U.S. taxation on their income and assets. You can find more information about FATCA on the IRS website.

The U.S. tax system includes U.S. citizens who are not presently residing in the U.S. In comparison. So in order for us to be able to accurately determine whether your account is to be reported to the IRS, we’ll need to ask you:

  1. Are you (also) a citizen or green card holder of the United States? 
  2. Are you subject to tax in the U.S? Being “subject to tax” in the U.S. does not necessarily mean that you’re also paying personal income tax in the U.S. It means that U.S. tax law requires you to file a tax return and declare your (worldwide) income to the IRS, even if you don’t end up paying any U.S. tax.
  3. If so, what is your U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number? As a U.S. TIN you can either use your U.S. Social Security Number (“SSN”) or your U.S. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). You can find more information about TIN on the IRS' website.

Additionally, if your account shows:

  • A U.S. place of birth,
  • A U.S. telephone number,
  • A standing order to the U.S.

then we are required by FATCA legislation to initially assume that you are subject to FATCA until you can specifically confirm to us otherwise.

In case your circumstances change, you can always update your tax information in the N26 app. To do this, simply log in to the N26 app and go to:

My Account > Settings > Personal Settings > Tax Information