FATCA IGAs Agreed in Substance Treated as in Effect; Deadline Extended

April 2 — The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced that countries that have reached intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) in substance under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act before July 1 will be treated as having signed agreements through Dec. 31, 2014, winning praise from practitioners.

The government also said April 2 that as the July 1 deadline for initial FATCA reporting and withholding approaches, foreign financial institutions (FFIs) will be given an extra 10 days to register to be included on the first IRS list of participating institutions.

The two changes are outlined in Announcement 2014-17. In addition, Treasury issued a list of the 26 countries that have signed IGAs, and of the 19 that have agreements in substance, bringing to 45 the number that will be considered in effect as of April 2. The latter list included Brazil and South Korea, which was welcomed by attorneys.

Credit: Bloomberg BNA