FATCA stands for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. It is a piece of legislation to counter tax evasion in the United States of America (US), introduced by the United States Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The purpose of FATCA is to encourage tax compliance by preventing US persons* from using banks and other financial organisations to avoid US taxation on their income and assets.
A significant number of countries worldwide have signed intergovernmental agreements* (IGAs) relating to FATCA compliance with the US* government. These IGAs will result in the FATCA legislation becoming part of these countries' local laws.
*For any defined terms please see the Table of terms and definitions.
