Guernsey reporting and U.S. foreign trust forms

Guernsey's Common Reporting Standard process

Guernsey financial institutions report CRS and FATCA information domestically through IGOR, the reporting system of the States of Guernsey Revenue Service.

The CRS schema supports exchange of financial information between institutions or tax authorities and foreign tax authorities. IGOR checks submitted messages against the relevant schema before processing them. Some fields that IGOR ignores still have to be present when the schema requires them.^[2]

IGOR uses the reporting period to determine whether to send users reminders to submit reports. It processes document specifications for corrections. Under CRS, each document reference identifier is globally unique for a sending organisation and cannot be reused in later messages.^[2]

FATCA agreement status

FATCA requires foreign financial institutions to report to the IRS information about accounts held by U.S. taxpayers, and about certain foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold substantial ownership interests. Institutions can comply through the applicable intergovernmental agreements treated as in effect in their jurisdictions.^[3]

IGOR receives domestic FATCA reports alongside CRS reports. It validates FATCA messages against the relevant schema, and the information about account holders and accounts is forwarded to the destination country.^[2]

Fiduciary licensing and registers

Guernsey regulates fiduciary activities carried on by way of business in or from the Bailiwick, and trust and corporate service providers are subject to licensing and supervision. A licence is required for regulated fiduciary activities within the stated scope.^[1]

Guernsey issues primary and secondary licences for companies, other legal persons or partnerships, and personal licences for individuals. Primary licensees may carry on all regulated fiduciary activities. Secondary licensees provide services to clients of a primary licensee and cannot actively trade. A personal licence authorises a restricted range of activities, including acting as trustee, but not as sole trustee.^[1]

Beneficial ownership and trust register duties are separate from Guernsey's fiduciary licensing framework and IGOR's reporting procedures.^[1]

IRS reporting for U.S. persons

The IRS describes information reporting that can apply when a U.S. person transacts with a foreign trust, is treated as its owner under grantor trust rules, or receives a distribution. Its list includes Forms 3520 and 3520-A, Form 8938 and FinCEN Form 114, known as the FBAR.^[5]

Form 3520

Form 3520 is the annual return for reporting transactions with foreign trusts and receipt of certain foreign gifts. Transfers or loans to a foreign trust, distributions or loans received from one, and status as a U.S. owner are circumstances that can require Form 3520 reporting. A U.S. beneficiary receiving a distribution from a foreign non-grantor trust generally reports the beneficiary's share of distributable net income.^[5]

Form 3520-A

A foreign trust with a U.S. owner files Form 3520-A, the annual information return for a foreign trust with a U.S. owner, and furnishes annual statements to U.S. owners and beneficiaries. If the trust does not file, the U.S. owner attaches a substitute Form 3520-A to a timely filed Form 3520 and furnishes the required statements.^[5]

Form 8938 and FBAR

Form 8938 may apply when the total value of specified foreign financial assets in which a person has an interest exceeds the relevant reporting thresholds. Separately, a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account may trigger annual FBAR reporting, including where the account is a trust account.^[5]

These forms address distinct reporting questions. The IRS states that exceptions from Forms 3520 and 3520-A do not affect possible Form 8938 or FBAR duties. Whether a U.S. citizen has a filing requirement depends on the circumstances and the specific rules for each form.^[5]

Questions and answers

Related resources

Related glossary terms

• Common Reporting Standard: The Common Reporting Standard sets rules for exchanging financial account information, covering reporting institutions, covered accounts and due diligence.
• Section 6048: Section 6048 sets information reporting rules for certain foreign trusts. Its parts cover notice of events, U.S. owner duties and beneficiary distributions.
• Reportable account: The OECD standard defines a reportable account as held by a reportable person or certain passive entities, and identified through due diligence procedures.

Related articles and guides

• Mauritius reporting rules and U.S. foreign trust forms: Mauritius publishes CRS and beneficial ownership reporting rules. U.S. citizens who own or receive distributions from a foreign trust file the IRS forms.
• Bahamas reporting and U.S. foreign trust rules: A reference to Bahamas CRS and FATCA frameworks, available register information, and IRS reporting rules for U.S. citizens connected with foreign trusts.
• BVI Information Exchange and U.S. Trust Reporting: BVI information exchange and trust record rules, with the IRS reporting framework for U.S. citizens who are connected with foreign trusts in the territory.

Tools and official documents

• FATCA agreement lookup: Look up any jurisdiction in the U.S. Treasury FATCA table and see its agreement model and status as the Treasury lists them, with a link to the source.
• IRS and FinCEN forms: reference pages: Reference pages for 15 IRS and FinCEN forms tied to foreign trusts, foreign accounts and entities, built from the official forms and their instructions.

Related pages

• Guernsey: overview: Start page for this jurisdiction.
• Trustee regulation and licensing
• Taxation of trusts
• U.S. treaty and agreements