Overseas Residence and Tax

Find out about declaring your tax residence of another country and how we manage foreign resident customer and tax liability issues.

Overseas Residence and Tax

The Self-Certification form is able to be used by any overseas tax resident (of any country other than Australia) or U.S. person in order to correctly declare the overseas person tax residency status or U.S. person status to Bank First. Please note, for U.S. persons, the Self-Certification form can be used instead of any other U.S. issued form for this purpose, such as W-9 form.

Instructions to complete the Self-Certification form are contained on the form itself, but in summary they require a declaration of the relevant overseas country and the applicable Tax Identification Number (TIN). Please note, that if you opt not to disclose details as required through the Self-Certification form, this may preclude our ability to open an account. In addition to this, Bank First may be legally obliged to disclose information relating to persons who are U.S persons or overseas tax residents, irrespective of whether a Self-Certification form has been completed.
If you require further guidance or information about FATCA or US person requirements, please see the section US citizen/tax resident-FATCA below.

Download the Self-Certification form and print a copy which can then be posted or emailed back to us.
The completed form can be emailed to: info@bankfirst.com.au or posted to:
Bank First
PO Box 338
Camberwell VIC 3124
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Special rules apply to new and existing customers who are citizens or tax residents of the United States. These requirements are triggered by FATCA, being the inter-governmental agreement between Australia and the United States.
FATCA requires a participating financial institution (which includes Bank First as well as all other Australian banks) to report the financial account details of all U.S. account holders who are specified ‘U.S. persons’. A ‘U.S. person’ is defined as an individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien. A ‘U.S. person’ would also include a non-individual entity (such as company or trust) which has been created or organised in the United States or under the laws of the United States.
If you are a person who is a resident of the United States or who holds a U.S passport (irrespective of place of residence), you would be regarded as possessing the indicia of a U.S. person and, as such, are required to provide the necessary declarations to Bank First to enable us to comply with this regulatory requirement. The declaration must be in the form of a Self-Certification from Bank First. In the case of a US tax resident, completion of a Self-Certification form will satisfy both FATCA and CRS requirements.
We will contact you if any further documentation is required. Further information about FATCA can be found on the ATO website.
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Tax Identification Number (TIN) is a common international term for what is referred to in the Australian tax system as a Tax File Number (TFN).
- In the case of U.S. persons or U.S. tax residents, the TIN will be your U.S. Social Security Number (SSN).
- United Kingdom does not have a ‘TIN’ as such but two numbers which are used as a proxy for TIN for UK tax residents are either National Insurance Number (NINO) or Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR).
- For New Zealand, the TIN is the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) number and Canada is the Social Insurance Number (SIN).
- A list of countries and the relevant TIN format can be found on the ATO website.
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Non-resident withholding tax (NRWT) is a tax which is required to be held by institutions that pay interest or dividend amounts to overseas tax residents. Interest payments which Bank First makes payable to customers who are not Australian residents are subject to NRWT.
The Bank is required by law to deduct NRWT when an account holder has an overseas home address or when the Bank becomes aware that a customer may be permanently residing overseas. In addition to the NRWT requirement, customers who become physical residents overseas, are required to provide a declaration to update their tax residency status. This can be done by way of completing this a Self-Certification form.
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The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is the single global standard for the collection, reporting and exchange of financial account information on overseas or foreign tax residents. It was introduced through an agreement made by Australia with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The regulatory requirements for CRS commenced on 1 July 2017 and in summary, requires all banks including Bank First, to collect and report to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), all financial account information relating to customers who are residents for tax purposes of another country. This information will then be exchanged with the participating foreign taxation authorities. The OECD CRS regime is separate to the United States FATCA regime. While the requirements are similar, Bank First is required to apply the requirements of both regimes in conjunction with each other. Review the section US citizen/tax resident - FATCA above for more information about requirements for US persons.
CRS legislation requires Bank First to identify the overseas tax residency status of all new and existing customers. The Bank is also required to annually report financial account information to the ATO in relation to customers who are residents for tax purposes of another country. The Bank may contact you for further information or documentation. The Bank may also ask questions to new customers in relation to overseas tax residency status. Any new and existing customer who believe themselves to be a resident for tax purposes of another country are required to submit a declaration to the Bank to this effect. This declaration is to be made by way of completing a Self-Certification form. If you physically reside overseas or possess any other indicia of an overseas tax resident, you may be required to complete a Self-Certification form which can be downloaded from the link on this website. If you are required to complete a Self-Certification but fail to do so, we are legally obliged to report your financial account information to the ATO regardless.
Further information and guidance in relation to CRS and foreign tax residency status can be found on the ATO website.
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The Bank First constitution restricts the opening of bank accounts by overseas persons or new customers who are temporarily in Australia on a tourist or short-term visa arrangement.
However, immediate family members of existing Members may be eligible to join. To enquire further, please contact one of our Member Service Consultants.
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Non-resident withholding tax (NRWT) is a tax which is required to be held by institutions that pay interest or dividend amounts to overseas tax residents.
Interest payments which Bank First makes payable to customers who are not Australian residents are subject to NRWT. The Bank is required by law to deduct NRWT when an account holder has an overseas home address or when the Bank becomes aware that a customer may be permanently residing overseas.
In addition to the NRWT requirement, customers who become physical residents overseas, are required to provide a declaration to update their tax residency status. This can be done by way of completing a Self-Certification form from Bank First by clicking this link.
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If you have received contact from Bank First in relation to overseas tax residency or to request completion of a Self-Certification form, you can access the form from this following link which can then be downloaded and sent back to us via post or email. Or alternatively, if you have not been contacted by Bank First but believe that you may be an overseas tax resident and that you may be required to provide a declaration (for example if you now reside overseas) then you can download and complete the form and send it to us.
The Bank requires you to complete a Self-Certification within 30 days of any change in circumstances which requires you to make such a declaration. The Self-Certification form can be posted or emailed to: info@bankfirst.com.au or posted to:
Bank First
PO Box 338
Camberwell VIC 3124

If you are required to complete a Self-Certification form for a non-individual entity, the form link can be found here. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide any advice in relation to what constitutes tax residency status and we recommend you consult with the ATO or your professional advisor in this regard. However, if you have any other queries in relation to completing or submitting the Self-Certification form, please contact one of our Member Service Consultants.
We may require further documentation to support your declaration about tax residency status. If this is needed, we will be in contact with you.
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Overseas Residence and Tax

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