Euro Pacific Bank

Completing a Self Certification Form for FATCA – New Clients

This user guide will walk you through the process of creating the necessary documentation to certify your tax status and residency as a non-US person. For more information on the Bank’s requirement under FATCA to obtain this information, please read the article here.

Step 1: Completing the Self Certification Form(s)

The Bank understands the complexity in complying with these requirements so to ease this process we have developed a “FATCA Assistant” tool. Click below to launch the tool in your browser. The tool is designed to assist you with two of the more challenging parts of completing the self certification process1:

  1. Determining the correct self-certification form to use (W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8IMY, or W9)
  2. Determining your Chapter 4 status, if necessary, for the W-8BEN-E, W-8IMY

Use our FATCA Assistant

Click the button to the right to launch the Assistant.

Common Mistakes Completing the Self Certification Forms

We’ve put together a list of common mistakes that occur when the form is being completed. We strongly encourage you to review these to make sure that your form submission is not rejected.

  • Permanent residence address and mailing address do not match the one provided for the account
  • P.O. box or C/O address used w/o proper additional explanation
  • Date format incorrectly listed. Should be in U.S. format mm/dd/yyyy
  • Multiple boxes checked on lines 4 and 5 (W-8BEN-E). Only check one option/box
  • Multiple sections filled Part IV – XXIX (depends on FATCA status in line 5)
  • If income or account is held jointly with one or more persons, form W-8BEN-E must be provided by all owners
  • The country of residence and country with treaty benefits are being claimed must match
  • Only one entity type may be selected
  • Only one FATCA status may be selected
  • The form must have a wet signature when sent to the bank. Digital signature or Electronic signatures are not accepted.

Step 2: Providing the Form to your Account Manager

Once you have completed the FATCA Assistant and/or with the help of your tax advisor, you need to send the form to your Onboarding Specialist, who is the designated bank representative that is helping you open your bank account.

Step 3: Mailing the Form

Once the electronic copy of the form(s) has been approved, you need to mail the original copy to the Bank. Forms are not considered valid until they are received physically by the Bank. The instructions and address to mail the form(s) will be sent to you once the electronic copy has been approved.

After you have sent your completed documentation, you will receive an e-mail notifying you of our receipt of your form(s).

1The FATCA Assistant Tool should not be considered tax advice. The tool is simply a means to check your current understanding and provide direction in completion of the self-certification forms. Anyone with concerns about the results should contact a local tax professional for more information.