FATCA in Antigua and Barbuda: Rules for Non-Residents

FATCA and Its Reach into Antigua and BarbudaCopy link to section

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is United States law, but its effects extend to Antigua and Barbuda through a bilateral agreement that obliges local financial institutions to identify and report accounts held by US taxpayers. FATCA in Antigua and Barbuda operates under a Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement signed with the United States, transposed into domestic law and administered by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue as the local competent authority.

The reach matters most to two groups: US persons holding accounts or interests in Antiguan structures, and the banks, funds, and trust companies that maintain those accounts. A non-resident owner with no US connection carries no personal filing duty, yet still encounters FATCA through the documentation their Antiguan institution must collect.

This article explains how the agreement works, who counts as a US person, which entities must register and report, and what happens when an institution falls out of compliance. The US Treasury publishes the signed agreement in full. It is written for foreign business owners, investors, and their advisers assessing exposure before or during involvement with an Antiguan entity.

The US-Antigua and Barbuda Intergovernmental Agreement: Model and StatusCopy link to section

On 8 November 2016, the two governments signed a Model 1 IGA to implement FATCA. The country had earlier appeared on the Treasury list of agreements treated as in effect "in substance," and at signing this was the seventy-ninth Model 1 agreement published worldwide.

The variant is Model 1B (Non-Reciprocal), reflecting the absence of any double tax convention between the two states. Both Model 1 and Model 2 agreements can operate without such a convention or a tax information exchange agreement in place.

Under a Model 1 structure, local financial institutions report account data to their own competent authority, which then transmits it to the IRS on an automatic basis. This indirect route distinguishes Model 1 from Model 2, where institutions report directly to the US tax authority.

Domestic effect came through the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (United States of America) (Implementation and Enforcement of International Governmental Agreement) Act 2017, No. 2 of 2017. It took operation retroactively at 11:59 pm on 31 December 2016, giving the Articles of the agreement the force of law locally.

The Commissioner of Inland Revenue is designated the competent authority for these purposes. Legislation and guidance sit on the Inland Revenue portal and the official laws site.

A separate Competent Authority Arrangement between the IRS and the local Inland Revenue Department sets the operational mechanics of data exchange and is published on irs.gov.

Company Incorporation in Antigua and Barbuda

Set up your company in Antigua and Barbuda with Expanship handling registration end to end.

Learn more

Defining a US Person Under FATCACopy link to section

FATCA reaches every "US person," a category broader than US residents alone. It captures US citizens and green card holders wherever they live, including dual nationals who may never have filed a US return.

The agreement uses the term "Specified US Person." This covers US citizens, US tax residents, entities formed in the United States, and certain trusts with US beneficiaries or trustees.

A non-US entity is not exempt by default. Where it has one or more US "Controlling Persons," generally those holding more than 25% beneficial ownership, the account becomes reportable and those individuals must be identified.

Financial institutions search their files for indicators of a US connection. The recognised indicia include:

• US place of birth
• A US residence or mailing address, including a P.O. Box
• A US telephone number
• Standing instructions to transfer funds to a US account
• A power of attorney or signatory authority held by someone with a US address
• A "hold mail" instruction directed to a US address

US persons also carry their own filing duties to the IRS, separate from anything their institution does: Form 8938 for foreign financial assets and FinCEN Form 114 (the FBAR). A non-resident foreign owner with no citizenship, green card, or US tax residency is not a Specified US Person and bears no direct reporting obligation, though the Antiguan institution must still document that status.

Which Antiguan Entities Count as Foreign Financial InstitutionsCopy link to section

The domestic Act defines a financial institution as a reporting institution or a person carrying on business as a custodial institution, investment entity, or specified insurance company, using the definitions in the agreement schedule. The agreement itself sorts foreign financial institutions into four operative categories.

Offshore banks licensed under the International Business Corporations Act fall within these categories alongside domestic banks. The United States treats each Non-Reporting Antigua and Barbuda Financial Institution as deemed-compliant or as an exempt beneficial owner under IRC section 1471.

Annex II of the agreement lists the exempt and non-reporting categories. These typically include government bodies, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank as a central bank, qualifying pension and retirement funds, and small institutions that are purely domestic and meet asset thresholds.

The country is bound to prevent institutions from adopting practices designed to sidestep reporting. The exact exempt list is governed by the Annex II schedule attached to the agreement.

Ongoing Compliance in Antigua and Barbuda

Keep your Antigua and Barbuda entity compliant with filings, returns, and statutory obligations.

Learn more

GIIN Registration with the IRSCopy link to section

Reporting Model 1 institutions must register with the IRS to obtain a Global Intermediary Identification Number. The GIIN is a 19-character code formatted as XXXXXX.XXXXX.XX.XXX, issued through the FATCA Registration Website, a secure portal reachable around the clock from any location.

There is no IRS charge for registration. Any locally administered cost should be confirmed with the Inland Revenue Department.

The IRS publishes its list of approved institutions every month. The FFI List Search and Download Tool lets anyone verify an institution by legal name, GIIN, or country, which is the practical check an adviser runs before placing funds.

Registration is not permanent. Under Article 5 of the agreement and the Competent Authority Arrangement, an institution may be struck from the FFI list if significant non-compliance is not resolved, and the US authority supplies the local authority each year with the list of registered Antiguan institutions.

Due Diligence and Account Identification ObligationsCopy link to section

Annex I of the agreement sets the procedures institutions use to find US accounts, and the depth of review scales with account type and value.

• Pre-existing individual accounts at or below USD 1,000,000: electronic record search for US indicia.
• Pre-existing individual accounts above USD 1,000,000: electronic search plus paper-file review and a direct inquiry to the relationship manager.
• New individual accounts: self-certification obtained at opening.
• Entity accounts: review for US indicators and identification of any Controlling Persons.

New accounts are usually documented with IRS Form W-8BEN for individuals or Form W-8BEN-E for entities, or an agreed equivalent. An institution that already holds documentation establishing an account holder as neither a US citizen nor a US resident, gathered under a qualified intermediary or withholding agreement, need not repeat the lower-value or high-value procedures for that account.

The country committed to rules requiring institutions to obtain the US taxpayer identification number of each Specified US Person for accounts maintained as of 30 June 2014, by 1 January 2017. Where a TIN is missing from records, the date of birth of the relevant person must be obtained and included in the exchanged data instead.

Antigua and Barbuda Incorporation Pricing

See transparent pricing to incorporate and maintain a company in Antigua and Barbuda.

View pricing

Reporting Channels: From Local Institutions to the IRSCopy link to section

The Model 1 design routes data in two steps: reporting institutions pass account information to the local competent authority, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, which then forwards it to the IRS automatically. Foreign account holders never deal with the IRS directly under this channel; the flow runs through the institution and the Inland Revenue Department.

For each US reportable account, the exchanged information covers the account holder's name, address, US TIN, account number, balance or value, and specified gross income or proceeds. Institutions operating under Model 1 file this on Form 8966, the FATCA Report, in the XML schema set out in IRS Publication 5216.

Transmission between the two authorities runs through the IRS International Data Exchange Service (IDES), with technical detail in the FATCA IDES User Guide. The local Inland Revenue portal hosts the guidance and legislation that reporting institutions rely on.

A clarification has emerged on excluded accounts. Circular No. 1 of 2025 set eligibility criteria for accounts classified as "Excluded Accounts," aligned with the CRS framework; its application to FATCA-specific exclusions should be verified with the Inland Revenue Department.

Withholding Exposure for Non-Compliant InstitutionsCopy link to section

An institution that fails to register and agree to report faces a 30% withholding tax on certain US-source payments it receives, unless otherwise exempt. The charge bites on "withholdable payments," meaning US-source FDAP income such as interest, dividends, rents, and royalties, together with gross proceeds from property that can generate US-source interest or dividends.

A compliant institution avoids this entirely. So long as the country meets its obligations under the agreement, each compliant Antiguan institution is treated as satisfying IRC section 1471 and is not subject to the withholding.

The United States also suspends the recalcitrant-account rules for these institutions while the agreement is operative. An institution does not have to withhold on those accounts under that regime.

The exposure returns only on failure. If significant non-compliance is not cured within the 18-month notice window, an institution can be reclassified as a Nonparticipating Financial Institution, removed from the FFI list, and subjected to 30% withholding on its US-source payments.

Penalties and Consequences of FATCA Non-ComplianceCopy link to section

Consequences fall on two distinct parties: the institutions that report and the US persons whose accounts are reported.

At the institutional level, a registered Antiguan institution that does not resolve significant non-compliance within 18 months may be removed from the IRS list. The US authority may treat certain failures as significant non-compliance regardless of whether the fault lies with the institution or the local competent authority, with examples set out in the Competent Authority Arrangement.

Removal carries real cost. It triggers 30% withholding on US-source payments and, in practice, loss of access to the US financial system along with damage to banking relationships.

For US persons, the penalties run on a separate track:

Conduct found to be fraudulent can lead to criminal investigation or charges. FATCA reporting carries a 6-year statute of limitations, and serious delinquent tax debt arising from these penalties can prompt the State Department to revoke or refuse to renew a US passport.

What FATCA Means for Non-Resident Owners and AdvisersCopy link to section

A non-US person with no US citizenship, green card, or tax residency carries no personal FATCA filing duty. The practical contact point is documentation: the Antiguan bank, broker, or investment manager must collect a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E to confirm that non-US status before opening or maintaining the account.

The picture changes when a structure has US Controlling Persons. An Antiguan IBC, LLC, trust, or foundation with a US beneficial owner above the threshold becomes a US reportable account, and the institution holding its funds must report. There is no anonymity for US persons holding accounts in the jurisdiction.

US citizens who refuse to supply their taxpayer identification number risk having the account closed or payments withheld. Advisers should raise this directly with any US-citizen beneficiary or co-owner in an Antiguan structure.

Three practical checks help an adviser stay clean:

1. Confirm every engaged institution holds a current GIIN, verifiable on the IRS FFI List search tool.
2. Confirm the institution has collected self-certification from all account holders.
3. Where US persons are involved, obtain specialist US tax counsel; FATCA runs parallel to the FBAR duty on FinCEN Form 114, not in place of it.

Citizenship-by-Investment recipients who are non-US nationals gain no FATCA exposure from Antiguan citizenship alone, provided they hold no US tax status. The trigger is US tax status, never nationality of the structure or the passport.

ConclusionCopy link to section

FATCA reaches Antigua and Barbuda through a Model 1 agreement that turns local banks, funds, and trust companies into reporting institutions for any account tied to a US person. For a non-resident owner with no US connection, the obligation is light: confirm your status with a self-certification form and check that your institution holds a valid GIIN. The weight falls on US persons and on structures with US Controlling Persons, where reporting is automatic, anonymity is absent, and the penalties for silence are substantial. Plan the ownership of any Antiguan entity with that distinction in mind, and bring in US tax counsel wherever a US person sits in the structure.

How Expanship Can Help Your Business in Antigua and BarbudaCopy link to section

Expanship helps foreign-owned entities meet their FATCA obligations in Antigua and Barbuda, from confirming an institution's GIIN status to organising the self-certification and documentation your bank or fund will request, and the same team handles the wider compliance and corporate work a non-resident business needs locally.

• Company incorporation and entity structuring
• Registered agent and registered office services
• Tax registration and filing with the Inland Revenue Department
• Ongoing compliance management, including FATCA and CRS coordination
• Accounting and bookkeeping
• Introductions to local banking partners

To discuss your situation, contact Expanship Antigua and Barbuda.

Frequently Asked QuestionsCopy link to section