What is the
Common Reporting Standard?
The OECD's framework for automatic exchange of financial-account information between tax authorities — explained without the jargon, sourced for the people who need answers.
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an information standard developed by the OECD in 2014 for the automatic exchange of financial-account informationbetween participating jurisdictions. Banks, brokers, custodians and certain insurers identify accounts held by foreign tax residents, collect data on balances and income, and pass it to their local tax authority — which then shares it with the account holder's home country.
CRS is sometimes called "GATCA" — the global counterpart of the United States' FATCA regime. Over 120 jurisdictions have committed to it, making it the largest tax-transparency project in history.
How CRS works — the four pillars
Identification
Financial institutions apply due-diligence procedures to identify accounts held by tax residents of reportable jurisdictions.
Self-certification
Account holders declare their tax residence(s) and TIN(s). Indicia such as address or phone trigger further checks.
Reporting
Institutions report account balances, interest, dividends and gross proceeds to their local tax authority each year.
Exchange
Authorities exchange the data with peer jurisdictions under bilateral or multilateral CRS agreements.
The CRS series
Countries that use CRS
120+ jurisdictions, searchable.
What is the purpose of CRS?
Why it was created and what it aims to fix.
Is CRS reporting mandatory?
For institutions, advisors, and individuals.
What do banks report under CRS?
Account data, balances, income — line by line.