FATCA and CRS in Uruguay: what is reported and to whom

If you hold an account with a Uruguayan bank, it has already asked where you are tax resident and, if you have a US connection, requested an IRS form. Behind this are two tax transparency regimes: the OECD’s CRS and the US FATCA. This guide explains how FATCA and CRS work in Uruguay, what is reported and to whom. For the wider picture, see financial regulation in Uruguay.

FATCA vs CRS

	CRS	FATCA
Origin	OECD, multilateral	US law (2010)
Targets	Tax residents of any participating country	US citizens and residents (“US persons”)
Test	Tax residency	US citizenship or residency
Recipient	The tax authority of the country of residence	The IRS
In Uruguay	Law 19.484: banks report to the DGI	No IGA; banks apply it in their dealings with the US system

CRS in Uruguay

Law 19.484 of January 2017 introduced the CRS. Reporting financial institutions include banks and deposit-takers, custodians and investment entities (brokers, fund managers), insurers with savings or investment products, and certain trusts and investment vehicles. Each year they report to the DGI the accounts of individuals and entities resident in participating countries, and the DGI sends the information to each country, including Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Chile, Mexico, the UK and most of Europe.

What is reported

• Name, address, country of tax residence and tax ID of the holder (and of controlling persons of certain entities).
• Account number and institution.
• Year-end balance or value.
• Interest, dividends and other income credited, and gross proceeds from sales of financial assets.

CRS reports to your country of tax residence, not nationality. Once you are tax resident in Uruguay, your Uruguayan bank does not report you to your former country, while foreign banks will report you to Uruguay. See changing tax residency.

Active and passive entities

• Active non-financial entity: a real trading business. The entity is reported.
• Passive non-financial entity: mainly passive income or a holding vehicle. Its controlling persons are also reported to their countries of residence.

A Uruguayan investment company does not hide its owners: the bank reports them anyway. See beneficial ownership in Uruguay.

FATCA in Uruguay

• What it is: the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (2010), requiring foreign financial institutions to identify accounts of US persons (citizens, green card holders and US tax residents) and report them to the IRS.
• The stick: non-compliant institutions face 30% withholding on certain US-source payments, so in practice every bank with US links applies it.
• Uruguay: no FATCA IGA. In 2024 Parliament approved, through Law 20.351, an on-request tax information exchange agreement with the United States, which applies one month after Uruguay notifies completion of its internal procedures.
• In practice: Uruguayan banks ask US customers for a W-9 and apply their own FATCA procedures.

Self-certification, W-9 and W-8

Form	Who signs it
CRS self-certification	Every account holder: declares tax residency and tax ID
W-9	US persons
W-8BEN	Non-US individuals, when requested
W-8BEN-E	Non-US entities: declares their FATCA classification

These forms are part of the bank’s KYC and must be updated if your residency changes.

What it means for you

• Non-residents with a Uruguayan account: their home country receives the information, so funds should be declared there.
• Moving to Uruguay: formalise your tax residency and get the DGI certificate so foreign banks report to Uruguay. See tax residency certificate.
• US citizens living in Uruguay: still file with the IRS based on citizenship.
• Holding companies: if passive, their controlling persons are reported.

FAQ

Want to check what is reported about your accounts?

At GlobalTax we review your tax residency, the CRS and FATCA classification of your companies and your bank paperwork, so that what is reported matches what you declare, in English, Spanish or Portuguese. Contact us.