FATCA stands for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. It is a new piece of legislation to help counter tax evasion in the US. Introduced in 2010 by the United States Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the purpose of FATCA is to encourage better tax compliance by preventing US persons from using banks and other financial organisations to avoid US taxation on their income and assets.

FATCA promotes cross-border tax compliance by implementing an international standard for the automatic exchange of information related to US taxpayers. FATCA regulations require tax authorities to obtain detailed account information for US taxpayers on an annual basis.