formfill1

I've been keeping my head low wrt my Fidelity 401k/IRA as I am non-resident.

However I just received this in an email from them:
==========
Certify your foreign tax status today

Accounts: *****

Our records indicate you are a non-U.S. investor for whom a foreign tax certification is not on file or will be expiring on December 31. A letter with complete details is available online.
===========

Has anyone else had this message?
Is it the start of the process for closing an account?

BenK91

I haven't had anything from them and that's who my company uses for our employee stock purchase plan.

Jerseygirl

We haven’t received an email.

We have received something similar from Nat West Bank regarding residency status for taxes.

Owen778

I have a Fidelity account, but then I'm a US resident.

That just reads to me like you should have submitted a W8-BEN form to show that you're a not a US tax resident, and you haven't. It's completely standard, and required by US law. That doesn't in itself imply that they're going to close your account.

bruceba

I have to renew my W8 every few years.

MidAtlantic

I agree, but it does seem that there is some difficulty with Fidelity and non-residents. There was a recent instance here on BE where someone, having moved back to the UK, had his account frozen because he did not have a US address. You should be able to find it in a search.

BenK91

Strange.

I emailed the people at work that deal with our Stock Plan to find out some more information, if any.

tom169

You're a US resident though. There are some extra filing requirements for non residents.

MidAtlantic

I think the issue is about non-residents. The previous thread was about someone who had been here and (I believe) had a 401K, then moved back to the UK and therefore became non-resident. Sounds like the same situation as the OP in this thread.

Jerseygirl

Odd because we haven’t been US residents for the last 4 years but have had no problem maintaining our existing accounts with them.

mrken30

This is the thread you were talking about, I believe.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5...1k-ira-901989/

The only thing similar that happened to me recently was that HSBC required me to send some documents due to the HSBC Safeguard policy.

HSBC Safeguard global homepage | Business

Orangepants

I'm going through this exercise for all the clients I work with. W-8-BENs expire on Dec 31 three years after signature - we're not closing accounts, just keeping them compliant. Also W8-BENs, both for individuals and entities, were re-issued this year so we're re-papering to take into account the additional data fields.

formfill1

It was my 401k/IRA that was frozen.
I was happy to leave it like that for a year or so while I dealt with other pressing issues.

However, if it looked like the account would be closed, I had a backup strategy of transferring it to a Roth account, but would have to pay the conversion taxes.

I assume you work with Fidelity.
Could you explain why non-resident accounts would be frozen?

Orangepants

I should have added a disclaimer - I don't work for Fidelity and have no idea about the internal policies of other investment type entities. I work primarily in private equity. I was addressing the request for documentation to certify tax residency and why it is required by Dec 31, for both expiring W forms and for self certifications for the CRS.

tonrob

I’m about to leave the US for a few years. If I change my address with Fidelity (and other banks/credit card isuers) to my parents’ address (also in the US), am I likely to escape hassle?