TLDR: If you open an account in the name of a minor, their legal representative self-certifies their tax residencies and tax identification numbers. When the minor is included in the legal representative’s tax household, the financial institution may use the legal representative’s self-certification and not request a separate self-certification from the minor.
Who must complete the self-certification?
When the account holder is a minor individual, you must have their legal representative complete the self-certification. It concerns the minor’s tax residencies and tax identification numbers.
This rule forms part of the obligations applicable to account holders under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
What is the role of the legal representative?
The self-certification must concern the tax situation of the minor who holds the account. The legal representative therefore does not declare their own situation in place of the minor’s: they certify the minor’s tax residencies and tax identification numbers.
The self-certification must be plausible.
Case of inclusion in the tax household
If the minor is included in the parents’ tax household, you can use the parents’ self-certification for an account opened in the minor’s name.
When the legal representative has self-certified the minor’s tax residence and the financial institution knows that the minor is included in the legal representative’s tax household, the institution may not request a separate self-certification from the minor. This possibility depends on the financial institution and does not constitute a general exemption.
What information must be declared?
The self-certification submitted to the financial institution must state the account holder’s tax residence or residences and, in accordance with the applicable rules, their tax identification numbers. For a minor, this information is self-certified by their legal representative.