If you have questions about your taxes or filing a return — speak to a qualified professional. Wise can’t give you advice on your personal tax situation, and this article is meant for information purposes only.
A new global tax rule called the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), ask all banks and financial institutions to confirm where our customers pay tax. This applies to new and existing Wise customers, and for personal and Business accounts.
What is CRS and why are you asking for my information?
CRS is a global standard for tax transparency. To meet these global standards, we're legally required to ask customers who can hold money in their Wise account to confirm their tax residency.
We do this to identify customers whose tax residency is different from the country where their Wise account is held.
If this applies to you, we have to report your account information to the relevant tax authorities. This helps governments make sure everyone is paying the right amount of tax.
What does this mean for my Wise account?
This applies to you if you use your Wise account to hold money. If we ask you for your information and don't receive it, your ability to use some features, like holding or receiving money in your account, might be limited.
If you hold money
If you hold money on your Wise account in any currency, you'll need to provide us a self-certification of your tax information. This is to make sure you can continue using all of the features of your account, like adding, receiving, and spending money.
Learn where you can hold money
If you only send money
If you only send money with Wise, and don't hold any money on the account — you won't need to provide this information for your transfers.
What information do I provide?
For new customers
If you're creating an account with Wise, whether it's person or Business, and your account can hold money, then we'll ask you to complete a short self-certification while during your sign-up.
For existing customers
We'll contact you to ask:
all countries where you pay tax
your Tax Identification Number (TIN) for each of those countries, if you have one. If a country doesn't issue TINs, or you have a valid reason for not having one — let us know on the form
I only pay tax in my country. Do you still need my details?
Yes. Even if your tax residency is in the same country as your Wise account — for example, you're a UK tax resident and your account is with our UK entity — we're still legally required to collect a self-certification from you. It's a standard check to keep our records accurate.
For many of our customers in Europe, their Wise account is held with our entity licensed in Belgium. This means if you live and pay tax in Germany, your Wise account is a Belgian one. So because your tax residency (Germany), is different from your Wise account's location (Belgium), we have to report your information.
Is my information safe?
Absolutely. We take your data privacy very seriously. We will only share your information with the necessary tax authorities as the law requires.