| Updated | November 2026 |
| What is reported | name, address, country of residence, tax number, account number, balance |
| UK | first reporting year 2016, reports due by 31 May of the following year |
| Next stage | extended standard, first reporting year 2026 |
| Participants | every British island and territory in this article, plus a long list of countries on HMRC's list |
| Your part | declare the income where you are tax resident |
What the CRS is
The Common Reporting Standard is the global standard for the automatic exchange of account data, developed by the OECD at the request of the G20. In October 2014, 45 jurisdictions signed a joint agreement to start exchanging from 2017. Many more have joined since.
The principle is simple. The bank establishes where you are tax resident, reports your account to its own tax authority, and that authority sends the data on to your country of residence. According to HMRC, the report includes name, address, country of residence, tax number, account number and balance, among other things. The extended version of the standard, which the UK calls CRS 2.0, applies from the 2026 reporting year and adds detail, such as whether an account is held jointly and what role controlling persons play.
Who reports, and since when
What the tax authorities of the islands and territories say about their own start.
| Where | Position according to its own authority |
|---|---|
| UK | first reporting year 2016, reports to HMRC by 31 May |
| Jersey | signed the agreement as an early adopter on 29 October 2014 |
| Guernsey | CRS since 1 January 2016, first report in 2017 |
| Isle of Man | first exchange in September 2017 |
| Gibraltar | reports through the tax authority's AEOI portal |
| Cayman | annual automatic exchange, compliance form due by 15 September |
| Bermuda | reports for 2025 due by 31 May 2026 |
| BVI | first report due by 31 May 2017, exchange from September 2017 |
HMRC IEIM400580; gov.je; gov.gg; gov.im; tax.egov.gi; ditc.ky; gov.bm; bviita.vg, retrieved 2 November 2026
Your country of residence
HMRC publishes the list of jurisdictions taking part in the exchange with the UK. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are on it, and so are Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Cayman, Bermuda and the BVI. Look up your own country on that list before you assume anything either way.
For you this means: an account on the islands ends up as a report to the tax authority of your country of residence. You declare the income from the account where you are tax resident. How that declaration works in detail depends on your home country's rules; Freedom Banking explains the principles from the account holder's side.
We do not sell an island account as a tax product or as a secret. What the islands offer today is something else: hard currencies, multi-currency accounts, a stable legal system and a second banking centre outside the EU. That is worth an account, and that is what we help with through the Island Banking Introduction.
And the United States?
The United States is not on HMRC's CRS list. It has its own system, FATCA, with its own agreements: the Isle of Man signed on 13 December 2013, the BVI on 30 June 2014. If you are a US citizen or green card holder, the island bank also reports your account to the US tax authority. What that means for you in the UK and the US is something we work through in the UK Tax Consult; for the US side, see Mount Bonnell.
What the bank asks you when you open
The CRS starts at account opening. Every island bank has you fill in a self-certification: in which country are you tax resident, and what is your tax number there? For a company it also asks about the people who control it. Answer incompletely and you get no account, or questions that cost weeks.
So keep the tax identification number of your country of residence to hand, in the form your country uses for the exchange. From the 2026 reporting year, UK banks also report whether a valid self-certification has been obtained. We put this on the document checklist of the Island Banking Introduction so that your application is complete the first time.
Frequently asked questions
Will Jersey report my account to my tax authority at home?
Yes, if your country of residence takes part in the CRS. Jersey has applied the standard from the start, and the data travels between the tax authorities to your country of residence.
Are there British islands without the CRS?
No. All the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories covered here report under the CRS.
What do I have to do myself?
Declare the income in your tax return where you are tax resident. The bank's report does not replace your own return.
Sources: HMRC: IEIM400080 Common Reporting Standard; HMRC: IEIM400090 Participating jurisdictions; HMRC: IEIM400580 CRS reporting; Gov.je: Common Reporting Standard; States of Guernsey: FATCA and CRS; Isle of Man Government: FATCA and CRS; DITC Cayman: CRS; BVI International Tax Authority: CRS
