Offshore Account

An offshore account is a bank, brokerage or investment account that a person or company opens in a jurisdiction outside their home country. Such accounts have many legitimate uses: expatriates keep accounts where they work, exporters hold balances in the currencies they trade in, and investors seek access to markets, currencies or legal systems they prefer. The term is often associated with tax havens and secrecy, and offshore accounts have been used to hide income and launder money. Since the 2010s, rules such as the US FATCA and the OECD's Common Reporting Standard require banks to report many foreign account holders to their home tax authorities, sharply reducing secrecy. Holding an offshore account is generally legal, but owners must usually declare it and the income it earns. Also see offshore banking.