Form W-8BEN is the Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding.
Generally, a foreign person is subject to U.S. tax on its U.S. source income. Most types of U.S. source income received by a foreign person are subject to U.S. tax of 30%. A reduced rate, including exemption, may apply if there is a tax treaty between the foreign person’s country of residence and the U.S.. The tax is generally withheld from the payment made to the foreign person.
If you receive certain types of income, such as interest, dividends, royalties, rents that are NOT effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business then you may receive Form W-8BEN from your withholding agent (eg bank or lender). Please follow the instructions below for completing Form W-8BEN and submit directly to your withholding agent.
Generally, a Form W-8BEN will remain in effect for purposes of establishing foreign status for a period starting on the date the form is signed and ending on the last day of the third succeeding calendar year, unless a change in circumstances makes any information on the form incorrect. For example, a Form W-8BEN signed on September 30th 2015 remains valid through December 31st 2018.
Instructions for Completing Form W-8BEN
Part I Identification of Beneficial Owner
- Your name
- Your country of citizenship
- Permanent residence – enter your home country mailing address
- Mailing address – enter your mailing address if it is different from your permanent residence address
- Enter your SSN (social security number) or ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)
- Enter the tax identifying number issued by your home country or the country where you claim tax residence
- Enter the number of the account for which you are providing the form OR, if a foreign single owner of a disregarded entity, enter the name of the disregarded entity
- Enter your date of birth using the format MM/DD/YYY
Part II Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits (if applicable)
- Insert the name of the country where you claim to be a resident for income tax treaty purposes (this line generally applies to interest or dividends). A list of U.S. tax treaties is available below on the IRS Website.
- Use this line if you are claiming treaty benefits that require that you meet conditions not covered by the representations you make on line 9 and Part III. This line is generally not applicable to treaty benefits under an interest or dividends (other than dividends subject to a preferential rate based on ownership) article of a treaty.
Part III Certification
- Sign and date using the MM/DD/YYYY format
