What Form W-8BEN-E is for
Form W-8BEN-E is a certificate a foreign entity gives to the U.S. person paying it. It says the entity is not a U.S. person, and it states the entity's status under chapter 3 and chapter 4 of the tax code. With it, a payer can treat the money as paid to a foreign beneficial owner and apply a reduced treaty rate or no withholding at all.
Only entities use this form. A foreign individual uses Form W-8BEN or Form 8233 instead, and a U.S. person uses Form W-9. Foreign financial institutions also request it from entity account holders so they can record a chapter 4 status, even when no withholding applies to the account.
Who has to give Form W-8BEN-E?
You give this form if you are a foreign entity receiving a withholdable payment, receiving a payment subject to chapter 3 withholding, or holding an account with a foreign financial institution that asks for it. A foreign entity that sells a life insurance contract under section 6050Y, or that receives a reportable death benefit, also gives it to establish foreign status. Partnerships, simple trusts, and grantor trusts sit outside that section 6050Y rule.
- You are a U.S. person or a U.S. entity: use Form W-9.
- You are a nonresident alien individual: use Form W-8BEN or Form 8233.
- Your income is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business: use Form W-8ECI.
- You act as an intermediary, a withholding foreign partnership, or a withholding foreign trust: use Form W-8IMY.
- You are claiming section 115(2), 501(c), 892, 895, or 1443(b): use Form W-8EXP.
When do you give it, and how long is it good for?
There is no filing deadline, because you never file this form with the IRS. Hand it over before the payment is made to you, credited to your account, or allocated to you. A signed form generally stays valid from the signing date through the last day of the third succeeding calendar year. The instructions give an example: a form signed on September 30, 2014 remained valid through December 31, 2017. If a change in circumstances makes anything on the form wrong, tell the withholding agent within 30 days and submit a new form.
Where does the form go?
Do not send Form W-8BEN-E to the IRS. Give it to the person requesting it, which is usually the person paying you, the person crediting your account, or a partnership that allocates income to you. A foreign financial institution may request it to document the status of your account. Each withholding agent generally needs its own form. If you receive more than one type of income from a single withholding agent and claim different benefits for each, that agent can ask for a separate form per type of income.
How do you fill out Form W-8BEN-E?
Part I identifies you. Enter your legal name, your country of incorporation or organization, your permanent residence address, and a taxpayer identification number if one is required. Check one box on line 4 for your entity type under U.S. tax principles, and one box on line 5 for your chapter 4 status. Most line 5 choices send you to a later part of the form where you certify that you meet that status, so finish that part before you sign. A treaty claim means completing Part III. Everyone signs Part XXX.
- Answer yes to the hybrid question on line 4 and complete Part III if you are a hybrid entity making a treaty claim.
- Part II applies to a disregarded entity with its own GIIN or a branch operating outside your country of residence.
- A passive NFFE with substantial U.S. owners names them, with addresses and TINs, in Part XXIX.
- A withholding agent may accept an electronic signature. Typing your name on the signature line is not an electronic signature.
- If you have applied for a GIIN but have not received it, you may write 'applied for'. The requester must receive and verify it within 90 days.
What changed in the October 2021 revision?
Line 4 no longer carries one general box for foreign governments. It now splits into an integral part of a foreign government and an entity controlled by a foreign government. Line 9c is new, and you check it when you are not legally required to obtain a foreign tax ID number from your jurisdiction of residence. The instructions also added guidance under section 1446(f), which asks a transferee buying a partnership interest from a non-U.S. transferor to withhold 10% of the amount realized unless an exception applies.
- Withholding on transfers of PTP interests and on PTP distributions applies to transfers and distributions occurring on or after January 1, 2023.
- Rules for transfers of interests in partnerships that are not PTPs generally apply to transfers occurring after January 29, 2021.
- Line 14 now covers entities resident in a treaty country whose treaty has no limitation on benefits article.
- Line 15 now covers treaty claims on business profits or gains not attributable to a permanent establishment.
- The instructions added guidance on electronic signatures and on reporting under section 6050Y.
Form W-8BEN-E line by line
| Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| 1 | The legal name of the entity that is the beneficial owner. A disregarded entity or branch enters the name of its owner here instead. |
| 2 | Your country of incorporation, or the country under whose laws you are created, organized, or governed. |
| 3 | The name of a disregarded entity receiving the payment, when it has its own GIIN or is a reporting Model 1 or Model 2 FFI. |
| 4 | Your chapter 3 entity type. Check one box only, and answer the hybrid question if you are a partnership, disregarded entity, simple trust, or grantor trust. |
| 5 | Your chapter 4 (FATCA) status. Check one box, then complete the part of the form named next to that box. |
| 6 | Your permanent residence address in the country where you claim tax residence. No P.O. box and no in-care-of address unless it is your registered address. |
| 7 | Your mailing address, only if it differs from line 6. |
| 8 | Your U.S. EIN, if a U.S. TIN is required. Apply on Form SS-4 if you need one. |
| 9a | Your GIIN, required for statuses such as participating FFI, registered deemed-compliant FFI, reporting Model 1 or 2 FFI, and direct reporting NFFE. |
| 9b | The foreign TIN issued by your jurisdiction of tax residence, when you hold an account at a U.S. office and receive income reportable on Form 1042-S. |
| 9c | Check this box if you are not legally required to obtain a foreign TIN from your jurisdiction of residence. |
| Part II | Status, address, and GIIN of a disregarded entity with its own GIIN or of a branch in a country other than your country of residence. |
| Part III | Your treaty claim. Name your treaty country, check a limitation on benefits box, and use line 15 for special rates and conditions. |
| Part XXX | The signature. An authorized representative or officer signs and dates under penalties of perjury and certifies capacity to sign. |
Penalties and withholding
30%
Withholding that may apply if you do not provide the form when a withholding agent requests it.
Source: IRS, Form W-8BEN-E (Rev. Oct 2021) and Instructions for Form W-8BEN-E, Certificate of Entities Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Entities). This page explains the form in plain English. It is not tax advice.