Instructions for Form 8233

(Rev. October 2021)

(Use with the September 2018 revision of Form 8233.)

Exemption From Withholding on Compensation for Independent (and Certain 

Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Section references are to the Internal 

Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

General Instructions

Future Developments

For the latest information about 

developments related to Form 8233 and 

its instructions, such as legislation 

enacted after they were published, go to 

IRS.gov/Form8233.

You must know the terms of the 

tax treaty between the United 

States and the treaty country to 

properly complete Form 8233.

What’s New

COVID-19 medical condition travel exception. For tax year 2021, individuals 

cannot claim the COVID-19 medical 

condition travel exception to exclude any 

days of presence in the United States for 

the purpose of the “substantial presence 

test.” This was solely available for the 

2020 tax year. However, days of presence 

in the United States in 2020 that were 

excluded for tax year 2020 may impact the 

application of the “substantial presence 

test” for tax year 2021. For more 

information, see TIP, later.

Non-toll-free fax number. On page 5, 

we have added a non-toll-free fax number 

for withholding agents to fax in their Form 

8233.

Reminders

Individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). An ITIN for a nonresident alien 

used on a prior year income tax return 

may require renewal. For more 

information, see Expired ITIN, later.

Purpose of Form

In general, section 1441 requires 30% 

income tax withholding on compensation 

for independent personal services 

(defined later). Sections 1441, 3401, and 

3402 require withholding, sometimes at 

30% and sometimes at graduated rates, 

on compensation for dependent personal 

services (defined later). However, some 

payments may be exempt from 

withholding because of a tax treaty. 

Complete and give Form 8233 to your 

CAUTION

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withholding agent if some or all of your 

compensation is exempt from withholding.

You can use Form 8233 to claim a tax 

treaty withholding exemption for 

noncompensatory scholarship or 

fellowship income only if you are also 

claiming a tax treaty withholding 

exemption for compensation for personal 

services (including compensatory 

scholarship or fellowship income) received 

from the same withholding agent.

If you have income from 

independent personal services, 

you generally cannot claim a 

treaty exemption if you have an office or 

fixed base in the United States available to 

you, including if you are a partner in a 

partnership that has an office or fixed 

base. A few treaties include limited 

exceptions to this general rule.

Additional information. General 

information about tax treaties is available 

at IRS.gov/Individuals/InternationalTaxpayers/Tax-Treaties. Also, see Pub. 

901 for a quick reference guide to the 

provisions of U.S. tax treaties.

You can download the complete text of 

most U.S. tax treaties at IRS.gov/

Businesses/International-Businesses/

United-States-Income-Tax-Treaties-A-toZ. Technical explanations for many of 

those treaties are also available on that 

site.

You can get any of the forms or 

publications referred to in these 

instructions by downloading them from 

IRS.gov/Forms or ordering them from 

IRS.gov/OrderForms.

Giving Form 8233 to the 

Withholding Agent

You must complete a separate Form 

8233:

• For each tax year (be sure to specify 

the tax year in the space provided above 

Part I of the form),

• For each withholding agent, and

• For each type of income.

However, you can use one Form 8233 

to claim a tax treaty withholding exemption 

for both compensation for personal 

services (including compensatory 

scholarship or fellowship income) and 

noncompensatory scholarship or 

CAUTION

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fellowship income received from the same 

withholding agent.

Give the form to the withholding agent. 

The withholding agent's responsibilities 

are discussed in the Part IV instructions.

Example. A nonresident alien is 

primarily present in the United States as a 

professor, but is also occasionally invited 

to lecture at other educational institutions. 

These lectures are not connected with his 

teaching obligations but are in the nature 

of self-employment. For each tax year, the 

professor must complete and give a 

separate Form 8233 to the withholding 

agent at each institution in order to claim 

tax treaty benefits on the separate items of 

income, if the treaty so permits.

Definitions

Nonresident Alien

If you are an alien individual (that is, an 

individual who is not a U.S. citizen), 

specific rules apply to determine if you are 

a resident alien or a nonresident alien for 

tax purposes. Generally, you are a 

resident alien if you meet either the “green 

card test” or the “substantial presence 

test” for the calendar year. Any person not 

meeting either test is generally a 

nonresident alien. Additionally, an alien 

individual who qualifies as a resident of a 

treaty country (defined later) or a bona fide 

resident of Puerto Rico, Guam, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or 

American Samoa is a nonresident alien 

individual.

For more information on the tests used 

to determine resident alien or nonresident 

alien status, see Pub. 519.

Even though a nonresident alien 

individual married to a U.S. citizen 

or resident alien can choose to be 

treated as a resident alien for certain 

purposes (for example, filing a joint 

income tax return), such individual is still 

treated as a nonresident alien for 

withholding tax purposes.

For more information on 

determining resident alien or 

nonresident alien status under the 

“substantial presence test” as a result of 

having applied the COVID-19 Medical 

Condition Travel Exception to exclude 

CAUTION

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TIP

Aug 05, 2021 Cat. No. 22663B
days of presence in the United States in 

2020, see Rev. Proc. 2020-20, 2020-20 

I.R.B. 801, available at IRS.gov/irb/

2020-20_IRB#REV-PROC-2020-20.

U.S. Person

For purposes of this form, a U.S. person is 

a U.S. citizen or resident alien.

Tax Treaty Withholding 

Exemption

This term refers to an exemption from 

withholding permitted by IRS regulations 

under section 1441 that is based on a tax 

treaty benefit. See Resident of a Treaty 

Country next for requirements for claiming 

a tax treaty benefit on this form.

Resident of a Treaty Country

In general, an alien individual is a resident 

of a treaty country if he or she qualifies as 

a resident of that country (1) under the 

country’s domestic law, and (2) under the 

terms of the residency article of the tax 

treaty between the United States and that 

country.

A nonresident alien can claim a tax 

treaty benefit on this form only if that 

individual is the beneficial owner of the 

income and meets the residency 

requirement and all other requirements for 

the requested benefits under the terms of 

the tax treaty.

If you are claiming a benefit under 

either the income from employment/

dependent personal services article or the 

income from independent services/

business profits article of the treaty, you 

must be a resident of the treaty country. 

However, if you are claiming a benefit 

under the student/trainee or teacher/

researcher article of a treaty, you generally 

only need to have been a resident of the 

treaty country immediately before (or at 

the time) you came to the United States.

Compensation for Independent 

Personal Services

Independent personal services are 

services performed as an independent 

contractor in the United States by a 

nonresident alien who is self-employed 

rather than an employee. Compensation 

for such services includes payments for 

contract labor; payments for professional 

services, such as fees to an attorney, 

physician, or accountant, if the payments 

are made directly to the person performing 

the services; consulting fees; and 

honoraria paid to visiting professors, 

teachers, researchers, scientists, and 

prominent speakers.

Business profits. Certain treaties do not 

have an independent personal services 

article. Payments for independent 

personal services may be covered under 

the business profits article of an applicable 

income tax treaty. If you are eligible to 

claim exemption from withholding on this 

type of income, complete and give Form 

8233 to the withholding agent.

Under certain treaties, such as 

those with Canada, India, and 

Portugal, the income for services 

performed by independent contractors 

who do not have a fixed base in the United 

States may still be taxable for services 

performed in the United States if they stay 

in the United States for more than a 

specified period of time (generally 90 or 

183 days, depending on the treaty). See, 

for example, Article 5, paragraph 9 of the 

United States–Canada income tax treaty 

and Article 15, paragraph 1(b) of the 

United States–India income tax treaty. 

Often, these contractors cannot claim an 

exemption from withholding at the time of 

payment because they do not know 

whether their stay will exceed the 

specified period.

Public entertainers. Generally, athletes 

and entertainers are not exempt from tax 

on income derived from their activities. 

Most treaties have a special article that 

covers them that takes precedence over 

the independent personal services and 

dependent personal services articles of 

treaties. They may be exempt in some 

treaties only if the total amount paid for a 

year is below a dollar threshold. Generally, 

the IRS cannot accept Form 8233 

because the exemption may be based on 

factors that cannot be determined until 

after the end of the year. These individuals 

are subject to 30% withholding from gross 

income paid for personal services 

performed unless they apply for a reduced 

rate of withholding using Form 13930.

Required Withholding Form

For compensation you receive for 

independent personal services, complete 

Form 8233 to claim a tax treaty 

withholding exemption for part or all of that 

income.

Compensation for Dependent 

Personal Services

Dependent personal services are services 

performed as an employee in the United 

States by a nonresident alien. Dependent 

personal services include compensatory 

scholarship or fellowship income (defined 

later). Compensation for such services 

includes wages, salaries, fees, bonuses, 

commissions, and similar designations for 

amounts paid to an employee.

Required Withholding Form(s)

Complete Form 8233 for compensation 

you receive for dependent personal 

services only if you are claiming a tax 

treaty withholding exemption for part or all 

of that income.

CAUTION

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For compensation for which you are not 

claiming a tax treaty withholding 

exemption, use Form W-4, or you can also 

calculate your withholding online with the 

Tax Withholding Estimator at IRS.gov/

Individuals/Tax-Withholding-Estimator.

Completing your Form W-4. You should 

complete your Form W-4 as follows.

Step 1. You are required to enter a 

social security number (SSN) in box 1b of 

Form W-4. If you do not have an SSN but 

are eligible to get one, you should apply 

for it. Get Form SS-5 online at SSA.gov, 

from your local Social Security 

Administration (SSA) office, or by calling 

the SSA at 800-772-1213.

You cannot enter an individual 

taxpayer identification number 

(ITIN) in box 1b of Form W-4. See 

Notice 1392 for more information about 

completing Form W-4.

Box 1c. Check the single box 

regardless of your actual marital status.

Step 2. Use Step 2 of Form W-4 if you 

have more than one job at the same time.

Step 3. Complete Step 3 only if you 

are a nonresident alien who is a resident 

of Canada, Mexico, or South Korea, or a 

resident of India who is a student or 

business apprentice. You cannot take a 

deduction for a qualifying child or other 

dependent unless you meet the above 

requirements. See Pub. 519 for more 

information.

Step 4. Complete Step 4 if you have 

other income on which no tax was 

withheld. Generally, nonresident aliens 

cannot take the standard deduction. Also, 

any itemized deductions to which you are 

entitled may be limited. See Pub. 519 for 

more information.

The above instructions generally 

apply to the 2021 Form W-4. See 

the subsequent year Form W-4 

and its instructions for withholding that 

occurs after 2021.

Compensatory Scholarship or 

Fellowship Income

In general, scholarship or fellowship 

income is compensatory to the extent it 

represents payment for past, present, or 

future services (for example, teaching or 

research) performed by a nonresident 

alien as an employee and the 

performance of those services is a 

condition for receiving the scholarship or 

fellowship (or tuition reduction).

Example. XYZ University awards a 

scholarship to George, a nonresident alien 

student. The only condition of the 

scholarship is that George attends classes 

and maintains a minimum level of 

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CAUTION

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-2- Instructions for Form 8233 (Rev. 10-2021)
academic performance. The scholarship 

income is not compensatory because 

George is not required to perform services 

as an employee as a condition for 

receiving the scholarship.

Required Withholding Form(s)

Compensatory scholarship or fellowship 

income is considered to be dependent 

personal services income. Therefore, 

complete Form 8233 for this income if you 

are claiming a tax treaty withholding 

exemption for part or all of that income.

For any part of this compensatory 

income for which you are not claiming a 

tax treaty withholding exemption, use 

Form W-4 or the Tax Withholding 

Estimator at IRS.gov/Individuals/TaxWithholding-Estimator. For the Form W-4, 

see Completing your Form W-4, earlier.

Noncompensatory Scholarship 

or Fellowship Income

Noncompensatory scholarship or 

fellowship income is scholarship or 

fellowship income that is not 

compensatory scholarship or fellowship 

income (defined earlier).

In most cases, the taxable portion of 

noncompensatory scholarship or 

fellowship income (defined next) paid to a 

nonresident alien is subject to withholding 

at:

• 30%; or

• 14% if the nonresident alien is 

temporarily present in the United States 

under an "F," "J," "M," or "Q" visa.

Taxable portion of noncompensatory 

scholarship or fellowship income. If 

you were a degree candidate, the amount 

of this type of income that you used for 

expenses other than tuition and 

course-related expenses (fees, books, 

supplies, and equipment) is taxable in 

most cases. For example, in most cases 

amounts used for room, board, and travel 

are taxable. If you were not a degree 

candidate, the full amount of the 

scholarship or fellowship income is 

taxable in most cases.

Required Withholding Form

In most cases, you should complete Form 

W-8BEN to claim a tax treaty withholding 

exemption for this type of income. Form 

W-8BEN is not required unless a treaty 

benefit is being claimed.

Exception. If you are receiving both 

compensation for personal services 

(including compensatory scholarship or 

fellowship income) and noncompensatory 

scholarship or fellowship income from the 

same withholding agent, you can use one 

Form 8233 for both types of income. 

However, this exception applies only if you 

are claiming a tax treaty withholding 

exemption for both types of income.

Alternate withholding election. A 

withholding agent can elect to withhold on 

the taxable portion of noncompensatory 

scholarship or fellowship income of a 

nonresident alien temporarily present in 

the United States under an “F,” “J,” “M,” or 

“Q” visa as if it were compensatory 

scholarship or fellowship income 

(provided the nonresident alien is not 

claiming treaty benefits with respect to that 

income). The withholding agent makes 

this election by requesting that the 

nonresident alien complete Form W-4 

using the instructions in Rev. Proc. 88-24, 

1988-1 C.B. 800. Indian students should 

also see Rev. Proc. 93-20, 1993-1 C.B. 

528.

Withholding Agent

Any person, U.S. or foreign, that has 

control, receipt, or custody of an amount 

subject to withholding or that can disburse 

or make payments of an amount subject to 

withholding is a withholding agent. The 

withholding agent can be an individual, 

corporation, partnership, trust, 

association, or any other entity, including 

(but not limited to) any foreign 

intermediary, foreign partnership, and U.S. 

branch of certain foreign banks and 

insurance companies. In most cases, the 

person who pays (or causes to be paid) 

the amount subject to withholding to the 

nonresident alien individual (or to his or 

her agent) must withhold.

Beneficial Owner

The beneficial owner of income is in most 

cases the person who is required under 

U.S. tax principles to include the income in 

gross income on a tax return. A person is 

not a beneficial owner of income, 

however, to the extent that person is 

receiving the income as a nominee, agent, 

or custodian, or to the extent the person is 

a conduit whose participation in a 

transaction is disregarded. In the case of 

amounts paid that do not constitute 

income, beneficial ownership is 

determined as if the payment were 

income.

Avoid Common Errors

To ensure that your Form 8233 is promptly 

accepted, be sure that you:

• Answer all applicable questions 

completely;

• Specify the tax year for which this form 

will be effective in the space provided 

above Part I of the form;

• Enter your complete name, addresses, 

and identifying number(s) in Part I;

• Have attached the required statement 

described in the line 10 instructions if you 

are a foreign student, trainee, professor/

teacher, or researcher;

• Are not trying to claim tax treaty 

benefits for a country with which the 

United States does not have a ratified tax 

treaty;

• Are not trying to claim tax treaty 

benefits that do not exist in your treaty;

• Complete lines 11 through 14 in 

sufficient detail to allow the IRS to 

determine the tax treaty benefit you are 

claiming; and

• Complete the required certification in 

Part III.

Specific Instructions

Part I

Line 2

You must furnish a U.S. taxpayer 

identification number on this form. In most 

cases, you must enter your SSN on line 2.

If you do not have an SSN and are not 

eligible to get one, you must get an ITIN. 

To apply for an ITIN, file Form W-7 with 

the IRS. In most cases, you apply for an 

ITIN when you file your tax return for which 

you need the ITIN. However, if the reason 

for your ITIN request is because you need 

to provide Form 8233 to the withholding 

agent, you must file Form W-7 and provide 

proof that you are not eligible for an SSN 

(your Form SS-5 was rejected by the SSA) 

and include a Form 8233. Allow 7 weeks 

for the IRS to notify you of your ITIN 

application status (9 to 11 weeks if you 

submit the application during peak 

processing periods (January 15 through 

April 30) or if you’re filing from overseas).

For details on how to apply for an ITIN, 

see Form W-7 and its instructions. Get 

Form W-7 online at IRS.gov/Forms. For 

more information on obtaining an ITIN, go 

to IRS.gov/ITIN.

If you have applied for an SSN or ITIN 

but have not yet received it, you can 

attach a copy of a completed Form W-7 or 

SS-5 showing that a number has been 

applied for.

An ITIN is for tax use only. It does 

not entitle you to social security 

benefits or change your 

employment or immigration status under 

U.S. law.

Expired ITIN. Generally, ITINs issued 

after December 31, 2012, will remain in 

effect as long as the individual to whom 

the ITIN was issued filed a tax return (or is 

included as a dependent on the tax return 

of another taxpayer) at least once in the 

last 3 tax years. Otherwise, the ITIN will 

expire at the end of the third consecutive 

tax year in which the individual did not file 

a tax return. All expired ITINs must be 

renewed before being used on a U.S. tax 

return.

CAUTION

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Instructions for Form 8233 (Rev. 10-2021) -3-
For more information, go to IRS.gov/

ITIN.

Line 3

If your country of residence for tax 

purposes has issued you a tax 

identification number, enter it here. For 

example, if you are a resident of Canada, 

enter your Social Insurance Number.

Line 4

Your permanent residence address is the 

address in the country where you claim to 

be a resident for purposes of that country's 

income tax. If you are completing Form 

8233 to claim a tax treaty withholding 

exemption, you must determine your 

residency in the manner required by the 

treaty. Do not show the address of a 

financial institution, a post office box, or an 

address used solely for mailing purposes. 

If you are an individual who does not have 

a tax residence in any country, your 

permanent residence is where you 

normally reside.

Most tax treaties that provide for a tax 

treaty withholding exemption for students, 

trainees, teachers, or researchers require 

that the recipient be a resident of the 

treaty country at the time of, or 

immediately before, entry into the United 

States. Thus, in most cases, a student or 

researcher can claim the withholding 

exemption even if he or she no longer has 

a permanent address in the treaty country 

after entry into the United States. If this is 

the case, you can provide a U.S. address 

on line 4 and still be eligible for the 

withholding exemption if all other 

conditions required by the tax treaty are 

met. You must also identify on line 12a 

and/or line 13b the tax treaty country of 

which you were a resident at the time of, 

or immediately before, your entry into the 

United States.

Line 6

Enter your U.S. visa type. For example, 

foreign students are usually granted an 

“F-1” visa. Foreign professors, teachers, 

or researchers are usually granted a “J-1” 

visa. Business/vocational trainees are 

usually granted an “M-1” visa; however, 

some persons granted a “J-1” visa may 

also be considered business/vocational 

trainees (for example, a person admitted 

to complete a postgraduate residency in 

medicine).

If you do not have, or do not need, a 

visa, write “None.”

Spouses and dependents 

admitted on secondary visas (for 

example, “F-2,” “J-2,” “H-4,” and 

“O-3” visas) are usually not eligible to 

claim the same treaty benefits as the 

primary visa holder.

CAUTION

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Line 8

In most cases, you must enter your date of 

entry into the United States that relates to 

your current nonimmigrant status. For 

example, enter the date of arrival shown 

on your current Immigration Form I-94, 

Arrival-Departure Record.

Exception. If you are claiming a tax treaty 

benefit that is determined by reference to 

more than one date of arrival, enter the 

earlier date of arrival. For example, you 

are currently claiming treaty benefits (as a 

teacher or a researcher) under Article 15 

of the tax treaty between the United States 

and Norway. You previously claimed 

treaty benefits (as a student) under Article 

16, paragraph 1, of that treaty. Under 

Article 16, paragraph 4, of that treaty, the 

combination of exemptions under Articles 

15 and 16, paragraph 1, cannot extend 

beyond 5 tax years from the date you 

entered the United States. If Article 16, 

paragraph 4, of that treaty applies, enter 

on line 8 the date you entered the United 

States as a student.

Line 9a

Enter your current nonimmigrant status. 

For example, enter your current 

nonimmigrant status shown on your 

current Immigration Form I-94.

Line 9b

Enter the date your current nonimmigrant 

status expires. For example, you can enter 

the date of expiration shown on your 

current Immigration Form I-94. Enter “DS” 

on line 9b if the date of expiration is based 

on “duration of status.”

Line 10

Nonresident alien students, trainees, 

professors/teachers, and researchers 

using Form 8233 to claim a tax treaty 

withholding exemption for compensation 

for personal services must attach a 

statement to Form 8233. The format and 

contents of the required statements are 

shown in Appendix A and Appendix B in 

Pub. 519.

Part II

Line 11a

For compensation for independent 

personal services, examples of 

acceptable descriptions to enter on this 

line include “consulting contract to design 

software” or “give three lectures at XYZ 

University.”

For compensation for dependent 

personal services, acceptable 

descriptions to enter on this line include 

the following examples.

• A nonresident alien student can enter 

“part-time library assistant,” “part-time 

on-campus restaurant worker,” or 

“teaching one chemistry course per 

semester to undergraduate students.”

• A nonresident alien professor or 

teacher can enter “teaching at ABC 

University.”

• A nonresident alien researcher can 

enter “research at ABC University's school 

for liquid crystal research.”

• A nonresident alien business/vocational 

trainee can enter “neurosurgical residency 

at ABC Hospital” or “one-year internship in 

hydraulic engineering at XYZ 

Corporation.”

Line 11b

Enter the total amount of compensation for 

personal services you will receive from 

this withholding agent during the tax year. 

Enter an estimated amount if you do not 

know the exact amount.

Line 12a

Enter the specific treaty on which you are 

basing your claim for exemption from 

withholding (for example, “U.S.–Germany 

tax treaty” or “U.S.–Belgium tax treaty”).

Line 12b

Enter the specific article of the treaty 

identified on line 12a on which you are 

basing your claim for exemption from 

withholding (for example, “Article 14, 

paragraph 2,” or “Article 7 (business 

profits)”).

If you are a resident of a country that 

has a services permanent establishment 

provision in the treaty (for example, Article 

5, paragraph 9, of the United States–

Canada treaty) and you are claiming to be 

exempt from withholding because you are 

not performing services for more than the 

specified period under that provision, 

enter that treaty provision.

Line 12c

If all income received for the services 

performed to which this Form 8233 

applies is exempt, write “All.” If only part is 

exempt, enter the exact dollar amount that 

is exempt from withholding.

Line 12d

If you are claiming a benefit under either 

the income from employment/dependent 

personal services article or the income 

from independent services/business 

profits article of the treaty, you must be a 

resident of the treaty country. However, if 

you are claiming a benefit under the 

student/trainee or teacher/researcher 

article of a treaty, you generally only need 

to have been a resident of the treaty 

country at the time of, or immediately 

before, your entry into the United States.

Line 13b

Enter the specific treaty on which you are 

basing your claim for exemption from 

withholding (for example, “U.S.–Germany 

tax treaty”).

-4- Instructions for Form 8233 (Rev. 10-2021)
Line 13c

Enter the specific article of the treaty 

identified on line 13b on which you are 

basing your claim for exemption from 

withholding (for example, “Article 20, 

paragraph 3”).

Line 14

Provide sufficient facts to justify the 

exemption from withholding claimed on 

line 12 and/or line 13. Be sure you provide 

enough details to allow the IRS to 

determine the tax treaty benefit you are 

claiming.

Part IV

Withholding Agent's 

Responsibilities

When the nonresident alien individual 

gives you Form 8233, review it to see if 

you are satisfied that the exemption from 

withholding is warranted. If you are 

satisfied, based on the facts presented, 

complete and sign the certification in Part 

IV.

You will need three copies of the 

completed Form 8233. Each copy of Form 

8233 must include any attachments 

submitted by the nonresident alien 

individual. Give one copy of the completed 

Form 8233 to the nonresident alien 

individual. Keep a copy for your records. 

Within 5 days of your acceptance, forward 

one copy to:

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Philadelphia, PA 19255-0725

You can also fax Form 8233 to 

877-824-9781 or 267-466-1365. 

You are limited to 100 pages at 

one time.

The exemption from withholding is 

effective for payments made retroactive to 

the date of the first payment covered by 

Form 8233, even though you must wait at 

least 10 days after you have properly 

mailed Form 8233 to the IRS to see 

whether the IRS has any objections to the 

Form 8233.

You must not accept Form 8233, and 

you must withhold, if either of the following 

applies.

• You know, or have reason to know, that 

any of the facts or statements on Form 

8233 may be false.

• You know, or have reason to know, that 

the nonresident alien's eligibility for the 

exemption from withholding cannot be 

readily determined (for example, you know 

the nonresident alien has a fixed base or 

permanent establishment in the United 

States).

If you accept Form 8233 and later find 

that either of the situations described 

above applies, you must promptly notify 

the IRS (by writing to the address provided 

earlier) and you must begin withholding on 

any amounts not yet paid. Also, if you are 

notified by the IRS that the nonresident 

alien's eligibility for the exemption from 

withholding is in doubt or that the 

nonresident alien is not eligible for 

exemption from withholding, you must 

begin withholding immediately. See 

Regulations section 1.1441-4(b)(2)(iii) for 

examples illustrating these rules.

If you submit an incorrect Form 8233, 

the IRS will notify you that the form 

submitted is not acceptable and that you 

must begin withholding immediately. 

Examples of incorrect Forms 8233 

include:

• Any Form 8233 that claims a tax treaty 

benefit that does not exist or is obviously 

false, and

• Any Form 8233 that has not been 

completed in sufficient detail to allow 

determination of the correctness of the tax 

treaty benefit or exemption claimed.

If the IRS rejects Form 8233, you 

should notify the individual who submitted 

it and allow the individual to submit a 

revised form if the individual still believes 

he or she is entitled to the exemption.

Signature

You or your authorized agent must sign 

and date Form 8233. See Regulations 

section 1.1441-7(c) for information about 

authorized agents.

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction 

Act Notice. We ask for the information on 

this form to carry out the Internal Revenue 

laws of the United States. You are not 

required to request a tax treaty withholding 

exemption. However, if you want to 

receive exemption from withholding on 

compensation for independent (and 

certain dependent) personal services, you 

are required to give us this information so 

that we can verify eligibility under the 

relevant tax treaty and confirm proper tax 

treatment. Our legal right to ask for this 

information is Internal Revenue Code 

sections 1441, 3401, and 3402. We need 

this information to ensure that you are 

complying with these laws and to allow us 

to figure and collect the right amount of 

tax. Code section 6109 requires taxpayers 

and withholding agents to provide their 

identification numbers. Routine uses of 

this information include giving it to the 

Department of Justice for civil and criminal 

litigation, and cities, states, the District of 

Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths and 

possessions for use in administering their 

tax laws. We may also disclose this 

information to other countries under a tax 

treaty, to federal and state agencies to 

enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or to 

federal law enforcement and intelligence 

agencies to combat terrorism. If a 

nonresident alien fails to provide a 

properly completed form, the withholding 

agent cannot accept it and is required to 

withhold. If a withholding agent accepts a 

Form 8233 as completed and later finds 

that any of the facts or statements made 

on the form are false, or that a nonresident 

alien's eligibility for the exemption is in 

doubt, the withholding agent is required to 

notify the IRS and begin withholding; 

failure to do so may result in penalties.

You are not required to provide the 

information requested on a form that is 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

unless the form displays a valid OMB 

control number. Books or records relating 

to a form or its instructions must be 

retained as long as their contents may 

become material in the administration of 

any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax 

returns and return information are 

confidential, as required by section 6103.

The time needed to complete and file 

this form will vary depending on individual 

circumstances. The estimated average 

time is: Recordkeeping, 3 hr., 44 min.; 

Learning about the law or the form, 2 

hr., 39 min.; Preparing and sending the 

form to IRS, 2 hr., 26 min.

If you have comments concerning the 

accuracy of these time estimates or 

suggestions for making this form simpler, 

we would be happy to hear from you. You 

can send us comments from IRS.gov/

FormComments. You can write to the 

Internal Revenue Service, Tax Forms and 

Publications, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, 

IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224. Do not 

send the tax form to this address. Instead, 

give it to your withholding agent.

Instructions for Form 8233 (Rev. 10-2021) -5-