Instructions for

the Requester of

Forms W-8BEN,

W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI,

W-8EXP, and W-8IMY

(Rev. June 2022)

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code 

unless otherwise noted.

Future developments. For the latest information about 

developments related to the Forms W-8 and their 

instructions for requesters, such as legislation enacted 

after they were published, go to IRS.gov/UAC/AboutForm-W8.

What's New

Guidance under section 1446(f). The Tax Cuts and 

Jobs Act (TCJA) added section 1446(f), which generally 

requires that if any portion of a gain on any disposition of 

an interest in a partnership would be treated under section 

864(c)(8) as effectively connected gain, the transferee 

purchasing an interest in such a partnership from a 

non-U.S. transferor must withhold a tax equal to 10% of 

the amount realized on the disposition unless an 

exception to withholding applies. Section 1446(f) 

generally applies to transfers occurring on or after January 

1, 2018. T.D. 9926 (84 FR 76910), published on 

November 30, 2020, contains final regulations (section 

1446(f) regulations) relating to the withholding and 

reporting requirements under section 1446(f), including 

those that apply to brokers effecting transfers of interests 

in publicly traded partnerships (PTPs). The section 

1446(f) regulations also revise certain requirements under 

section 1446(a) relating to withholding and reporting on 

distributions made by PTPs, and expand the entities 

permitted to act as nominees for PTP distributions to 

include certain qualified intermediaries (QIs) and certain 

U.S. branches. Withholding on transfers of interests in 

PTPs and the revisions included in the section 1446(f) 

regulations relating to withholding on PTP distributions 

under section 1446(a) apply to transfers and distributions 

that occur on or after January 1, 2023. See Notice 

2021-51, 2021-36 I.R.B. 361. The provisions of the 

section 1446(f) regulations relating to withholding and 

reporting on transfers of interests in partnerships that are 

not PTPs generally apply to transfers occurring after 

January 29, 2021. Forms W-8 and their accompanying 

instructions (excluding Form W-8EXP) were updated 

(Rev. October 2021) to incorporate the use of those forms 

by brokers and transferors of partnership interests 

receiving payments of amounts realized for purposes of 

section 1446(f) and by partners and brokers receiving 

PTP distributions. These instructions address certain 

requirements of brokers and other withholding agents that 

make those payments in connection with their reliance on 

Forms W-8.

Section 871(m) regulations and qualified securities 

lenders (QSLs). Notice 2020-2, 2020-3 I.R.B. 327, 

further extended the transition relief provided in Notice 

2018-72, 2018-40 I.R.B. 522, for certain provisions of the 

section 871(m) regulations, generally for 2021 and 2022. 

Notice 2020-2 also further extended the period that a 

withholding agent may apply the transition rules to act as 

a QSL described in obsoleted Notice 2010-46, 2010-24 

I.R.B. 757, Part III, for substitute dividend payments made 

in 2021 and 2022. As a result, the updated Form W-8IMY 

(Rev. October 2021) includes chapter 3 status 

certifications for entities acting as QSLs (applicable to 

either a QI or other entity acting as a QSL). The updated 

Instructions for Form W-8IMY also clarify when a QI may 

continue to claim status as a QSL in a case in which it is 

also a qualified derivatives dealer (QDD) (as provided in 

the QI agreement) and include certain other clarifying 

changes relevant to section 871(m) and QSL status.

FTIN not legally required. Certain Forms W-8 were 

updated (Rev. October 2021) to include a new line, “FTIN 

not legally required,” for account holders otherwise 

required to provide a foreign taxpayer identification 

number (FTIN) on the form to indicate that they are not 

legally required to obtain an FTIN from their jurisdiction of 

residence.

Nonqualified intermediary (NQI) that provides an alternative withholding statement. The Form W-8IMY 

and its instructions were updated (Rev. October 2021) to 

allow an NQI that is to provide alternative withholding 

statements and beneficial owner withholding certificates 

for payments associated with this form to represent on the 

form that the information on the withholding certificates 

will be verified for consistency as required under 

Regulations section 1.1441-1(e)(3)(iv)(C)(3) (added in 

T.D. 9890). A similar allowance applies to a 

nonwithholding foreign partnership or a nonwithholding 

foreign trust that provides an alternative withholding 

statement.

Electronic signature. The accompanying instructions 

for certain Forms W-8 were updated (Rev. October 2021) 

to reference additional guidance included in final 

regulations issued under chapter 3 (T.D. 9890) 

concerning reliance on withholding certificates with 

electronic signatures. See Regulations section 

1.1441-1(e)(4)(i)(B) (added in T.D. 9890).

Jun 22, 2022 Cat. No. 26698G
Section 6050Y reporting. The accompanying 

instructions for certain Forms W-8 were updated (Rev. 

October 2021) to reference the use of the forms by a 

foreign person that is a seller of a life insurance contract 

(or interest therein) or a foreign person that is a recipient 

of a reportable death benefit for purposes of reporting 

under section 6050Y.

Purpose of Instructions

These instructions supplement the instructions for the 

forms listed below and provide notes to assist withholding 

agents and foreign financial institutions (FFIs) in validating 

the forms for chapters 3 and 4 purposes. These 

instructions also outline the due diligence requirements 

applicable to withholding agents for establishing a 

beneficial owner’s foreign status and claim for reduced 

withholding under an income tax treaty. These instructions 

are not inclusive of all requirements that may apply to a 

withholding agent for validating Forms W-8. A withholding 

agent should also reference the applicable regulations 

under chapters 3 and 4 and the instructions for each Form 

W-8 listed below.

• Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of 

Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and 

Reporting (Individuals).

• Form W-8BEN-E, Certificate of Status of Beneficial 

Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting 

(Entities).

• Form W-8ECI, Certificate of Foreign Person's Claim 

That Income Is Effectively Connected With the Conduct of 

a Trade or Business in the United States.

• Form W-8EXP, Certificate of Foreign Government or 

Other Foreign Organization for United States Tax 

Withholding and Reporting.

• Form W-8IMY, Certificate of Foreign Intermediary, 

Foreign Flow-Through Entity, or Certain U.S. Branches for 

United States Tax Withholding and Reporting.

For definitions of terms not defined in these 

instructions, see the Forms W-8 and their accompanying 

instructions.

Throughout these instructions, a reference to or 

mention of “Form W-8” includes Forms W-8BEN, 

W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP, and W-8IMY. 

References to “chapter 3” in the Forms W-8 and their 

accompanying instructions were generally updated to 

exclude sections 1445 and 1446 (which those instructions 

addressed separately as applicable). Thus, references to 

“chapter 3” in these instructions similarly exclude sections 

1445 and 1446.

These instructions reflect the regulatory changes 

described earlier and the updates to Forms W-8 and their 

instructions and certain other changes reflected on the 

most current revisions to the Form W-8 series published 

as of the date of publication of these instructions. Thus, 

different rules may apply to withholding agents with 

respect to prior revisions of Forms W-8 for which these 

regulatory changes did not yet apply, and different 

requirements may apply to future revisions of these forms. 

See Requesting Prior Versions of Form W-8, later, 

including the limitations on such use.

TIP

Who Is a Withholding Agent?

Any person, U.S. or foreign, in whatever capacity acting, 

that has control, receipt, custody, disposal, or payment of 

an amount subject to withholding for chapter 3 purposes 

or a withholdable payment for chapter 4 purposes is a 

withholding agent. See Regulations section 1.1441-2(e) 

for what constitutes a payment, which in limited 

circumstances may include when there is no actual 

transfer of cash or property (for example, dividend 

equivalents). The withholding agent may be an individual, 

corporation, partnership, trust, association, or any other 

entity, including (but not limited to) any foreign 

intermediary, foreign partnership, or U.S. branch of certain 

foreign banks and insurance companies. If several 

persons qualify as withholding agents for a single 

payment, the tax required to be withheld must only be 

withheld once. Generally, the person who pays (or causes 

to be paid) an amount subject to withholding under 

chapter 3 or a withholdable payment to the foreign person 

(or to its agent) must withhold. See the Instructions for 

Form 1042, Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. 

Source Income of Foreign Persons, and Form 1042-S, 

Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject to 

Withholding, for return filing and information reporting 

obligations with respect to payments made to foreign 

persons.

For effectively connected taxable income (ECTI) 

allocable to a foreign partner, the partnership (other than a 

PTP) is generally the withholding agent and must file Form 

8804, Annual Return for Partnership Withholding Tax 

(section 1446); Form 8805, Foreign Partner's Information 

Statement of Section 1446 Withholding Tax; and Form 

8813, Partnership Withholding Tax Payment Voucher 

(section 1446). For ECTI allocable to a foreign partner in a 

PTP, a nominee is generally the withholding agent and 

must file Form 1042 and 1042-S.

On the transfer of a partnership interest (other than an 

interest in a PTP) to which withholding under section 

1446(f) applies, the transferee is the withholding agent 

and must withhold 10% of the amount realized. The 

transferee of a non-PTP interest must file Form 8288, U.S. 

Withholding Tax Return for Dispositions by Foreign 

Persons of U.S. Real Property Interests; and Form 

8288-A, Statement of Withholding on Dispositions by 

Foreign Persons of U.S. Real Property Interests. A broker 

for a transfer of an interest in a PTP to which withholding 

applies under section 1446(f) is a withholding agent for 

the amount realized on the transfer and must withhold 

10% of the amount realized and file Forms 1042 and 

1042-S.

Responsibilities of a Withholding 

Agent To Obtain Form W-8

Chapter 3 Responsibilities

Generally, an amount is subject to withholding for 

purposes of chapter 3 if it is an amount from sources 

within the United States that is fixed or determinable 

annual or periodical (FDAP) income. FDAP income is in 

general all income included in gross income, including 

-2- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
interest (and original issue discount (OID)), dividends 

(including dividend equivalents), rents, royalties, and 

compensation. FDAP income does not include most gains 

from the sale of property (including market discount and 

option premiums) or items of income excluded from gross 

income without regard to the U.S. or foreign status of the 

owner of the income, such as interest under section 

103(a). Amounts subject to chapter 3 withholding do not 

include amounts that are not FDAP income as well as 

other specific items of income described in Regulations 

section 1.1441-2 (such as interest on bank deposits and 

short-term OID).

For purposes of sections 1441 and 1442, if you are a 

withholding agent, you must withhold 30% of any payment 

of an amount subject to chapter 3 withholding made to a 

payee that is a foreign person unless you can reliably 

associate the payment with documentation (for example, 

Form W-8 or Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer 

Identification Number and Certification) upon which you 

can rely to treat the payment as made to (a) a payee that 

is a U.S. person, or (b) a beneficial owner that is a foreign 

person entitled to a reduced rate of, or exemption from, 

withholding. In certain circumstances, however, you may 

be allowed to associate a payment with documentary 

evidence rather than a Form W-8 for a payment made 

outside the United States with respect to an offshore 

obligation under Regulations section 1.6049-5(c)(1). A 

withholding agent must also withhold under section 1443 

on certain payments to foreign tax-exempt organizations 

that are unrelated business taxable income or subject to 

the 4% excise tax imposed by section 4948.

However, a withholding agent making a payment to a 

foreign person need not withhold under chapter 3 if the 

foreign person assumes responsibility for withholding on 

the payment as a QI (other than a QI that is acting as a 

QDD, in which case withholding is not required only for a 

payment with respect to a section 871(m) transaction that 

is not an underlying security or a dividend equivalent), or if 

the foreign person is a withholding foreign partnership 

(WP), or a withholding foreign trust (WT) that has provided 

a valid Form W-8IMY certifying to such status. A 

withholding agent is not required to withhold on dividends 

paid in 2022 to a QI acting as a QDD in its equity 

derivatives dealer capacity. The QDD's withholding 

statement should contain the information necessary for 

determining the dividends subject to withholding. See the 

Instructions for Form W-8IMY for the requirements for a 

QDD withholding statement. Withholding under chapter 3 

is also not required if the payment is made to a U.S. 

branch of a foreign insurance company or foreign bank or 

a territory financial institution that agrees to be treated as 

a U.S. person under the requirements of Regulations 

section 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv)(A) and provides a valid Form 

W-8IMY certifying to such status.

Chapter 4 Responsibilities

For purposes of chapter 4, if you are a withholding agent, 

you must withhold 30% of any payment that is a 

withholdable payment (as defined in Regulations section 

1.1473-1(a)) made to a nonparticipating FFI that is not an 

exempt beneficial owner or to a non-financial foreign 

entity (NFFE) that is not an excepted NFFE and does not 

disclose its substantial U.S. owners (or certify that it has 

no substantial U.S. owners). In addition, if you are a 

withholding agent and also a participating FFI, you must 

withhold to the extent required under Regulations section 

1.1471-4(b) and the FFI agreement, which, in addition to 

the requirements described in the previous sentence, 

require withholding on withholdable payments made to 

recalcitrant account holders.

You must determine if a payment is a withholdable 

payment without regard to any exceptions from 

withholding applicable under chapter 3. For each such 

withholdable payment, you must obtain a Form W-8 (or 

other documentation permitted under Regulations section 

1.1471-3(d)) upon which you are permitted to rely under 

chapter 4 to determine the chapter 4 status of a payee 

that is a foreign person for purposes of whether 

withholding applies under chapter 4. Thus, a 

determination of whether a Form W-8 is valid for purposes 

of providing an exemption from chapter 4 withholding is a 

separate determination from whether the Form W-8 may 

be relied upon to provide an exemption from (or reduction 

in) withholding under chapter 3. For purposes of 

determining whether withholding under chapter 4 applies 

to a payment to a QI, WP, or WT, the exceptions in 

chapter 3 for QIs, WPs, and WTs will apply, provided the 

entity includes its chapter 4 status on Form W-8IMY. See 

also Notes for Validating Form W-8IMY under Form 

W-8IMY, later, for the requirements for withholdable 

payments made to certain U.S. branches that act as 

intermediaries.

Section 1446(a) and (f) Responsibilities

Section 1446(a) requires a partnership conducting a trade 

or business in the United States to withhold tax on a 

foreign partner's allocable share of the partnership's ECTI 

at the highest tax rate applicable to that person for the 

type of income allocated (for example, ordinary income or 

capital gains) in accordance with the provisions of 

Regulations sections 1.1446-1 through 1.1446-6. For a 

partnership that is not a PTP, the partnership must 

withhold in the year the ECTI is allocable to the foreign 

partner, whether or not there is a distribution. In contrast, if 

the partnership is a PTP, the partnership withholds in the 

year in the ECTI is distributed to the foreign partner, not in 

the year the ECTI is allocable to the foreign partner.

Section 1446(f) generally requires a transferee of a 

partnership interest (or a broker in the case of a transfer of 

a PTP interest) to withhold on the amount realized from 

the transfer by a foreign person when any portion of the 

gain from the transfer would be treated as effectively 

connected gain under section 864(c)(8).

To avoid being subject to the default withholding rules 

under section 1446(a) or (f), a partner must provide a 

certification to the partnership or transferee, respectively. 

A U.S. person that submits a valid Form W-9 generally will 

not be subject to withholding under section 1446(a) or (f). 

Generally, a foreign person that is a partner in a 

partnership that submits a Form W-8 for purposes of 

section 1441 or 1442 will satisfy the documentation 

requirements under section 1446(a) or (f) as well. 

However, in some cases the documentation requirements 

of sections 1441 and 1442 do not match the 

documentation requirements of section 1446(a) or (f). See 

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -3-
Regulations sections 1.1446-1 through 1.1446-6 (for 

documentation requirements under section 1446(a)) and 

Regulations sections 1.1446(f)-2 and 1.1446(f)-4 (for 

documentation requirements under section 1446(f)). For 

example, a Form W-8 provided by a partner (including a 

partner that is a partnership or trust) for section 1446(a) or 

(f) purposes must include the partner's U.S. TIN to be a 

valid form to qualify for a preferential rate of withholding 

(to the extent applicable), which you may also rely upon 

when included on a separate statement associated with 

an otherwise valid Form W-8. This statement may be 

provided by a partner that obtains a partnership interest 

after providing to you an otherwise valid Form W-8. A 

separate statement for providing a U.S. TIN must indicate 

that it relates to the applicable Form W-8. See, however, 

Regulation section 1.1441-1(e)(4)(vii) for when a U.S. TIN 

is required on a Form W-8 to be a valid form for chapter 3 

purposes. See also Regulations section 1.1446(f)-4(a)(5) 

for when you may rely on a Form W-8 or Form W-9 

furnished by a U.S. clearing organization for a member of 

the clearing organization for purposes of your requirement 

(as a broker) to withhold on the transfer of a PTP interest. 

A requirement to withhold under section 1446(f) will not 

apply if you are a broker paying an amount realized on the 

sale of a PTP interest regardless of whether you obtain a 

valid Form W-8 when the PTP publishes a qualified notice 

representing that the “10%” exception to withholding 

under section 1446(f) applies (when applicable to the 

period in which the sale is made). See Regulations 

section 1.1446(f)-4(b)(3).

Other Uses of Form W-8

Chapter 61 and section 3406. The Form W-8 you 

collect may also be used to establish a person's status for 

purposes of domestic information reporting under 

chapter 61 and backup withholding under section 3406, 

including for a payment settlement entity to determine 

whether a participating payee is a foreign person for 

purposes of section 6050W and whether a reportable 

policy sale recipient or reportable death benefits recipient 

is a foreign person for purposes of the reporting required 

under section 6050Y. In general, if you receive a Form 

W-8 that you can reliably associate with the payment and 

are permitted to rely upon (generally under the standards 

for foreign status claims for chapter 3 purposes), you are 

exempt from reporting the payment on a Form 1099 and 

withholding under section 3406.

FFI documenting account holders. If you are an FFI 

maintaining a financial account, you may be required to 

perform due diligence procedures to identify and 

document the account holder under the chapter 4 

regulations or an applicable intergovernmental agreement 

(IGA) even if you are not making a payment to the account 

holder that is subject to withholding. You may use Form 

W-8 to document the chapter 4 status of an account 

holder and to validate a claim of foreign status made by 

the account holder, such as when the account has certain 

U.S. indicia. For example, a participating FFI may treat an 

individual account holder claiming foreign status that has 

U.S. indicia (as described in Regulations section 

1.1471-4(c)(5)(iv)(B)) as a foreign person for purposes of 

the FFI’s U.S. account reporting requirements (that is, 

Form 8966) when the individual provides a Form W-8BEN 

and certain documentary evidence establishing foreign 

status.

If you are an FFI documenting an account holder of an 

account that you determine is excepted as a financial 

account under Regulations section 1.1471-5(b)(2), a Form 

W-8 (or other permitted documentation for chapter 4 

purposes) is not required unless the form is associated 

with amounts subject to withholding under chapter 3. In 

such a case, a valid chapter 4 status (including that the 

account is not a financial account) is not required to be 

provided on the form.

Requesting Form W-8

Generally, if you are making a payment of an amount 

subject to chapter 3 withholding or a withholdable 

payment, you must withhold as required at the 30% rate 

under chapter 3 or 4 unless you can reliably associate the 

payment with a Form W-8 or other permitted 

documentation to permit withholding at a reduced rate or 

an exemption from withholding. You can reliably associate 

a payment with a Form W-8 if you hold a valid form that 

contains the information required for purposes of 

chapter 3 or 4 (as applicable), you can reliably determine 

how much of the payment relates to the form, and you 

may rely upon the form under the due diligence 

requirements. See Due Diligence Requirements in 

General, later.

You should request a Form W-8 from any person to 

whom you are making a payment that you believe to be a 

foreign person. You should request the form before 

making a payment so that you have the form when you 

make the payment. See, however, Regulations sections 

1.1441-1(b)(7)(ii) and 1.1471-3(c)(7)(ii) for when you may 

be able to rely on a Form W-8 obtained after the date of a 

payment to support reduced withholding for chapter 3 or 4 

purposes.

A withholding agent or payor that fails to obtain a valid 

Form W-8 or Form W-9 and fails to withhold as required 

under the presumption rules may be assessed tax at the 

30% rate under chapter 3 or 4 or the 24% backup 

withholding rate under section 3406 (as of the revision 

date of these instructions), as well as interest and 

penalties for lack of compliance. If you are a partnership 

that fails to withhold on ECTI allocable to a foreign partner 

as required under section 1446(a) or are a broker or 

transferee that fails to withhold as required under section 

1446(f), you will be liable for the tax required to be 

withheld. A nominee for a PTP distribution may also be 

liable for failing to withhold to the extent required on the 

distribution under Regulations section 1.1446-4. In 

addition under applicable regulations to section 1446(a) or 

(f), you may in certain cases be liable for interest, 

penalties, and additions to the tax even if there is no 

underlying tax liability due from a foreign partner on its 

allocable share of the partnership’s ECTI or from the 

transferor on the transfer of a partnership interest.

If you are a withholding agent making a payment of an 

amount subject to chapter 3 withholding or a withholdable 

payment and you make the payment to an intermediary, 

you must obtain documentation from such intermediary 

(including the intermediary’s chapter 4 status if the 

-4- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
payment is a withholdable payment), as well as any 

required documentation for the beneficial owner(s) of the 

payment to the extent required under the chapter 3 or 4 

regulations.

Do not send Forms W-8 to the IRS. Instead, keep the 

forms in your records for as long as they may be relevant 

to the determination of your liability under section 1461 

(for amounts subject to chapter 3 withholding), section 

1474 (for withholdable payments), or Regulations section 

1.1471-4(c)(2)(iv) (for an FFI documenting account 

holders). See, however, section 1.1446(f)-2(b)(7) for the 

requirement to furnish a certification for claiming treaty 

benefits to the IRS on the transfer of an interest in a 

partnership (other than a PTP) subject to section 1446(f).

Form W-8 provided or signed electronically. You may 

rely on a valid Form W-8 received by facsimile or scanned 

and furnished to you by email unless you know that the 

person transmitting the Form W-8 is not authorized to do 

so.

You may also rely on an otherwise valid Form W-8 

received electronically from a third-party repository if the 

form was uploaded or provided to the third-party 

repository and there are processes in place to ensure that 

the withholding certificate can be reliably associated with 

a specific request from you and a specific authorization 

from the person providing the form (or an agent of the 

person providing the form) for you to receive the 

withholding certificate. Notwithstanding the preceding 

sentence, you do not need a specific authorization for 

each payment to be associated with the withholding 

certificate when you are permitted to rely on the 

withholding certificate on an obligation-by-obligation basis 

or as otherwise permitted under Regulations section 

1.1441-1(e)(4)(ix). You may also rely on a withholding 

statement received from a third-party repository if the 

intermediary provides a Form W-8IMY and withholding 

statement through the repository, provides an updated 

withholding statement to you in the event of any change in 

the information previously provided, and ensures there 

are processes in place to update you when there is a new 

withholding statement (and Forms W-8, as necessary) in 

the event of any change that would affect the validity of 

the prior forms or withholding statement. For purposes of 

this paragraph, a third-party repository is an entity that 

maintains withholding certificates but is not an agent of 

the applicable withholding agent or the person providing 

the certificate. See Regulations section 1.1441-1(e)(4)(iv)

(E) for the complete requirements for relying on a 

withholding certificate from a third-party repository.

If you are a withholding agent that maintains a system 

for furnishing Forms W-8 electronically, you must satisfy 

the requirements of Regulations section 1.1441-1(e)(4)(iv)

(B). You may otherwise accept a Form W-8 with an 

electronic signature, provided the electronic signature 

meets the requirements of Regulations section 

1.1441-1(e)(4)(iv)(B)(3)(ii). The withholding certificate 

must reasonably demonstrate that the form has been 

electronically signed by the recipient identified on the form 

(or a person authorized to sign for the recipient). For 

example, a withholding agent may treat as signed for 

purposes of the requirements of a valid withholding 

certificate, a withholding certificate that has in the 

signature block the name of the person authorized to sign, 

a time and date stamp, and a statement that the certificate 

has been electronically signed. You may not treat a Form 

W-8 with a typed name in the signature line as validly 

signed without further information supporting that the 

signature is an electronic signature. You may also rely on 

an electronically signed withholding certificate based on 

additional information or documentation that you have no 

actual knowledge to be incorrect. See Regulations section 

1.1441-1(e)(4)(i)(B).

Requesting Prior Versions of Form W-8

If the IRS issues an updated version of a Form W-8, you 

may accept the prior version of the form until the later of 6 

full months after the revision date shown on the form or 

the end of the calendar year the updated form is issued 

(based on the revision date shown on the form), unless 

the IRS has issued guidance that affects the period for 

acceptance of the prior version (for example, if a new 

payee status is required under revised regulations that is 

not in the prior version and is relevant to the payee’s 

claim).

Due Diligence Requirements for 

Reliance on Forms W-8

When you receive a completed Form W-8, you must 

review it for completeness and accuracy with respect to 

the claims made on the form, as well as any information 

attached to the form, such as withholding statements and 

beneficial owner withholding certificates associated with a 

Form W-8IMY. In general, you may rely on the information 

and certifications provided on the form unless you have 

actual knowledge or reason to know that the information is 

unreliable or incorrect. If you know or have reason to know 

that any information is unreliable or incorrect, you must 

obtain a new Form W-8 or other appropriate 

documentation. You may accept a valid Form W-8 for 

chapter 3 or 61 purposes (or for backup withholding 

purposes) that does not contain a valid chapter 4 status 

with respect to payments that are not withholdable 

payments.

Reason to know. In general, you have reason to know 

that a Form W-8 is unreliable or incorrect if:

• The form is incomplete with respect to any item that is 

relevant to the claims made;

• The form contains any information that is inconsistent 

with the claims made;

• The form lacks information necessary to establish that 

the beneficial owner is entitled to a reduced rate of 

withholding; or

• You have other account information that is inconsistent 

with the claims made, or you have knowledge of relevant 

facts or statements contained in the withholding certificate 

or other documentation that would cause a reasonably 

prudent person in your position to question the claims 

made. For example, if you have information in your 

records that contradicts information provided on the form, 

you may not rely on the form.

With respect to a claim for benefits under an income 

tax treaty, your reason-to-know requirement that the treaty 

claim is unreliable or incorrect includes when the 

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -5-
beneficial owner claims benefits under a treaty that does 

not exist or is not in force. For this purpose, you may use 

the list maintained at IRS.gov/businesses/internationalbusinesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z to 

check whether a treaty exists and is in force.

Limitations on reason to know for certain entities. 

If you are a financial institution (as defined in Regulations 

section 1.1471-5(e)), insurance company, or broker or 

dealer in securities maintaining an account for a direct 

account holder that is the beneficial owner of the 

payment, and you make a payment of U.S. source FDAP 

income to the direct account holder, you have reason to 

know that a Form W-8 that is a beneficial owner 

withholding certificate (excluding Form W-8ECI) is 

unreliable or incorrect for establishing foreign status (or 

residency in a treaty country in item 4, directly below) only 

if one or more of the following circumstances exist. See 

also Regulations section 1.1441-7(b)(3)(ii) for special 

rules that apply to preexisting obligations (as defined for 

such purpose).

1. You have classified the account holder claiming 

foreign status as a U.S. person in your account 

information, the Form W-8 has a current permanent 

residence address or a current mailing address in the 

United States, you have a current residence or current 

mailing address in the United States as part of the 

account information, the direct account holder notifies you 

of a new residence or mailing address in the United 

States, or, only to the extent described in Regulations 

section 1.1441-7(b)(5), you have a U.S. telephone 

number as the sole telephone number for the account 

holder. However:

a. An individual who has provided a Form W-8BEN 

may be treated as a foreign person if:

i. You have in your possession or obtain documentary 

evidence establishing foreign status (as described in 

Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(5)(i)) that does not 

contain a U.S. address, and the individual provides you 

with a reasonable explanation, in writing, supporting his or 

her claim of foreign status;

ii. For a payment made outside the United States with 

respect to an offshore obligation (as defined in 

Regulations section 1.6049-5(c)(1)), you have in your 

possession or obtain documentary evidence establishing 

foreign status (as described in Regulations section 

1.1471-3(c)(5)(i)) that does not contain a U.S. address;

iii. For a payment made with respect to an offshore 

obligation (as defined in Regulations section 1.6049-5(c)

(1)), you classify the individual as a resident of the country 

where the obligation is maintained, you are required to 

report payments made to the individual annually on a tax 

information statement that is filed with the tax authority of 

the country in which the obligation is maintained, and that 

country has an income tax treaty or information exchange 

agreement in effect with the United States; or

iv. For a case in which you have classified the account 

holder as a U.S. person in your account information, you 

have in your possession or obtain documentary evidence 

(as described in Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(5)(i)(B)) 

demonstrating citizenship in a country other than the 

United States.

b. You may treat an entity that has provided you with a 

Form W-8BEN-E as a foreign person if you do not know or 

have reason to know that the entity is a flow-through entity 

and:

i. You have in your possession or obtain 

documentation establishing foreign status that 

substantiates that the entity is actually organized or 

created under the laws of a foreign country; or

ii. For a payment made with respect to an offshore 

obligation (as defined in Regulations section 1.6049-5(c)

(1)), you classify the entity as a resident of the country in 

which the account is maintained, you are required to 

report a payment made to the entity annually on a tax 

information statement that is filed with the tax authority of 

the country in which the obligation is maintained, and that 

country has an income tax treaty or tax information 

exchange agreement in effect with the United States.

2. The form is provided with respect to an offshore 

obligation (as defined in Regulations section 1.6049-5(c)

(1)) and the direct account holder has provided standing 

instructions directing you to pay amounts from its account 

to an address in, or an account maintained in, the United 

States, unless the account holder provides either a 

reasonable explanation in writing that supports its foreign 

status or documentary evidence establishing its foreign 

status (as described in Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(5)

(i)).

3. The Form W-8BEN is provided by an individual that 

is a direct account holder and is used to establish foreign 

status and you have, either on accompanying 

documentation or as part of your account information, an 

unambiguous indication of a place of birth for the 

individual in the United States, unless you have in your 

possession or obtain documentary evidence (described in 

Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(5)(i)(B)) demonstrating 

citizenship in a country other than the United States and 

either:

a. A copy of the individual’s Certificate of Loss of 

Nationality of the United States, or

b. A reasonable written explanation of the account 

holder’s renunciation of U.S. citizenship or the reason the 

account holder did not obtain U.S. citizenship at birth.

4. The Form W-8 is provided by a direct account 

holder and is used to establish residence in a treaty 

country and:

a. The permanent residence address on the form is 

not in the treaty country or the direct account holder 

notifies you of a new permanent residence address that is 

not in the treaty country, unless the direct account holder 

provides a reasonable explanation for the permanent 

residence address outside the treaty country or you have 

in your possession, or obtain, documentary evidence 

(described in Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(5)(i)) that 

establishes residency in the treaty country.

b. The permanent residence address is in the treaty 

country, but the mailing address on the form is not in the 

treaty country or you have a current mailing address that 

is not in the treaty country as part of your account 

information for the direct account holder, unless:

i. You have in your possession, or obtain, 

documentary evidence (as described in Regulations 

-6- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
section 1.1471-3(c)(5)(i)) supporting the claim of 

residence in the treaty country and the additional 

documentation does not contain an address outside the 

treaty country;

ii. You have in your possession, or obtain, 

documentation that establishes that the direct account 

holder is an entity organized in a treaty country (or an 

entity managed and controlled in a treaty country, if 

required by the applicable treaty);

iii. You know that the address outside the treaty 

country (other than a P.O. box or in-care-of address) is a 

branch of the direct account holder that is a resident of the 

treaty country; or

iv. The direct account holder provides a written 

statement that reasonably establishes entitlement to 

treaty benefits.

c. The direct account holder has standing instructions 

for you to pay amounts from the account to an address or 

account outside the treaty country unless the account 

holder provides a reasonable explanation, in writing, 

establishing the account holder's residence in the 

applicable treaty country or you have in your possession 

or obtain documentary evidence (described in 

Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(5)(i)) establishing the 

account holder’s residence in the applicable treaty 

country.

Where required, a reasonable explanation supporting 

an individual’s claim of foreign status means a written 

statement prepared by the individual, or, in the alternative, 

a checklist provided by you and completed by the 

individual stating that the individual meets one of the 

requirements listed in Regulations section 1.1441-7(b)

(12)(i) through (iv).

For additional information on the standards of 

knowledge for chapter 3 purposes for relying on a claim of 

foreign status or a claim of residency in a treaty country 

and limitations on reason to know, see Regulations 

sections 1.1441-6(b)(1) and 1.1441-7(b). For additional 

information on the standards of knowledge for Forms W-8 

provided for chapter 4 purposes, see Regulations section 

1.1471-3(e).

Hold mail instruction. An address that is provided 

subject to an instruction to hold all mail to that address is 

not a permanent residence address, such that you may 

not rely upon the Form W-8. However, the address can be 

used as a permanent residence address if the person has 

provided you with the documentary evidence required for 

this purpose, which differs depending on whether the 

Form W-8 includes a treaty claim but which need not 

include a permanent residence address. See Regulations 

section 1.1441-1(c)(38)(ii). If, after a Form W-8 is 

provided, a person’s permanent residence address is 

subsequently subject to a hold mail instruction, this is a 

change in circumstances requiring the person to provide 

the documentary evidence described in the preceding 

sentence in order to use the address as a permanent 

residence address.

Dual claims under a tax treaty. If you are making 

payments to a foreign entity that is simultaneously 

claiming a reduced rate of tax under a tax treaty on its own 

behalf and a separate treaty claim on behalf of its interest 

holders for different payments or for different portions of 

the same payment, you may accept the dual claims even 

though you hold different withholding certificates that 

require you to treat the entity inconsistently. Alternatively, 

you may choose to apply only the claim made by the 

entity, provided that the entity may be treated as the 

beneficial owner of the income. If, however, inconsistent 

claims are made for the same portion of a payment, you 

may either reject both claims and request consistent 

claims for that portion of the payment, or you may choose 

which reduction in rate to apply.

Requirements for Obtaining and Verifying a 

Global Intermediary Identification Number 

(GIIN)

If you receive a Form W-8BEN-E, W-8IMY, or W-8EXP 

from an entity payee claiming certain chapter 4 statuses, 

you must obtain and verify the entity’s GIIN against the 

published IRS FFI list. See Regulations section 

1.1471-3(e)(3). You must obtain and verify the GIIN for the 

following chapter 4 statuses.

• Participating FFIs (including reporting Model 2 FFIs).

• Registered deemed-compliant FFIs (including reporting 

Model 1 FFIs).

• Direct reporting NFFEs.

• Sponsored direct reporting NFFEs.

• Certain nonreporting IGA FFIs (as described below).

If you receive a Form W-8BEN-E or Form W-8IMY from 

a nonreporting IGA FFI that is a trustee-documented trust 

that indicates its trustee is foreign, you must obtain a GIIN 

of the trustee on the form.

If you receive a Form W-8 from a nonreporting IGA FFI 

that checks Model 2 IGA in Part XII of Form W-8BEN-E, 

Part XIX of Form W-8IMY, or Part III, line 15, of Form 

W-8EXP (as applicable), and identifies a category of entity 

that is a registered deemed-compliant FFI under Annex II 

of an applicable Model 2 IGA, you must obtain and verify 

the GIIN of the nonreporting IGA FFI against the published 

IRS FFI list. Additionally, if you receive a Form W-8BEN-E 

or Form W-8IMY from a nonreporting IGA FFI that 

provides a citation to a section of the Regulations for its 

registered deemed-compliant status in Part XII of Form 

W-8BEN-E or Part XIX of Form W-8IMY (as applicable) or 

the FFI identifies itself as a registered deemed-complaint 

FFI in Part I, line 4, of Form W-8EXP, you must obtain and 

verify the GIIN of the nonreporting IGA FFI against the 

published IRS FFI list. See Regulations section 

1.1471-1(b)(83) for the definition of nonreporting IGA FFI 

and Regulations section 1.1471-3(d)(7)(i) for the 

documentation requirements for nonreporting IGA FFIs.

For an entity claiming status as a certified 

deemed-compliant FFI that is a sponsored, closely held 

investment vehicle described in Regulations section 

1.1471-5(f)(2)(iii) on a Form W-8BEN-E or Form W-8IMY, 

you must obtain the GIIN for the sponsoring entity and 

verify it against the published IRS FFI list. For an entity 

claiming status as a sponsored investment entity or 

controlled foreign corporation described in Regulations 

section 1.1471-5(f)(1)(i)(F), you must obtain and verify the 

GIIN of the sponsored investment entity or controlled 

foreign corporation against the published IRS FFI list, not 

the GIIN of the sponsoring entity.

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -7-
If you receive a Form W-8BEN-E, Form W-8IMY, or 

Form W-8EXP from an entity payee that is claiming 

chapter 4 status as a participating FFI (including a 

reporting Model 2 FFI), registered deemed-compliant FFI 

(including a reporting Model 1 FFI and a sponsored FFI 

described in the Treasury regulations under section 

1471), direct reporting NFFE, sponsored direct reporting 

NFFE, or nonreporting IGA FFI required to provide a GIIN 

(as described earlier) that contains “Applied for” in the box 

for the GIIN, the payee must provide its GIIN within 90 

days of providing the form. A Form W-8 from such a 

payee that does not include a GIIN, or includes a GIIN that 

does not appear on the published IRS FFI list, will be 

invalid for purposes of chapter 4 beginning on the date 

that is 90 days after the date the form is provided. See 

Regulations section 1.1471-3(e)(3)(iii) and (iv).

You may only accept a Form W-8BEN-E or Form 

W-8IMY with Part II completed if the entity shown in Part II 

is an FFI that is a branch of the entity identified in Part II, 

line 1, and the branch is receiving a withholdable 

payment, or if the entity shown in Part II is a disregarded 

entity that is identified in Part I, line 3, as receiving the 

payment. If you receive a Form W-8BEN-E or Form 

W-8IMY from a branch (other than a U.S. branch) or 

disregarded entity described in the preceding sentence 

that is receiving a payment associated with the form, you 

must verify the GIIN of the branch (unless the branch is 

treated as a nonparticipating FFI) or disregarded entity 

that is provided in Part II against the published IRS FFI list 

and not that of the entity identified in Part I, line 1. In such 

a case, you may accept the form without a GIIN on line 9a 

(for Form W-8BEN-E) or line 9 (for Form W-8IMY). If you 

receive a Form W-8BEN-E from a U.S. branch, the branch 

may provide the GIIN of any other branch of the FFI 

(including the GIIN for the FFI’s residence country). A U.S. 

branch providing a Form W-8IMY is not required to 

provide a GIIN.

Presumption Rules

If you do not receive a valid Form W-8 or Form W-9 that 

you may rely upon under the due diligence requirements, 

or cannot otherwise determine whether a payment should 

be treated as made to a U.S. or foreign person, you must 

apply the presumption rules provided in the regulations. If 

the payment is an amount subject to withholding under 

chapter 3 or 4 or a reportable payment under one of those 

sections or another relevant section under chapter 61 of 

the Code, you must apply the presumption rules provided 

in the Regulations under sections 1441, 1471, 6045, and 

6049 (as applicable). If the presumption rules are applied 

to treat a person as a foreign person, the statutory 30% 

withholding rate applies to a payment subject to 

withholding under chapter 3 and cannot be reduced (for 

example, no treaty rate). You may not rely on the 

presumption rules if you have actual knowledge that a 

higher withholding rate is applicable. If you determine that 

you are making a withholdable payment to an entity and 

cannot reliably associate the payment with a Form W-8 or 

other permitted documentation that is valid for chapter 4 

purposes, you are required to treat the entity payee as a 

nonparticipating FFI. If the payment is an amount subject 

to withholding under section 1446(a) or section 1446(f) for 

which a valid Form W-9 (or acceptable substitute) is not 

received and the partnership does not use other means to 

determine a partner's non-foreign status (only for section 

1446(a) withholding), the amount is treated as made to a 

foreign person and, unless an exception applies, 

withholding applies as required under the regulations to 

section 1446(a) or 1446(f) (as applicable).

When To Request a New Form W-8

Request a new Form W-8:

• Before the expiration of the validity period of an existing 

Form W-8 (when applicable);

• If the existing form does not support a claim for a 

reduced rate of withholding or is incomplete with respect 

to any claim made on the form (such as may result, for 

example, from a new regulatory requirement relevant to 

the Form W-8); or

• If you know or have reason to know of a change in 

circumstances that makes any information on the current 

form unreliable or incorrect for purposes of chapter 3 or 4 

(to the extent applicable) based on the claims made on 

the form.

Example. A foreign individual investor opens an 

account with a broker to purchase U.S. Treasury bonds 

and provides Form W-8BEN to obtain the portfolio interest 

exemption. The investor does not complete Part II of Form 

W-8BEN because he or she is not claiming treaty benefits. 

Later, the investor purchases U.S. stock and claims treaty 

benefits on dividend income. The withholding agent must 

obtain a new Form W-8BEN at that time that provides the 

information required in Part II to be able to withhold based 

on the treaty claim and not at the 30% withholding tax 

rate.

Changes in circumstances for chapter 4 purposes. 

For chapter 4 purposes, a change in circumstances 

generally occurs when there is a change in a person’s 

chapter 4 status. You must treat a Form W-8 as invalid 

when you know or have reason to know of a change in 

circumstances that affects the correctness of the form. 

However, you may continue to treat an FFI as having the 

same chapter 4 status that it had prior to the change in 

circumstances until the earlier of 90 days from the date of 

the change or the date that new documentation is 

obtained.

You are not considered to have reason to know of a 

change in circumstances if an FFI’s chapter 4 status 

changes solely because the jurisdiction where the FFI is 

resident, organized, or located is treated as having an IGA 

in effect or if the jurisdiction had a Model 2 IGA in effect 

and is later treated as having a Model 1 IGA in effect. If 

such change in circumstances occurs, the FFI may 

provide you with oral or written confirmation (including by 

email) of its new chapter 4 status rather than providing a 

new Form W-8, and you must retain a record of this 

confirmation.

If an FFI is resident, organized, or located in a 

jurisdiction that is treated as having an IGA in effect, and 

the jurisdiction’s status on the Treasury Department’s IGA 

list (located at Treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/

treaties/pages/FATCA.aspx) is later updated to indicate 

that it is no longer treated as having an IGA in effect, you 

will have reason to know of a change in circumstances 

with respect to the FFI’s chapter 4 status on the date that 

-8- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
the jurisdiction ceases to be treated as having an IGA in 

effect. See Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(6)(ii)(E)(3). If 

such change in circumstances occurs, the FFI may 

provide you with oral or written confirmation (including by 

email) of its new chapter 4 status rather than providing a 

new Form W-8, and you must retain a record of this 

confirmation.

Period of Validity

Generally, a Form W-8 is valid from the date signed until 

the last day of the third succeeding calendar year unless a 

change in circumstances occurs that makes any 

information on the form incorrect. For example, a Form 

W-8BEN signed on September 30, 2022, generally 

remains valid through December 31, 2025. However, 

under certain conditions, a Form W-8 will be valid 

indefinitely unless there has been a change in 

circumstances. For example, a Form W-8BEN and 

documentary evidence supporting an individual’s claim of 

foreign status (other than the portion of the form making a 

claim for treaty benefits) are indefinitely valid if the form 

and documentary evidence are provided within 30 days of 

each other. A Form W-8BEN-E and documentary 

evidence supporting an entity’s claim of foreign status 

(other than the portion of the form making a claim for 

treaty benefits) that are received by a withholding agent 

before the validity period of either the form or the 

documentary evidence would otherwise expire are 

indefinitely valid. A Form W-8IMY is valid indefinitely as 

described in this paragraph, but see Notes for Validating 

Form W-8IMY, later, for the validity period for a Form 

W-8IMY provided by a QDD. For further information on 

the period of validity for a Form W-8 for chapter 3 

purposes, see Regulations section 1.1441-1(e)(4)(ii), and 

for chapter 4 purposes, see Regulations section 

1.1471-3(c)(6)(ii). The validity period for a Form W-8 

associated with an amount subject to withholding under 

section 1446(a) or an amount realized under section 

1446(f) is determined under the chapter 3 requirements 

referenced in the preceding sentence.

Forms Received That Are Not Dated or That 

Contain Inconsequential Errors or Omissions

If a Form W-8 is valid except that the person providing the 

form has not dated the form, you may date the form from 

the day you receive it and measure the validity period 

from that date. Generally, you may treat a withholding 

certificate as valid if it contains an error or omission that is 

inconsequential and you have sufficient documentation on 

file to supplement the missing information. However, a 

failure to establish an entity type or make a required 

certification is not inconsequential.

Example 1. If an entity receiving a withholdable 

payment selects a certified deemed-compliant FFI status 

on line 5 of Form W-8BEN-E but does not complete the 

corresponding required certifications in Part V, the form is 

invalid for chapter 4 purposes. On the other hand, if you 

receive a Form W-8 for which the person signing the form 

does not also print a name before the signature when 

required on the form, you are not required to treat the form 

as incomplete if you have documentation or information 

supporting the identity of the person signing the form.

Example 2. An abbreviation of a country of residence 

on Form W-8BEN is an inconsequential error if it is an 

ambiguous abbreviation and you have documentary 

evidence supporting the beneficial owner's country of 

residence. For further information about withholding 

certificates that contain inconsequential errors, see 

Regulations section 1.1441-1(b)(7)(iv) for chapter 3 

purposes and Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(7)(i) for 

chapter 4 purposes.

Foreign TINs

If you are a U.S. office or branch of a depository 

institution, custodial institution, investment entity, or 

specified insurance company (each as defined in 

Regulations section 1.1471-5(e)) documenting an account 

holder (as defined in Regulations section 1.1471-5(a)(3)) 

of an account that is a financial account (as defined in 

Regulations section 1.1471-5(b)), you must obtain the 

account holder’s TIN for its jurisdiction of tax residence 

(FTIN) on a Form W-8 that is a beneficial owner 

withholding certificate in order for the form to be valid for a 

payment of U.S. source income reportable on Form 

1042-S (as determined before the application of this 

requirement), unless:

• The account holder is resident of a jurisdiction that is 

not listed in section 3 of Rev. Proc. 2020-15, 2020-23 

I.R.B. 905, which may be further updated in future 

published guidance;

• The account holder is resident in a jurisdiction that has 

been identified on the IRS's List of Jurisdictions That Do 

Not Issue Foreign TINs, available at IRS.gov/businesses/

corporations/list-of-jurisdictions-that-do-not-issue-foreigntins;

• The account holder is a government (including a 

controlled entity that is a foreign government under 

section 892), international organization, foreign central 

bank of issue, or resident of a U.S. territory; or

• You obtain a reasonable explanation for why the 

account holder has not been issued an FTIN (generally by 

the account holder checking an applicable box on the 

form).

A reasonable explanation that an account holder does 

not have an FTIN must address why the account holder 

was not issued an FTIN only to the extent provided in the 

instructions for the applicable Form W-8. A reasonable 

explanation for not providing an FTIN includes checking 

the applicable box signaling that you are not legally 

required to obtain an FTIN from your jurisdiction of 

residence (including if the jurisdiction does not issue 

FTINs). If an account holder provides an explanation other 

than or in furtherance of the one described in the 

Instructions for the applicable Form W-8, you must 

determine whether the explanation is reasonable. In such 

a case, you may accept this further (or other) explanation 

if it is written in the line on the form for an FTIN, in the 

margins of the form, or on a separate attached statement 

associated with the form.

You may rely on an FTIN provided on a Form W-8 

unless you know or have reason to know it is incorrect. 

You may also accept the FTIN on a separate statement as 

provided in Regulations section 1.1441-1(e)(2)(ii)(B)(1).

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -9-
Alternative Certifications Under an Applicable 

IGA

If you are an FFI subject to a Model 1 or Model 2 IGA 

using Form W-8BEN-E or Form W-8IMY to document 

account holders pursuant to the due diligence 

requirements of Annex I of an applicable IGA, you may 

request alternative certifications from your account 

holders in accordance with the requirements of, and 

definitions applicable to, the IGA instead of the 

certifications on Form W-8BEN-E or W-8IMY. You should 

provide those certifications to account holders from whom 

you request a Form W-8BEN-E or W-8IMY, and the 

account holder should attach the completed certification 

to the Form W-8BEN-E or W-8IMY in lieu of completing a 

certification otherwise required. In such a case, you must 

provide a written statement to the account holder stating 

that you have provided the alternative certification to meet 

your due diligence requirements under an applicable IGA 

and you must associate the certification with the Form 

W-8BEN-E or W-8IMY.

If you are a withholding agent (including an FFI), you 

may also request and rely upon an alternative certification 

from an entity account holder to establish that the account 

holder is an NFFE (rather than a financial institution) 

under an applicable IGA. An entity providing such a 

certification will still be required, however, to provide its 

chapter 4 status (that is, the type of NFFE) in Part I, line 5, 

as determined under the regulations if you are a 

withholding agent other than an FFI documenting an 

account holder under Annex I of an applicable IGA. For 

example, if you are a U.S. withholding agent that receives 

a Form W-8BEN-E or W-8IMY from an entity account 

holder certifying to its status as a passive NFFE, you may 

request a written certification that the entity is not a 

financial institution as defined under the IGA applicable to 

the entity and document it under the regulations by 

obtaining the NFFE's certification of its chapter 4 status in 

Part I, line 5. In the case of an FFI documenting an 

account holder under Annex I of an applicable IGA, 

however, a nonprofit organization treated as an active 

NFFE under the Annex may provide an FFI with an 

alternative certification that it is an NFFE that qualifies as 

a nonprofit organization under an applicable IGA. In such 

a case, the nonprofit organization will not be required to 

check a box in Part I, line 5, and the FFI may treat the 

entity as an excepted NFFE.

If you receive an alternative certification under an 

applicable IGA described in the preceding paragraphs, 

you may rely on such certification unless you know or 

have reason to know the certification is incorrect.

Rules for Specific Types of Forms 

W-8

Form W-8BEN

You should request Form W-8BEN from any foreign 

individual for any of the purposes described previously in 

these instructions. These purposes include if you are 

making a payment subject to chapter 3 withholding or a 

withholdable payment; if you are a partnership (or 

nominee for a PTP) documenting a partner for purposes 

of section 1446(a), or are a broker or transferee 

documenting a transferor paid an amount realized under 

section 1446(f); if a payee claims foreign status for 

purposes of domestic information reporting and backup 

withholding; or if you are an FFI using this form to 

document an account for purposes of chapter 4.

Notes for Validating Form W-8BEN

Line 6a and 6b (Foreign TIN). If you do not obtain an 

FTIN on line 6a (when required) and the account holder 

has not checked line 6b, or provided a further (or other) 

explanation for why the account holder has not been 

issued an FTIN on a separate statement (see Foreign 

TINs, earlier), you must treat the form as invalid for 

payments of U.S. source income reportable on Form 

1042-S (as determined before the application of this 

requirement).

Line 8 (Date of birth). If you are a U.S. office or branch 

of a depository institution, custodial institution, investment 

entity, or specified insurance company (each as defined in 

Regulations section 1.1471-5(e)) documenting an 

individual account holder (as defined in Regulations 

section 1.1471-5(a)(3)) of an account that is a financial 

account (as defined in Regulations section 1.1471-5(b)), 

you must obtain the individual account holder’s date of 

birth on the Form W-8BEN in order for the form to not be 

invalid for a payment of U.S. source income reportable on 

Form 1042-S (as determined before the application of this 

requirement). If the individual’s date of birth is not 

provided on the Form W-8BEN, the form is not invalid if 

you otherwise have the date of birth in your account files 

for the account holder or you obtain the date of birth on a 

written statement (including a written statement 

transmitted by email) from the account holder and 

associate the written statement with the Form W-8BEN. 

You may rely on the date of birth provided by an account 

holder unless you know or have reason to know it is 

incorrect.

Line 10 (Special rates and conditions). If the 

beneficial owner is required to explain the additional 

conditions in the treaty that it meets to be eligible for the 

rate of withholding on line 10, you may accept a brief 

explanation for this purpose. You may accept a treaty 

claim without this explanation under an interest or 

dividends (other than dividends subject to a preferential 

rate based on ownership) article of a treaty or other 

income article, unless such article requires additional 

representations.

See the Instructions for Form W-8BEN for further 

information for when a beneficial owner is required to 

complete line 10. For a beneficial owner that is claiming 

treaty benefits for gain or income with respect to a PTP 

and that is subject to section 1446, the name of each PTP 

to which the claim relates must be identified. If the 

beneficial owner receives gain or income with respect to 

multiple PTPs, it may attach a separate statement to the 

form that identifies each PTP. If the beneficial owner 

provides the separate statement after it has provided the 

Form W-8BEN, it must indicate that the statement relates 

to the applicable form.

-10- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
A beneficial owner that is taxed on a remittance basis 

and that is claiming treaty benefits with respect to a 

payment under a treaty must state this on line 10 and 

include the amount of income that was remitted to, and is 

taxable in, the treaty country. You may generally rely on 

the claim if you are remitting the payment to the treaty 

country (or you know that another withholding agent is 

doing so) or if you maintain the account for the claimant in 

the treaty country, subject to any due diligence 

requirements applicable to validating a claim of residency 

in a treaty jurisdiction (see Limitations on reason to know 

for certain entities, earlier). In certain cases, you may also 

be able to use the adjustment to overwithholding 

procedures in Regulations section 1.1461-2(a) to repay a 

beneficial owner that establishes remittance of the 

payment to the treaty country after you make the payment.

Form W-8BEN-E

You should request Form W-8BEN-E from any foreign 

entity for the purposes described previously in these 

Instructions for Form W-8BEN or if the payee is to 

establish that certain income from notional principal 

contracts is not effectively connected with the conduct of 

a U.S. trade or business (for reporting on Form 1042-S). 

See Regulations section 1.1441-4, and Notional principal 

contracts reportable on Form 1042-S, later.

Notes for Validating Form W-8BEN-E

Part I, line 4 (Chapter 3 Status). If you receive a Form 

W-8BEN-E from an entity that indicates in Part I, line 4, 

that it is a disregarded entity, partnership, simple trust, or 

grantor trust, and the entity has checked “No” in Part I, 

line 4 (regarding the entity’s claim of treaty benefits), you 

should not accept the Form W-8BEN-E if the form is used 

only with respect to reportable amounts or withholdable 

payments. In such a case, you should request the entity 

complete a Form W-8IMY if the entity is a partnership, 

simple trust, or grantor trust, or have the owner of a 

disregarded entity complete the appropriate Form W-8. If 

you are an FFI documenting an entity account holder 

solely for chapter 4 purposes (that is, you are not required 

to document the payee for purposes of withholding or 

domestic information reporting), the entity does not need 

to provide a chapter 3 status on line 4 of the form. For 

purposes of section 1446, however, you may accept a 

Form W-8BEN-E from a simple trust.

Part I, lines 9b, and 9c (Foreign TIN). If you do not 

obtain an FTIN on line 9b (when required) and the 

account holder has not checked line 9c, provided a further 

(or other) explanation for why the account holder has not 

been issued an FTIN on a separate statement (see 

Foreign TINs, earlier), you must treat the form as invalid 

for payments of U.S. source income reportable on Form 

1042-S (as determined before the application of this 

requirement).

Part II (Disregarded Entity or Branch Receiving Payment). If you are making payments to multiple branches/

disregarded entities that would be completing Part II, and 

the Part I information for each branch/disregarded entity is 

the same, instead of obtaining separate Forms W-8BEN-E 

with respect to each branch/disregarded entity, you may 

accept a single Form W-8BEN-E with a separate schedule 

attached that includes all of the information required by 

Part II for each branch/disregarded entity and you are able 

to allocate each payment to each branch/disregarded 

entity associated with the form. See Requirements for 

Obtaining and Verifying a Global Intermediary 

Identification Number (GIIN), earlier, for when a GIIN is 

required when Part II is completed.

Part III (Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits), line 14b. An 

entity claiming a reduced rate of withholding under an 

income tax treaty that contains a limitation on benefits 

(LOB) article must identify the LOB provision that it 

satisfies by checking one of the boxes on line 14b. In 

general, the entity is only required to check one box, even 

if it satisfies more than one provision. If the applicable 

treaty has no LOB article, the entity must check the box 

indicating no LOB article in the treaty. You may rely on the 

entity’s claim on line 14b unless you have actual 

knowledge that the claim is incorrect.

Part III, line 15 (Special rates and conditions). If the 

beneficial owner is required to explain the additional 

conditions in the treaty that it meets to be eligible for the 

rate of withholding on line 15, you may accept a brief 

explanation. You may accept a treaty claim without this 

explanation under an interest or dividends (other than 

dividends subject to a preferential rate based on 

ownership) article of a treaty or other income article, 

unless such article requires additional representations.

See the Instructions for Form W-8BEN-E for further 

information for when a beneficial owner is required to 

complete line 15. For a beneficial owner that is claiming 

treaty benefits for gain or income with respect to a PTP 

that is subject to withholding under section 1446(a) or (f), 

the name of each PTP to which the claim relates must be 

identified. If the beneficial owner receives gain or income 

with respect to multiple PTPs, it may attach a separate 

statement to the form that identifies each PTP. If the 

beneficial owner provides the separate statement after it 

has provided the Form W-8BEN-E, it must indicate that 

the statement relates to the applicable form.

Part X (Owner-Documented FFI), line 24. You may 

accept this certificate and treat an entity as an 

owner-documented FFI only if you are a designated 

withholding agent under the chapter 4 regulations. Also, 

an owner-documented FFI that is a nonreporting IGA FFI 

must check “Owner-Documented FFI” (and not 

“Nonreporting IGA FFI”) on line 5 and complete Part X. 

You may accept a Form W-8BEN-E from an entity 

claiming status as an Owner-Documented FFI that does 

not check box 24d in Part X regardless of whether you 

know that the entity is a trust that has one or more 

contingent beneficiaries.

Form W-8ECI

You should request Form W-8ECI from any foreign person 

or organization to which you are making a payment 

subject to withholding under chapter 3 or 4 if it is the 

beneficial owner of the income (or an entity engaged in a 

U.S. trade or business submitting the form on behalf of its 

owners, partners, or beneficiaries) and claims that the 

income is effectively connected with the conduct of a 

trade or business in the United States. However, if you are 

a partnership (or nominee for a PTP interest), you should 

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -11-
request a Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (as applicable) 

from a foreign partner that is allocated income that is ECTI 

for purposes of withholding under section 1446(a). 

Nevertheless, a foreign partner that has made an election 

under section 871(d) or section 882(d) must provide that 

election to the partnership along with a Form W-8ECI.

An exception from section 1446(f) withholding applies 

to a foreign dealer that transfers a PTP interest if the 

foreign dealer provides Form W-8ECI and makes the 

certifications set forth on line 12 of such form. See 

Regulations section 1.1446(f)-4(b)(6). You may rely on the 

certifications made by the dealer for this purpose unless 

you have actual knowledge they are unreliable or 

incorrect.

If you receive a Form W-8ECI without a U.S. TIN 

entered on line 7, you may not rely on Form W-8ECI to 

treat the income as effectively connected with a U.S. trade 

or business and you must apply the appropriate 

presumption rules or obtain another Form W-8 for the 

payee that you may rely upon. If you receive a Form 

W-8ECI without an FTIN on line 8a when required and the 

account holder has not checked line 8b, or provided a 

reasonable (or other) explanation for why the account 

holder has not been issued an FTIN on a separate 

statement when required (see Foreign TINs, earlier), you 

must treat the form as invalid for payments of U.S. source 

income reportable on Form 1042-S (as determined before 

the application of this requirement).

Your receipt of Form W-8ECI serves as a 

representation by the payee or beneficial owner that the 

items of income identified on line 11 are effectively 

connected with the conduct of a trade or business within 

the United States. Therefore, if a beneficial owner 

provides you with a Form W-8ECI, you may treat all of the 

U.S. source income identified on line 11 paid to that 

beneficial owner as effectively connected with the conduct 

of a trade or business within the United States and not as 

a withholdable payment for purposes of chapter 4. 

Accordingly, a chapter 4 status is not required for a payee 

who provides a valid Form W-8ECI unless you are an FFI 

requesting a Form W-8ECI from an account holder for 

purposes of your chapter 4 due diligence requirements.

If you pay items of income that are not identified on 

line 11 by the beneficial owner as effectively connected 

with the conduct of a trade or business within the United 

States, you are generally required to obtain another type 

of Form W-8 from the beneficial owner.

Generally, you may not treat an amount otherwise 

subject to withholding under chapter 3 or 4 as income 

effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or 

business within the United States unless the beneficial 

owner gives you a valid Form W-8ECI. However, there are 

exceptions (described below) for income paid on notional 

principal contracts and payments made to certain U.S. 

branches.

Notional principal contracts reportable on Form 

1042-S. Withholding at a 30% rate is not required on 

amounts paid under the terms of a notional principal 

contract whether or not a Form W-8ECI is provided 

(except when a payment made under such contract is 

U.S. source income, such as a dividend equivalent 

amount under section 871(m)). However, if the income is 

effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or 

business, it is reportable by you on Form 1042-S 

(regardless of whether the payment is U.S. source 

income). You must treat income as effectively connected 

with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business, even if a 

Form W-8ECI has not been received, if the income is paid 

to a qualified business unit of a foreign person located in 

the United States or if the income is paid to a qualified 

business unit of a foreign person located outside the 

United States and you know, or have reason to know, that 

the payment is income effectively connected with the 

conduct of a U.S. trade or business. However, a payment 

is not treated as income effectively connected with the 

conduct of a U.S. trade or business if the payee provides 

a Form W-8BEN-E representing that the payment is not 

income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or 

business or makes a representation in a master 

agreement that governs the transactions in notional 

principal contracts between the parties (for example, an 

International Swaps and Derivatives Association 

agreement), or in the confirmation on the particular 

notional principal contract transaction, that the payee is a 

U.S. person or a non-U.S. branch of a foreign person.

Payments to certain U.S. branches treated as effectively connected income. If you make a payment to a 

U.S. branch of a foreign bank or insurance company that 

does not provide a withholding certificate but has provided 

an employer identification number (EIN), the payment is 

presumed to be effectively connected with the conduct of 

a trade or business within the United States even if the 

foreign person (or its U.S. branch) does not give you a 

Form W-8ECI. If you do not obtain a Form W-8ECI or the 

U.S. branch’s EIN, the income paid cannot be treated as 

income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or 

business.

Form W-8EXP

You should request Form W-8EXP from any foreign 

government, international organization, foreign central 

bank of issue, foreign tax-exempt organization, foreign 

private foundation, or government of a U.S. possession to 

which you are making a payment of an amount subject to 

chapter 3 withholding if such person is claiming an 

exemption from withholding under sections 1441, 1442, 

and 1443 pursuant to section 115(2), 501(c), 892, or 895, 

or claiming a rate of withholding under section 1443(b). 

Except as provided below, you should request Form 

W-8EXP from a person claiming an exemption from 

withholding under chapter 4 as an exempt beneficial 

owner or tax-exempt organization under section 501(c) or 

that is claiming any other chapter 4 status shown on the 

form when also claiming a chapter 3 status described in 

the preceding sentence. In certain cases, a GIIN may be 

required based on the chapter 4 status claimed on the 

form. See Requirements for Obtaining and Verifying a 

Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIINs), earlier.

If you are an FFI documenting an account holder that is 

a tax-exempt organization or exempt beneficial owner 

(each as defined for chapter 4 purposes) to which you do 

not pay amounts subject to withholding under chapter 3, 

you may require that the account holder complete Form 

-12- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
W-8BEN-E (rather than Form W-8EXP) to establish its 

status for chapter 4 purposes.

A Form W-8EXP submitted by a foreign person that is a 

partner in a partnership for purposes of withholding under 

sections 1441 through 1443 will also establish that 

partner's foreign status for purposes of section 1446. 

However, except as provided in Regulations section 

1.1446-3(c)(3) (regarding certain tax-exempt 

organizations described in section 501(c)), the 

submission of Form W-8EXP will have no effect on 

whether the partner is subject to withholding under section 

1446(a).

You may treat a payee as an international organization 

without requiring a Form W-8EXP if the payee is 

designated as an international organization by an 

executive order (pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 288 through 

288(f)) and other facts surrounding the payment 

reasonably indicate that the beneficial owner of the 

payment is an international organization. With regard to 

amounts derived from bankers' acceptances for chapter 3 

purposes, you may treat a payee as a foreign central bank 

of issue without requiring a Form W-8EXP if the name of 

the payee and other facts surrounding the payment 

reasonably indicate that the beneficial owner of the 

payment is a foreign central bank of issue.

A U.S. TIN is required if the beneficial owner is claiming 

an exemption or reduced rate of withholding based solely 

on a claim of tax-exempt status under section 501(c) or 

private foundation status. However, a U.S. TIN is not 

required from a foreign private foundation that is subject to 

the 4% excise tax on gross investment income (under 

section 4948(a)) that would be exempt from withholding 

except for section 4948(a) (for example, portfolio interest).

If you receive a Form W-8EXP without an FTIN (or a 

reasonable explanation for why the account holder has 

not been issued an FTIN) on line 8b (or on a separate 

statement) when required (see Foreign TINs, earlier), you 

must treat the form as invalid for payments of U.S. source 

income reportable on Form 1042-S (as determined before 

the application of this requirement).

Form W-8IMY

For purposes of chapter 3 and 4, you should request Form 

W-8IMY from any entity that is a QI (including a QI acting 

as a QDD), an NQI (including certain U.S. branches and 

territory financial institutions), a withholding foreign 

partnership (WP), a withholding foreign trust (WT), or a 

flow-through entity to which you make a withholdable 

payment or pay a reportable amount. A flow-through entity 

for purposes of chapters 3 and 4 includes a foreign 

partnership (other than a WP), a foreign simple or grantor 

trust (other than a WT), and, for any payments for which a 

treaty benefit is claimed, any entity to the extent it is 

treated as fiscally transparent under the laws of the treaty 

jurisdiction, as provided in section 894 and the regulations 

thereunder (without regard to whether it is fiscally 

transparent under the laws of the United States). See 

Section 1446 Requirements, later, for when an 

intermediary, partnership or trust is required to provide a 

Form W-8IMY for purposes of sections 1446(a) and (f). As 

provided in Notice 2020-2, Form W-8IMY may also be 

provided by an entity to claim chapter 3 status as a QSL 

with respect to payments of U.S. source substitute 

dividends made in 2022 and may be relied upon 

regardless of whether the QSL acts as an intermediary 

with respect to substitute dividends associated with the 

form. You may accept a Form W-8IMY from an individual 

acting as an agent or intermediary (as appropriately 

amended to account for individual status), but you are not 

required to obtain such form if you are able to associate 

payments you make to the person(s) for whom the 

individual acts.

You may accept multiple Forms W-8IMY from an 

intermediary that is acting in multiple capacities (for 

example, as a QI for one account but an NQI or QDD for 

another account). However, a QI may provide you with a 

single Form W-8IMY that covers more than one category 

of QI shown on the form, provided that it properly 

identifies to you the accounts and/or transactions on a 

withholding statement. Thus, for example, a QI may 

provide a single Form W-8IMY when acting as both an 

intermediary and as a QDD with respect to payments you 

make to the QI (by checking each applicable box in Part III 

of the form). You may accept a single Form W-8IMY, 

including a withholding statement with the required 

information. For multiple branches of the entity providing 

the form if the information in Part I is the same for each 

branch and a separate schedule is attached that includes 

all of the Part II information on each branch and sufficient 

information to associate the payments with each branch 

and any other required information.

The chapter 4 status of an intermediary or flow-through 

entity is required on Part I of the form if the form is 

associated with a withholdable payment. Part II must be 

completed when a withholdable payment is made to a 

branch or disregarded entity described in Part II of the 

form.

Generally, for purposes of both chapters 3 and 4, 

except to the extent otherwise provided in the Regulations 

under section 1441 or 1471, a Form W-8IMY must be 

associated with a withholding statement and withholding 

certificates (or documentary evidence, where permitted) 

for the beneficial owners. Generally, the withholding 

statement must allocate the payment to each payee (or 

pool of payees, where permitted, as described later), 

provide the rate of withholding for each payee (or pool of 

payees), and provide certain identification information on 

each payee that is not included in a pool. See, however, 

Regulations section 1.1441-1(e)(3)(iv)(C)(3) for the 

allowance for a withholding agent to accept an alternative 

withholding statement from an NQI (which also applies to 

a flow-through entity) for purposes of chapter 3 or 4. Also 

see the Instructions for Form W-8IMY for information on 

the box that an NQI may check on the form when 

providing an alternative withholding statement.

If you are a participating FFI or registered 

deemed-compliant FFI, you may also request Form 

W-8IMY from an intermediary or flow-through entity that is 

an account holder to establish its chapter 4 status or 

status under an applicable IGA even when no payments 

subject to withholding or domestic information reporting 

under chapter 61 are made to the account. In such a case, 

a withholding statement is not required.

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -13-
Notes for Validating Form W-8IMY

In addition to the validation requirements for Forms 

W-8IMY described directly below with respect to QIs 

(including QDDs), flow-through entities, NQIs, U.S. 

branches, territory financial institutions, and QSLs 

providing the form (requirements that apply for chapters 3 

and 4 and Form 1099 reporting), see Section 1446 

Requirements, later, if you pay an amount realized or an 

amount distributed by a PTP (PTP distribution) to any of 

these entities, or are otherwise a partnership determining 

its withholding under section 1446(a).

QIs, WPs, and WTs (in general). A QI, WP, or WT 

acting in its capacity as such must provide the EIN that 

was issued to the entity in such capacity (that is, its 

QI-EIN, WP-EIN, or WT-EIN) on Form W-8IMY and not 

any other EIN it may have in its NQI, nonwithholding 

foreign partnership, or nonwithholding foreign trust 

capacity. Because status as a QI, WP, or WT for a 

financial institution is limited to certain classes of FFIs, if 

you are making a withholdable payment to a QI, WP, or 

WT that is a financial institution, you must verify that the 

QI, WP, or WT certifies its status as one of the permitted 

classes in Regulations sections 1.1441-1(e)(5)(ii) (for a 

QI), 1.1441-5(c)(2)(ii) (for a WP), or 1.1441-5(e)(5)(v) (for 

a WT) and provides its GIIN (except in the case of certain 

foreign central banks of issue and retirement funds).

If a QI checks line 15f of Part III of the form to certify 

that it assumes primary Form 1099 reporting and backup 

withholding responsibility, you may accept the form even if 

you do not know if there are any U.S. accounts receiving 

reportable payments at the time of the certification. If a QI 

does not check line 15f or 15g of Part III of the form, you 

must confirm that the QI is not receiving payments for U.S. 

accounts that are reportable on Form 1099, and the QI 

must provide an updated Form W-8IMY or must provide a 

withholding statement if it allocates payments to such 

accounts for which it does not assume primary 

withholding responsibility. A QI may check line 15i of Part 

III of the form to indicate that it allocates a portion of the 

payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. 

payees that includes account holders of another 

intermediary or flow-through entity even if the withholding 

statement does not show any intermediaries or 

flow-through entities at the time the certification is 

provided. However, a QI is not required to check line 15i 

of Part III of the form until it provides a withholding 

statement identifying an intermediary or flow-through 

entity that receives a payment allocated to a chapter 4 

withholding rate pool of U.S. payees.

QIs acting as QDDs. You should only accept a Form 

W-8IMY from a QI acting as a QDD to the extent you are 

making payments with respect to potential section 871(m) 

transactions or underlying securities to the QDD when the 

entity claims QDD status in Part III of the form. A QDD 

must indicate its entity classification on line 16b of the 

form. If you are making such payment that is an amount 

subject to chapter 3 withholding to a QI that is acting as a 

QDD and the QDD is claiming treaty benefits applicable to 

the status identified on line 16b on the payment, you may 

treat the Form W-8IMY as a beneficial owner withholding 

certificate and provide such benefits if the QDD provides a 

statement associated to the Form W-8IMY that includes 

the necessary information with respect to the treaty claim 

required in Part III of Form W-8BEN-E and its FTIN (when 

otherwise required) on a QDD withholding statement or 

separate statement. In such case, the portion of the 

certificate making a claim for treaty benefits is valid until 

the end of the third calendar year following the year in 

which the Form W-8IMY is signed (unless a change in 

circumstances occurs sooner), and the validation rules for 

a treaty claim apply. A QDD may instead provide a 

separate Form W-8BEN-E to make the treaty claim. You 

may otherwise treat a Form W-8IMY provided by a QDD 

(other than a flow-through entity or disregarded entity) as 

a beneficial owner withholding certificate for establishing 

foreign status of the QDD for a payment of U.S. source 

FDAP income (as long as the QDD provides its FTIN 

(when otherwise required) on a QDD withholding 

statement or a separate statement). A QDD that is 

receiving payments that it beneficially owns that are not 

covered by its QI agreement should provide the 

appropriate Form W-8 based on its status (and not Form 

W-8IMY). The QDD must provide to you a withholding 

statement to identify the home office or branch that is 

treated as the owner for U.S. income tax purposes and, in 

certain circumstances (described in the Instructions for 

Form W-8IMY), the QDD’s FTIN (or a reasonable 

explanation for why it has not been issued an FTIN, if 

required). Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a 

QDD withholding statement need not identify the branch 

or home office of the QDD if the form is provided only for 

payments beneficially owned by the QDD (and an FTIN is 

provided when required). See Foreign TINs, earlier, for 

when you must treat the form as invalid if an FTIN or 

reasonable explanation is not provided.

QIs assuming withholding on payments of 

substitute interest. If a QI represents its status as a QI 

on a Form W-8IMY with respect to payments of interest 

and substitute interest and checks line 15e of Part III of 

the form, you may treat the QI as assuming withholding for 

payments of interest and substitute interest it receives 

from you in connection with a sale-repurchase or similar 

agreement, a securities lending transaction, or collateral 

that the QI holds in connection with its activities as a 

dealer in securities. You may accept this representation 

regardless of whether the QI represents it acts as a QDD 

(by checking line 16a in Part III). The representation on 

Line 15e does not apply to payments made to a QI when 

acting as a QDD.

QSLs. If you make payment of a U.S. source substitute 

dividend to a QSL (prior to January 1, 2023), the QSL is 

required to provide its U.S. TIN. If you make a payment to 

a QSL (prior to January 1, 2023) that is a withholdable 

payment, you must collect a Form W-8IMY that includes 

the QSL’s chapter 4 status and GIIN (as applicable) to 

avoid withholding under chapter 4. A QSL that is a QI 

should check line 15d of Part III of the form and a QSL that 

is an NQI should check line 17d of Part IV of the form 

regardless of whether the QSL acts as an intermediary. 

You may not associate a Form W-8IMY from a QSL with a 

payment of a substitute dividend on or after January 1, 

2023, and you should obtain a revised withholding 

certificate.

-14- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
For information on transition rules that apply until 2023 

for withholding agents to apply with respect to QSLs, see 

Notice 2020-2.

U.S. branches. If you make a payment to a U.S. branch 

of a foreign bank or insurance company that represents 

that it is acting as an intermediary and has agreed to be 

treated as a U.S. person, for chapter 3 and 4 for payments 

associated with this form (by checking line 19a in Part VI 

of this form) you are not required to obtain the GIIN or 

chapter 4 status of the entity, but you must obtain the U.S. 

branch’s EIN. If you make a withholdable payment to a 

U.S. branch of an FFI that is acting as an intermediary and 

that does not agree to be treated as a U.S. person, the 

branch must provide its EIN (but does not need to provide 

a GIIN or chapter 4 status) and certify that the branch is 

applying the rules described in Regulations section 

1.1471-4(d)(2)(iii)(C) by checking the box on line 19c in 

Part VI of the form. If you do not obtain the certification 

from a U.S. branch described in the preceding sentence, 

you must treat the branch as a nonparticipating FFI and 

withhold under chapter 4 on withholdable payments made 

to the branch. You are not required to treat as invalid a 

Form W-8IMY from an account holder that completes Part 

VI of the form (to the extent required) but does not 

complete Part II of the form.

Territory financial institutions acting as intermediaries. If you make a payment to a territory financial 

institution acting as an intermediary, you must obtain the 

territory financial institution’s EIN if it agrees to be treated 

as a U.S. person for chapters 3 and 4 for payments 

associated with this form (by checking line 18b of Part V of 

the form). You are not required to obtain a GIIN from a 

territory financial institution.

Participating FFIs and registered deemed-compliant 

FFIs that are flow-through entities or acting as intermediaries. If a participating FFI or registered 

deemed-compliant FFI that is an intermediary or 

flow-through entity provides you with a withholding 

statement and documentation for its account holders or 

payees, you are not required to verify the information on 

the account holders or payees provided in the 

documentation for chapter 4 purposes unless the 

information in the documentation is facially incorrect, and 

you are not required to obtain additional documentation 

for an account holder or payee in addition to the 

withholding certificate unless you are obtaining the 

documentation for purposes of chapter 3 or 61, or unless 

you know that the documentation review conducted by the 

participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI was 

not adequate for purposes of chapter 4. See Regulations 

section 1.1441-7(b)(10) for the due diligence 

requirements for indirect account holders for purposes of 

chapter 3 and see Regulations section 1.1471-3(e)(4)(vi)

(B) for standards that apply in such case to determine 

whether chapter 4 withholding applies. You may rely on 

documentation that does not include a chapter 4 status for 

an account holder of an intermediary or flow-through 

entity that is an FFI when the withholding statement 

provided by such entity indicates that the payment is 

made to an account excluded as a financial account under 

Regulations section 1.1471-5(b)(2).

An intermediary or flow-through entity that is a 

participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI may 

provide a status for chapter 4 purposes found under the 

requirements of (and documentation or information that is 

publicly available that determines the chapter 4 status of 

the payee permitted under) an applicable IGA for an 

account holder, and you may rely upon such status and 

documentation, provided that you have the information 

necessary to report on Form 1042-S. Additionally, see 

Alternative Certifications Under an Applicable IGA, earlier, 

for further details on alternative certifications.

In general, if you make a withholdable payment to an 

intermediary or flow-through entity that is a participating 

FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI, the FFI may 

provide an FFI withholding statement that allocates a 

portion of the payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate 

pool. If an intermediary provides with its Form W-8IMY an 

FFI withholding statement that allocates a portion of the 

payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. 

payees, the FFI must provide a chapter 4 status on line 5. 

If the intermediary described in the preceding sentence is 

an NQI, it must provide the certification required in Part IV 

with respect to its compliance with the requirements of 

Regulations section 1.6049-4(c)(4) (or similar 

requirements under chapter 61 for a payment other than 

interest). If the intermediary is a QI, it must certify that it 

meets the requirements of Regulations section 

1.6049-4(c)(4)(iii) and, to the extent the U.S. payees are 

account holders of an intermediary or flow-through entity 

receiving a payment from the QI, the QI has obtained or 

will obtain documentation sufficient to establish each such 

intermediary or flow-through entity status as a 

participating FFI, registered deemed-compliant FFI, or FFI 

that is a QI. An allocation of a payment shown on a 

withholding statement and made on or after April 1, 2017, 

to an NQI, nonwithholding foreign partnership, or 

nonwithholding foreign trust of an amount subject to 

chapter 3 withholding to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool 

of U.S. payees must identify the payees consistent with 

the description in Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(3)(iii)

(B)(2)(iii) (describing account holders of an FFI that is a 

non-U.S. payor that are not subject to withholding under 

chapter 3 or 4 or under section 3406, and that are holders 

of U.S. accounts reported by the FFI under its Foreign 

Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requirements as a 

participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI).

Section 1446 Requirements

Section 1446(a) requirements in general. You 

should request Form W-8IMY for purposes of section 

1446(a) only from a foreign upper-tier partnership or 

foreign grantor trust or from a simple trust if you do not 

obtain a Form W-8BEN-E from the trust. You may also 

accept a Form W-8IMY from a foreign intermediary 

holding a partnership interest for a partner (including a 

partner that is an upper-tier partnership or trust) for 

determining your withholding under section 1446(a). 

Generally, for purposes of section 1446(a), the Form 

W-8IMY submitted by these entities is used to transmit the 

forms of the owners of these entities (excluding a 

partnership that is a PTP and a simple trust when a Form 

W-8IMY is provided). The other forms should be 

accompanied with the information necessary to reliably 

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -15-
associate your effectively connected partnership items 

with the upper-tier partners, in the case of a foreign 

upper-tier partnership, and the grantor or other owner, in 

the case of a foreign grantor trust. Then you must look 

through these entities to the beneficial owners when 

determining your section 1446(a) tax obligation. A 

domestic upper-tier partnership may also provide you this 

information by attaching it to a Form W-9 with a statement 

that it is electing to apply these look through rules. Under 

those circumstances you may, but are not required to, pay 

the section 1446(a) withholding tax of the foreign partners 

of the domestic upper-tier partnership. See Regulations 

section 1.1446-5.

Section 1446(a) (PTP Distributions). 

Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, for an amount 

subject to section 1446(a) withholding on a PTP 

distribution, you may accept a Form W-8IMY from a QI 

that acts as a nominee for the distribution by checking 

lines 14 and 15c. In such a case, you must treat the QI as 

assuming all withholding on the distribution (that is, 

amounts subject to chapters 3 and 4 withholding on the 

distribution in addition to amounts subject to sections 

1446(a) and (f) withholding on the distribution). You may 

accept this representation regardless of whether the QI 

assumes primary withholding for other payments subject 

to chapters 3 and 4 withholding by checking line 15a. You 

may also accept a Form W-8IMY that is associated with a 

PTP distribution from any entity that represents its status 

as a QI on line 14 but that does not check line 15c for 

purposes of your relying on chapters 3 and 4 withholding 

rate pool information provided by the QI (similar to a case 

in which a QI does not assume primary withholding for 

chapters 3 and 4 purposes except that each U.S. partner 

must be disclosed). A QI that represents its status as a QI 

on line 14 of a Form W-8IMY that is associated with a PTP 

distribution may instead, however, act as a disclosing QI 

for the distribution by not acting as a nominee and 

providing specific payee information to you with its 

withholding statement with respect to its account holders 

that are partners in the PTP (and may only provide 

chapter 4 withholding rate pool information when 

permitted under chapter 4 for a withholdable payment). 

You may not, however, rely on an allocation of a PTP 

distribution made to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of 

U.S. payees (that is, each U.S. partner must be 

disclosed). Regardless of whether the QI acts as a 

disclosing QI, you must determine each amount subject to 

withholding on the PTP distribution by reference to the 

qualified notice issued for the distribution (or, if you 

receive the distribution from a nominee, the nominee's 

determination) rather than relying on a determination of 

those amounts by the QI (to avoid withholding under the 

default rule in Regulations section 1.1446-4).

If the entity checks its status as an NQI in box 17a of 

Part IV, you must treat the entity as an NQI for a PTP 

distribution that is associated with the form. For 

determining your withholding on the distribution, you may 

rely on specific payee information provided by the NQI 

with respect to the partners allocated the distribution on a 

withholding statement provided with the form and 

chapter 4 withholding rate pool information to the extent 

permitted for a QI (as described directly above), but may 

not rely on that information and withholding statement for 

purposes of withholding on an amount realized on the 

distribution (that is, you must withhold at the 10% rate on 

an amount to which section 1446(f) applies without regard 

to underlying payee information).

You may also accept a Form W-8IMY that is associated 

with a PTP distribution from a U.S. branch that acts as 

nominee for a PTP distribution by checking line 19e. If the 

U.S. branch does not act as a nominee for the distribution 

by checking line 19f, you may rely on specific payee 

documentation provided by the U.S. branch with the form 

to the same extent described in the preceding paragraph 

with respect to an NQI to which you pay a PTP 

distribution. You must apply similar rules in the case of a 

Form W-8IMY associated with the distribution that is 

provided by a territory financial institution.

Although you may accept a Form W-8IMY that is 

associated from a PTP distribution from an entity that 

represents its status as a WP or WT, you may not treat the 

entity as a WP or WT except for the amount of the 

distribution subject to withholding under chapter 3 or 4. 

For a nonwithholding partnership or trust to which you pay 

a PTP distribution that checks line 21b, see Section 1446 

Requirements, earlier. See the requirements of chapters 

3, 4 and section 1446(f) for when you can rely on partner, 

owner or beneficiary information for amounts subject to 

withholding under those provisions on a PTP distribution.

Section 1446(f) (PTP interest transfer). For 

purposes of section 1446(f), you should request a Form 

W-8IMY from a partner that is a foreign partnership that 

transfers an interest in a partnership if you are either the 

transferee of the interest (for a partnership other than a 

PTP) or a broker for the partner that sells a PTP interest. 

You should request the Form W-8IMY from the foreign 

partnership regardless of whether the partnership 

provides with the form the partner information for allowing 

withholding on a modified amount realized under 

Regulations section 1.1446(f)-2(c) or 1.1446(f)-4(c). See 

the Instructions for Form W-8IMY for requirements 

regarding a withholding statement for purposes of the 

modified amount realized procedures (which requires a 

withholding statement allocating gain from the transfer). 

For a partner that is a foreign grantor trust, you should 

request a Form W-8IMY from the trust and either a Form 

W-8 or W-9 with respect to each grantor or owner of the 

trust (as the grantor/owner is the transferor). Alternatively, 

you may request the Form W-8 or W-9 directly from each 

grantor or owner. For a partner that is a foreign simple 

trust, you may request either a Form W-8IMY or 

W-8BEN-E from the trust; you do not need to request a 

withholding statement or underlying documentation for the 

trust beneficiaries, however, as the simple trust is the 

transferor and may not use the modified amount realized 

procedures described earlier in this paragraph.

If you are a broker paying an amount realized from the 

sale of a PTP interest to a broker that is a foreign person, 

you should request a Form W-8IMY from the broker when 

withholding under section 1446(f) may apply (or otherwise 

obtain a Form W-9 from a U.S. broker when required). If 

the foreign broker is a QI (by checking line 14), you may 

accept a Form W-8IMY when the QI represents that it 

assumes primary withholding for the amount realized by 

checking line 15b. You may also accept a Form W-8IMY 

-16- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
that is associated with an amount realized from the sale of 

a PTP interest from any entity that represents its status as 

a QI on line 14 that does not check line 15c for purposes 

of relying on chapter 3 withholding rate pool information 

provided by the QI (similar to a case in which a QI does 

not assume primary withholding for a PTP distribution). 

You may instead rely on specific payee information 

provided by a QI that acts as a disclosing QI for an 

amount realized (or a chapter 4 withholding rate pool 

when permitted for chapter 4). If the foreign broker is an 

NQI, you may accept a Form W-8IMY associated with an 

amount realized when the NQI checks box 17a, although 

you must determine your withholding under section 

1446(f) without regard to whether the NQI provides 

specific payee information with respect to the partners 

allocated the amount. See the Instructions for Form 

W-8IMY for when you may rely on payee information 

provided by an NQI solely for purposes of reporting on the 

payees on Form 1042-S. This same withholding 

requirement (and reporting allowance) applies to a broker 

that is a U.S. branch or territory financial institution that 

provides a Form W-8IMY for an amount realized from the 

sale of a PTP interest and does not act as a U.S. person 

for the amount by checking line 19d (for a U.S. branch) or 

line 18d (for a territory financial institution).

In the case of a PTP distribution, you need not 

withhold under section 1446(f) in any case 

described in Section 1446(a) (PTP distributions) 

above (or on any other transferor) when the PTP does not 

indicate on the qualified notice for the distribution an 

amount that is in excess of its cumulative net income. See 

Regulations section 1.1446(f)-4(c)(2). See, however, 

Regulations section 1.1446-4(d)(1) for withholding 

requirements when a nominee does not receive a 

qualified notice or the notice does not specify an amount 

included in a distribution.

Requirements for Hybrid and Reverse Hybrid 

Entities

A hybrid entity is an entity that is treated as fiscally 

transparent under the Code but is not treated as fiscally 

transparent under the tax laws of a country with which the 

United States has an income tax treaty.

If you are making a payment to a foreign hybrid entity 

that is making a claim for treaty benefits on its own behalf, 

the hybrid entity should provide a Form W-8BEN-E to 

claim treaty benefits. If the hybrid entity is a flow-through 

entity (not a disregarded entity) claiming treaty benefits on 

its own behalf on a payment that is a withholdable 

payment, it should also provide you a Form W-8IMY 

(including its chapter 4 status) along with a withholding 

statement (if required) establishing the chapter 4 status of 

each of its partners or owners to determine whether 

withholding applies to any portion of the payment. 

Allocation information is not required on this withholding 

statement unless one or more partners or owners are 

subject to chapter 4 withholding. If the hybrid entity is a 

disregarded entity claiming treaty benefits on a payment 

that is a withholdable payment, unless the disregarded 

entity is treated as the payee for chapter 4 purposes and 

has its own GIIN, the single owner should provide a Form 

W-8BEN-E or Form W-8BEN (as applicable) to you along 

TIP

with the Form W-8BEN-E for the hybrid entity. Line 10 of 

the Form W-8BEN-E may be used by the hybrid entity to 

associate the Forms W-8.

A foreign reverse hybrid entity is an entity that is a 

corporation for U.S. tax purposes but is fiscally 

transparent under the tax laws of a country with which the 

United States has an income tax treaty. If a foreign 

reverse hybrid entity is receiving a payment for which the 

entity is claiming a reduced rate of withholding for its 

owners, you must obtain from the entity a Form W-8IMY 

(including its chapter 4 status if the payment is a 

withholdable payment) along with a withholding statement 

and documentation for each owner for which the entity 

claims treaty benefits. If a foreign reverse hybrid entity is 

receiving a withholdable payment and is not claiming 

treaty benefits on behalf of any of its owners, you should 

obtain only a Form W-8BEN-E from the entity to establish 

its chapter 4 status.

Substitute Forms W-8 for Payments 

of Reportable Amounts and 

Withholdable Payments

You may develop and use your own Form W-8 (a 

substitute form) for chapters 3 and 4 purposes and for 

section 1446(a) and (f) purposes if its content is 

substantially similar to the IRS's official Form W-8 (to the 

extent required by these instructions), it satisfies certain 

certification requirements, and it includes a signature 

under a penalties of perjury statement that is identical to 

the one stated on the official form. You may develop and 

use a substitute form that is in a foreign language, 

provided that you make an English translation of the form 

and its contents available to the IRS upon request. You 

may combine multiple Forms W-8 into a single substitute 

form.

A form that satisfies these substitute forms 

requirements may be treated as a similar agreed form for 

purposes of an applicable IGA unless the partner 

jurisdiction declines such treatment.

A substitute form does not need to contain all of the 

provisions contained on the official form, so long as it 

contains those provisions that are relevant to the 

transaction for which it is furnished. You may omit the 

chapter 4 certifications on your substitute form if such 

certifications are not required based on the payments 

made to the payees. If you are an FFI documenting the 

chapter 4 status of your account holders under your 

chapter 4 requirements or an applicable IGA, however, 

you may not omit the chapter 4 certifications. If you are 

making a withholdable payment, you may choose to 

provide a substitute form that does not include all of the 

chapter 4 statuses provided on the Form W-8, but the 

substitute form must include any chapter 4 status for 

which withholding may apply.

You may incorporate a substitute Form W-8 into other 

business forms you customarily use, such as account 

signature cards, provided the required certifications are 

clearly set forth. However, you may not:

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -17-
1. Use a substitute form that requires the payee, by 

signing, to agree to provisions unrelated to the required 

certifications; or

2. Imply that a person may be subject to 30% 

withholding or backup withholding unless that person 

agrees to provisions on the substitute form that are 

unrelated to the required certifications.

A substitute Form W-8 is valid only if it contains the 

same penalties of perjury statement and certifications as 

the official forms and the required signature. However, if 

the substitute form is contained in some other business 

form, the words “information on this form” may be 

modified to refer to that portion of the business form 

containing the substitute form information. The design of 

the substitute form must be such that the information and 

certifications that are being attested to by the penalties of 

perjury statement clearly stand out from any other 

information contained in the form.

Content of Substitute Form

Substitute Form W-8BEN. The substitute Form 

W-8BEN must contain all of the information required in 

Part I, lines 1 through 8. The certifications in Part II must 

be included in a substitute form only if treaty benefits are 

claimed, and then only to the extent that the certifications 

are required. For example, Form W-8BEN, line 10 

(Special rates and conditions), is not required if the form is 

being requested from an individual receiving a payment of 

U.S. source dividends from stocks that are actively traded 

on an established securities market. The substitute Form 

W-8BEN must include a statement that if the person 

providing the form is a resident in a FATCA partner 

jurisdiction (that is, a Model 1 IGA jurisdiction with 

reciprocity), certain tax account information may be 

provided to the jurisdiction of residence.

The substitute form must contain the penalties of 

perjury statement identical to the statement on the official 

Form W-8BEN. Additionally, if the substitute form is 

incorporated into other business forms, the following 

statement must be presented in the same manner as the 

penalties of perjury statement and must appear 

immediately above the single signature line: “The Internal 

Revenue Service does not require your consent to any 

provisions of this document other than the certifications 

required to establish your status as a non-U.S. individual 

and, if applicable, obtain a reduced rate of withholding.”

Substitute Form W-8BEN-E. The substitute Form 

W-8BEN-E must contain all of the information required in 

Part I, lines 1 through 6, and lines 8 and 9 if a U.S. or an 

FTIN or a GIIN is required. See, however, Substitute 

Forms W-8 for Payments of Reportable Amounts and 

Withholdable Payments, earlier, for when you may omit a 

chapter 4 certification on a substitute Form W-8. The 

certifications in Part II must be included in a substitute 

form if you are making a withholdable payment to a 

disregarded entity or a branch that must be reported in 

Part II. The certifications in Part III must be included only if 

treaty benefits are claimed, and then only to the extent 

that the certifications are required. See Alternative 

Certifications Under an Applicable IGA, earlier, for 

circumstances in which the chapter 4 certifications may 

be replaced with alternative certifications.

If the substitute form is incorporated into other business 

forms, the following statement must be presented in the 

same manner as the penalties of perjury statement and 

must appear immediately above the single signature line: 

“The Internal Revenue Service does not require your 

consent to any provisions of this document other than the 

certifications required to establish your status as a 

non-U.S. person, establish your chapter 4 status (if 

required), and, if applicable, obtain a reduced rate of 

withholding.”

Substitute Form W-8ECI. The substitute Form W-8ECI 

must contain all of the information required in Part I other 

than line 9. The certifications in Part II of Form W-8ECI 

must be included in a substitute form.

If the substitute form is incorporated into other business 

forms, the following statement must be presented in the 

same manner as the penalties of perjury statement and 

must appear immediately above the single signature line: 

“The Internal Revenue Service does not require your 

consent to any provisions of this document other than the 

certifications required to establish your status as a 

non-U.S. person and that the income for which this form is 

provided is effectively connected with the conduct of a 

trade or business within the United States.”

Substitute Form W-8EXP. The substitute Form W-8EXP 

must contain all of the information required in Part I, lines 

1 through 5, line 7 (if a U.S. TIN is required), and line 8. 

See, however, Substitute Forms W-8 for Payments of 

Reportable Amounts and Withholdable Payments, earlier, 

for when you may omit a chapter 4 certification on a 

substitute Form W-8. The substitute Form W-8EXP must 

also contain all of the statements and certifications 

contained in Parts II and III, as applicable, with respect to 

the purpose for which the form is provided, but a specific 

statement or certification needs to be included (in its 

entirety) only if it is relevant to the type of entity providing 

the form. For example, if a withholding agent is 

documenting a beneficial owner that is a foreign 

government for purposes of both chapters 3 and 4, the 

withholding agent may use a substitute Form W-8EXP 

that contains the required information in Part I, plus the 

required statements and certifications from Parts II and III 

that are related to foreign governments, and does not 

need to include the statements and certifications for other 

types of entities that would otherwise be providing the 

Form W-8EXP.

If the substitute form is incorporated into other business 

forms, the following statement must be presented in the 

same manner as the penalties of perjury statement and 

must appear immediately above the single signature line: 

“The Internal Revenue Service does not require your 

consent to any provisions of this document other than the 

certifications required to establish your status as a foreign 

government, international organization, foreign central 

bank of issue, foreign tax-exempt organization, foreign 

private foundation, or government of a U.S. possession, 

and your chapter 4 status (if required).”

Substitute Form W-8IMY. The substitute Form W-8IMY 

must contain all of the information required in Part I, lines 

1 through 6, line 8 (if a U.S. TIN is required), and line 9 (if 

a GIIN is required). See, however, Substitute Forms W-8 

-18- Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022)
for Payments of Reportable Amounts and Withholdable 

Payments, earlier, for when you may omit a chapter 4 

certification on a substitute Form W-8. The information 

required in Part II must be included in a substitute form if 

you are making a withholdable payment to a disregarded 

entity that has its own GIIN or a branch (including a 

branch that is a disregarded entity that does not have its 

own GIIN) operating in a jurisdiction other than the 

jurisdiction of residence of the entity named in Part I of the 

form. The substitute Form W-8IMY must also contain all of 

the statements and certifications relevant to chapter 3 

contained in Parts III through VIII if you are making a 

payment subject to withholding under chapter 3 and the 

statements and certifications relevant to the chapter 4 

status contained in Parts IX through XXVIII for the 

intermediary or flow-through entity providing the form if 

you are making a withholdable payment or if you are an 

FFI documenting your account holders for purposes of 

chapter 4 or an applicable IGA. For example, if the only 

intermediaries to which a U.S. withholding agent makes 

payments are QIs that are participating FFIs, the 

withholding agent may use a substitute Form W-8IMY that 

contains only the required information from Part I 

(including line 9 to collect the intermediaries’ GIINs), plus 

the statements and certifications from Part III. A substitute 

Form W-8IMY must also incorporate the same 

attachments as the official form (such as a withholding 

statement and beneficial owner documentation, to the 

extent otherwise required). You may also include any 

information on a substitute Form W-8IMY, or require any 

information to be associated with the form, that is 

reasonably related to your obligation to withhold and 

correctly report payments.

If the substitute form is incorporated into other business 

forms, the following statement must be presented in the 

same manner as the penalties of perjury statement and 

must appear immediately above the single signature line: 

“The Internal Revenue Service does not require your 

consent to any provisions of this document other than the 

certifications required to establish: (1) your status as a QI, 

an NQI, a specific type of U.S. branch, a withholding 

foreign partnership, a withholding foreign trust, a 

nonwithholding foreign partnership, a nonwithholding 

foreign simple trust, or a nonwithholding foreign grantor 

trust; (2) your chapter 4 status; and/or (3) your status as a 

QSL (for the period such status is permitted).”

Non-IRS Form for Individuals Not Receiving 

Reportable Amounts

If you are an FFI documenting an account holder that is an 

individual and you are not making a payment of a 

reportable amount to such account holder, you may use a 

non-IRS form rather than a substitute Form W-8BEN. The 

form must include the name and address of the individual 

that is the payee or beneficial owner; all countries in which 

the individual is resident for tax purposes; the individual’s 

country of birth; a TIN, if any, for each country of 

residence; and the individual’s date of birth. The form may 

also request other information required for purposes of tax 

or anti-money laundering (AML) due diligence in the 

United States or in other countries. A form that satisfies 

these requirements may be treated as a similar agreed 

form for purposes of an applicable IGA unless the partner 

jurisdiction declines such treatment.

Generally, a non-IRS form for individuals must contain 

a signed and dated certification made under penalties of 

perjury that the information provided on the form is 

accurate and will be updated by the individual within 30 

days of a change in circumstances that causes the form to 

become incorrect. However, the signed certification 

provided on a form need not be signed under penalties of 

perjury if the form is accompanied by documentary 

evidence that supports the individual’s claim of foreign 

status. Such documentary evidence may be the same 

documentary evidence that is used to support foreign 

status in the case of a payee whose account has U.S. 

indicia as described in Regulations sections 1.1471-3(e) 

and 1.1471-4(c)(4)(i)(A).

Inst. for the Requester of Forms W-8 (Rev. June 2022) -19-