2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTEEN - Taxation and Finance (§§ 1 — 33423) › Subtitle 17 - Internal Revenue Code of 2011 (§§ 30001 — 33423) › PART II - Income Taxes (§§ 30041 — 30622) › Chapter 1008 - Tax Returns and Payment (§§ 30241 — 30303) › Subchapter B - Income Tax Withholding at the Source (§§ 30271 — 30282) › § 30279 - Income tax withheld at source from individuals, estates, corporations, partnerships, and trusts on interest paid or credited on deposits in interest-earning accounts, or on bonds, notes or other obligations of certain corporations or partnerships and on certain mortgages

(a) Withholding requirements. — Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, in those cases in which the recipient of the interest exercises the option provided in § 30084(b) of this title or § 30085(c) of this title, the payer of interest described in subsection (a) of said sections shall deduct and withhold a tax equal to ten percent (10%) or to seventeen percent (17%), as applicable, of the total amount of non-exempt interest paid or credited. In the cases described in § 30084 of this title, the payer of interest shall be bound to withhold the aforesaid tax with the total interest paid or credited to the taxpayer as a basis. In cases of savings accounts or certificates registered in the name of a brokerage firm as nominee for one or more individuals, estates, or trusts covered by § 30084(b)(3) of this title, the phrase “payer of interest”, both in this subsection and in the subsequent subsections of this section, shall refer to said brokerage firm.
(b) Special rules. —
(1) Term to make the withholding. — Except as otherwise provided in this part, and for purposes of the same, a payment of interest shall be deemed as received and the tax provided in § 30084 or § 30085 of this title shall be deducted and withheld at the time that such payment is effectively made or at the time the recipient is notified that he/she was credited for the same.
(2) Unknown recipient. — If the payer cannot determine the person to whom the interest is paid or credited, the tax imposed in subsection (a) of this section shall be withheld as provided in said subsection as if the recipient were known and had authorized the withholding of such tax.
(c) Liability of the payer. — Except as otherwise provided in this part, every person required to deduct and withhold any tax under the provisions of this section shall be liable to the Secretary for the payment of such tax and shall not be liable to any other person for the amount of any such payments.
(d) Failure to withhold. — If the withholding agent, in violation of the authorization conferred by the recipient of the interest, fails to make the withholding to which subsection (a) refers, the amount that should have been deducted and withheld, unless the recipient of the interest pays the tax to the Secretary, shall be collected directly from the payer following the same procedure that would be used had the tax been owed by the payer.
(e) Nondeductibility of the tax when computing the net income. — The tax deducted, withheld, and paid under this section shall not be allowed as a deduction to the payer nor to the recipient of the income when computing the net income for purposes of any income tax imposed by this part.
History —Jan. 31, 2011, No. 1, § 1062.09, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011.