“Under IRC §§1441 and 1442, a Tax Withholding Agent must withhold 30% of any payment of an amount subject to tax withholding made to a Payee that is a Foreign Person unless the Withholding Agent obtains valid documentation that the Payee is either a U.S. Payee or a Beneficial Owner.
A U.S. Payee is any person required to furnish Form W-9.
A Beneficial Owner is any person or entity that is required to furnish:
1. Form W-8 BEN (Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding, [i.e., the Beneficiary is exempt from tax under a treaty]);
2. Form W-8 ECI (Certificate of Foreign Persons Claiming that Income is Effectively Connected with the Conduct of the Trade of Business in the United States, [i.e., the effectively connected income will be declared in the United States by the Beneficiary filing a U.S. Income Tax Return]); or
3. Form W-8 EXP (Certificate of Foreign Government or Other Foreign Organization for United States Tax Withholding, [i.e., any Foreign Government, International Organization, Foreign Central Bank of Issue, Foreign Tax-Exempt Organization, Foreign Private Foundation or Government of a U.S Possession]).”
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Our author, Gary S. Wolfe, has more than 34 years of experience, specializing in IRS Tax Audits and International Tax Planning/Tax Compliance, and International Asset Protection.
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