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Introduction

SECTION 5. DOCUMENTATION

Internal Revenue Bulletin 2016-29 · 2026-10-03 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · United States

REQUIREMENTS

Sec. 5.01. Documentation Requirements.

(A) Coordination of Documentation Requirements with Chapter 4. (1) QI that is an FFI. If QI is an FFI, QI is required to perform the due diligence procedures for each account holder for whom QI is acting under its FATCA requirements as a participating FFI, registered deemed-compliant FFI, or registered deemed-compliant Model 1 IGA FFI to determine if the account is a U.S. account (or U.S. reportable account) and each account holder that is a nonparticipating FFI and, if applicable, recalcitrant account holder (or non-consenting U.S. account). See QI’s FATCA requirements as a participating FFI, registered deemedcompliant FFI, or registered deemedcompliant Model 1 IGA FFI to perform due diligence with respect to each account that it maintains. If an account holder receiving the payment is not the payee, QI is also required to establish the chapter 4 status of the payee or payees to determine whether withholding applies under chapter 4. See section 5.13(B)(1) of this Agreement for the requirements for QI to reliably associate a withholdable payment with a Form W–8IMY for chapter 4 purposes. To the extent an account holder receives a payment with respect to which QI has determined that withholding is not required under chapter 4, QI shall obtain, unless already collected, documentation that meets the requirements of this section 5 to determine whether the account holder is a foreign person for which QI is required to withhold under chapter 3 or a U.S. payee for which QI is required to backup withhold under section 3406 or report on Form 1099 under chapter 61. See, however, section 8.06 of this Agreement providing the circumstances in which reporting of U.S. accounts (or U.S. reportable accounts) under its FATCA requirements as a participating FFI, registered deemed-compliant FFI, or registered deemed-compliant Model 1 IGA FFI satisfies QI’s Form 1099 reporting responsibilities. See Notice 2014–33, 2014–21 I.R.B. 1033, which modifies the time in which QI is required to implement the applicable due diligence procedures under

its FATCA requirements as a participating FFI, registered deemed-compliant FFI, or registered deemed-compliant Model 1 IGA FFI with respect to an obligation held by an entity that is opened, issued, or executed on or after July 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2015.

(2) QI that is an NFFE. If QI is an NFFE, QI is required to document the chapter 4 status of each account holder for whom QI is acting to determine if withholding and reporting apply under section 1471 or 1472 on withholdable payments made to the account holder. QI is required to obtain, unless already collected, a valid Form W–8 or Form W–9 from each account holder to determine whether QI is required to withhold under chapter 3 or 4 or report on Form 1099 under chapter 61. Thus, the allowance in this section 5 for QI to obtain documentary evidence does not apply if QI is an NFFE. QI may, however, obtain appropriate documentary evidence as additional documentation to establish the foreign status of an account holder. See § 1.1471–3(e)(4) for when QI will have reason to know that an entity’s claim of chapter 4 status is unreliable or incorrect and § 1.1471–3(c)(6)(ii)(E) for QI’s requirements following a change in circumstances.

(B) General Documentation Re- quirements. QI agrees to use its best efforts to obtain documentation from account holders that receive a reportable payment to determine whether withholding applies or whether a payment is reportable under this Agreement. If QI is an FFI obtaining documentary evidence, QI also agrees to adhere to the know-yourcustomer rules that apply to QI with respect to the account holder from whom the documentary evidence is obtained. Unless QI can reliably associate a reportable payment with valid documentation from the account holder under section 5.13(B) of this Agreement, QI shall apply the presumption rules described in section 5.13(C) of this Agreement to any account holder that receives a reportable payment to determine if withholding is required under chapter 3 or 4 or if backup withholding is required under section 3406. As set forth in section 11.06 of this Agreement, failure to obtain documentation from a significant number of direct account holders constitutes an event of de

fault. QI agrees to review and maintain documentation in accordance with this section 5 and, in the case of documentary evidence obtained from direct account holders, in accordance with the knowyour-customer rules set forth in the Attachments to this Agreement. QI also agrees, if the performance of an external review is requested by IRS as described in section 10.08(D) of this Agreement, to make documentation (together with any associated withholding statements and other documents or information) available upon request for inspection by QI’s external reviewer. QI represents that none of the laws to which it is subject prohibits disclosure of the identity of any account holder or account information to QI’s external reviewer. QI may rely on the documentation it obtains under this section 5 as the basis for the information it provides to another withholding agent under section 6 of this Agreement, as well as to determine its own withholding, tax, and reporting obligations.

(C) QI that is a QDD. If QI is acting as a QDD, QI is required to apply the rules of this section 5 to each account holder of an account for which it is acting as a QDD and to which it makes a reportable payment or a payment of a qualifying dividend equivalent offsetting payment (notwithstanding the limitation in section 2.70(B) of this Agreement) in accordance with the applicable requirements in section 5.01(A) and (B) of this Agreement.

Sec. 5.02. Documentation for For- eign Account Holders. QI may treat an account holder as a foreign beneficial owner of an amount if the account holder provides a valid Form W–8 (other than Form W–8IMY unless provided by a QI that is acting as a QDD or assuming primary withholding responsibility for a substitute interest payment) or valid documentary evidence, as described in section 2.20 of this Agreement, that supports the account holder’s status as a foreign person. QI may not treat an account holder that provides documentation indicating that it is a bank, broker, intermediary, or agent (such as an attorney) as a beneficial owner unless QI receives a statement, in writing and signed by a person with authority to sign such a statement, stating that such account holder is the beneficial owner of the income. Further, QI may not

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reduce the rate of withholding with respect to an indirect account holder that is a foreign beneficial owner unless the certification provided by the direct account holder is a valid Form W–8IMY, and then only to the extent that QI can reliably associate the payment with valid documentation that establishes the indirect account holder’s entitlement to a reduced rate of withholding under chapter 3 and establishes that withholding does not apply under chapter 4 in the case of a withholdable payment made to the account holder. See section 5.13(B) of this Agreement for rules regarding reliable association with documentation.

Sec. 5.03. Beneficial Owner’s Claim of Treaty Benefits. To the extent an account holder receives a payment that is not subject to withholding under chapter 4, QI may not reduce the rate of withholding under chapter 3 based on a beneficial owner’s claim of treaty benefits unless QI obtains the documentation required by section 5.03(A) of this Agreement. In addition, QI agrees to establish procedures to inform account holders of the terms of limitation on benefits provisions of a treaty (whether or not those provisions are contained in a separate article entitled Limitation on Benefits) under which the account holder is claiming benefits. For accounts held by an entity opened or documented on or after January 1, 2017, QI is required to obtain a Form W–8BEN-E with the appropriate limitation on benefits certification or, if QI is allowed to and obtains documentary evidence, the written certification accompanying the treaty statement as described in section 5.03(B) of this Agreement. For accounts maintained by QI prior to January 1, 2017 that were documented with documentary evidence and for which treaty benefits are being claimed, QI is required to obtain the appropriate limitation on benefits statement prior to January 1, 2019.

(A) Treaty Documentation. The documentation required by this section 5.03(A) is as follows: (1) The account holder has provided a properly completed Form W–8BEN or Form W–8BEN-E on which a claim of treaty benefits is made, including for an entity the appropriate limitation on benefits and section 894 certifications, as provided in § 1.1441–6(b)(1). A U.S. TIN or

foreign TIN shall not be required, however, if the beneficial owner is a direct account holder. An indirect account holder is required to have a either a U.S. TIN or foreign TIN to claim treaty benefits unless it is claiming treaty benefits on income from marketable securities;

(2) The account holder has provided documentary evidence that has been obtained pursuant to the know-yourcustomer rules that apply to the account holder and the account holder, if it is an entity, has made the treaty statement (if applicable) required by section 5.03(B) of this Agreement; or

(3) The account holder provides the type of documentary evidence required under § 1.1441–6 to establish entitlement to a reduced rate of withholding under a treaty and the account holder, if it is an entity, has made the treaty statement (if applicable) required by section 5.03(B) of this Agreement.

(B) Treaty Statement. The treaty statement required by an entity account holder under this section 5.03(B) is as follows:

[Name of entity account holder] meets all provisions of the applicable treaty that are necessary to claim a reduced rate of withholding, including any limitation on benefits provisions, and derives the income within the meaning of section 894, and the regulations thereunder, as the beneficial owner.

The treaty statement must also include a written certification that the entity meets the appropriate limitation on benefits certification as described on Form W–8BEN-E and its accompanying instructions and that specifies the category of the limitation on benefits provision that the entity meets. QI is only required to obtain the treaty statement required by this section 5.03(B) from an account holder that is an entity. QI shall not be required to obtain a treaty statement required by this section 5.03(B) from an individual who is a resident of an applicable treaty country or from the government, or its political subdivisions, of a treaty country.

Sec. 5.04. Documentation for Inter- national Organizations. To the extent an account holder receives a payment that is not subject to withholding under chapter 4, QI may not treat the account holder as

an international organization entitled to an exemption from withholding under section 892 unless the name provided on the documentation (including a Form W–8EXP) is the name of an entity designated as an international organization by executive order pursuant to 22 United States Code 288 through 288(f) and the documentation is valid under section 5.10 of this Agreement. If an international organization is not claiming benefits under section 892 but under another Code exception, the provisions of section 5.02 of this Agreement shall apply rather than the provisions of this section 5.04.

Sec. 5.05. Documentation for Foreign Governments and Foreign Central Banks of Issue.

(A) Documentation From a Foreign Government or Foreign Central Bank of Issue Claiming an Exemption From Withholding Under Section 892 or Sec- tion 895. To the extent an account holder receives a payment that is not subject to withholding under chapter 4, QI may not treat an account holder as a foreign government or foreign central bank of issue exempt from withholding under section 892 or 895 unless— (1) QI receives from the account holder a Form W–8EXP or documentary evidence establishing that the account holder is a foreign government or foreign central bank of issue;

(2) The income paid to the account holder is the type of income that qualifies for an exemption from withholding under section 892 or 895; and

(3) QI does not know, or have reason to know, that the account holder is a controlled commercial entity as described in section 892, that the income owned by the foreign government or foreign central bank of issue is being received from a controlled commercial entity, or that the income is from the disposition of an interest in a controlled commercial entity.

(B) Treaty Exemption. To the extent an account holder receives a payment that is not subject to withholding under chapter 4, QI may treat an account holder as a foreign government or foreign central bank of issue entitled to a reduced rate of withholding under an income tax treaty for purposes of chapter 3 if it has valid documentation that is sufficient to obtain a

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reduced rate of withholding under a treaty as described in section 5.03 of this Agreement.

(C) Other Code Exception. If a foreign government or foreign central bank of issue is not claiming benefits under section 892 or under an income tax treaty but under another Code exception ( e.g ., the portfolio interest exception under section 871(h) or 881(c)), the provisions of section 5.02 of this Agreement apply rather than the provisions of this section 5.05. Sec. 5.06. Documentation for For- eign Tax-Exempt Organizations. To the extent an account holder receives a payment that is not subject to withholding under chapter 4, QI may not treat an account holder as a foreign tax-exempt organization and reduce the rate of or exempt the account holder from withholding for purposes of chapter 3 unless it satisfies the requirements provided in section 5.06(A), (B), or (C) of this Agreement. (A) Reduced Rate of Withholding Under Section 501. QI may not treat an account holder as a foreign organization described under section 501(c), and therefore exempt from withholding under chapter 3 (or, if the account holder is a foreign private foundation, subject to withholding at a 4-percent rate under section 1443(b)) unless QI obtains a valid Form W–8EXP on which Part IV of the form is completed.

(B) Reduced Rate of Withholding Under Treaty. QI may not treat an account holder as a foreign organization that is tax-exempt on an item of income pursuant to an income tax treaty unless QI obtains valid documentation as described under section 5.03 of this Agreement that is sufficient for obtaining a reduced rate of withholding under the treaty and the documentation establishes that the account holder is an organization exempt from tax under the treaty on that item of income.

(C) Other Exceptions. If a tax-exempt entity is not claiming a reduced rate of withholding because it is a foreign organization described under section 501(c) or under a treaty article that applies to exempt certain foreign organizations from tax, but is claiming a reduced rate of withholding under another Code or income tax treaty exception, the provisions of section 5.02 or 5.03 (as applicable) of this Agree

ment shall apply rather than the provisions of this section 5.06.

Sec. 5.07. Documentation from In- termediaries or Flow-Through Entities. QI must apply the presumption rules to a reportable payment made to a nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity that is a direct account holder of QI to the extent QI fails to obtain the documentation set forth below. If QI receives documentation for the account holders or interest holders of an intermediary or flowthrough entity, as described in this section 5.07, QI must apply the rules of this section 5 to determine the validity of such documentation.

(A) Withholdable Payments Made to Nonqualified Intermediaries and Flow- Through Entities. With respect to a withholdable payment made to a nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity—

(1) QI receives a valid Form W–8IMY provided by the nonqualified intermediary or the flow-through entity receiving the payment that establishes the chapter 4 status of the intermediary or flow-through entity; and

(2) If the payment is not subject to withholding under chapter 4 based on such entity’s chapter 4 status (or to the extent the payment is received on behalf of exempt beneficial owners), QI can reliably associate the payment, within the meaning of section 5.13(B) of this Agreement, with a withholding statement that meets the requirements of § 1.1471– 3(c)(iii)(B) that includes the account holders or interest holders of the intermediary or flow-through entity in chapter 4 withholding rate pools to the extent permitted or with valid documentation described in this section 5 provided by account holders or interest holders of the intermediary or flow-through entity that are not themselves nonqualified intermediaries or flow-through entities and that QI can treat as not subject to withholding under chapter 4.

(B) Reportable Payments Other than Withholdable Payments Made to Non- qualified Intermediaries and Flow- Through Entities. With respect to a reportable payment that is not a withholdable payment made to a nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity (other than a withholding foreign partnership or withholding foreign trust)—

(1) QI receives a valid Form W–8IMY provided by the nonqualified intermediary or the flow-through entity regardless of whether the form includes a chapter 4 status of the nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity unless such entity provides a withholding statement allocating a payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. payees; and

(2) QI can reliably associate the payment, within the meaning of section 5.13(B) of this Agreement, with a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. payees or valid documentation described in this section 5 provided by account holders or interest holders of the nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity that are not themselves nonqualified intermediaries or flow-through entities.

(C) Reportable Payments Made to Qualified Intermediaries and With- holding Foreign Partnerships and Withholding Foreign Trusts. With respect to a reportable payment made to a qualified intermediary, a withholding foreign partnership, or a withholding foreign trust, QI receives a valid Form W–8IMY provided by the qualified intermediary, withholding foreign partnership, or withholding foreign trust that includes the entity’s chapter 4 status for a payment that is a withholdable payment and, for those payments for which a qualified intermediary has not assumed primary chapters 3 and 4 withholding responsibility or primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility, QI can reliably associate the payment with withholding rate pools, as described in section 6.03 of this Agreement.

(D) Payments Made to Qualified In- termediaries Acting as QDDs. For payments with respect to potential section 871(m) transactions or underlying securities made to a qualified intermediary acting as a QDD, if QI receives a valid Form W–8IMY provided by the qualified intermediary acting as a QDD that includes the qualified intermediary’s chapter 4 status and the required certification that the qualified intermediary is acting as a QDD and assumes primary withholding responsibility for such payments, then QI can reliably associate the payments as made to the qualified intermediary acting as a QDD.

(E) Private Arrangement Intermedi- aries. If QI has an agreement with a PAI

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(see section 4.01 of this Agreement), QI obtains from the PAI a Form W–8IMY completed as if the PAI were a QI that is an FFI (with the exception that the PAI must not provide a QI-EIN on the Form W–8IMY) and QI can reliably associate the payment with a withholding statement, as described in section 4.01(G) of this Agreement and the information described in this section 5.07 for any account holders of the PAI that are intermediaries or flow-through entities and the documentation for any passive NFFE with one or more substantial U.S. owners (or one or more controlling persons that is a specified U.S. person if QI is a reporting Model 1 or reporting Model 2 FFI).

(F) Partnership or Trusts to which QI Applies the Agency Option. If QI has an agreement with a partnership or trust under which the partnership or trust agrees to act as an agent of QI (see section 4.06 of this Agreement), QI obtains from the partnership or trust a Form W–8IMY completed as if the partnership or trust were a QI (with the exception that the partnership or trust must not provide a QI-EIN on the Form W–8IMY) and QI can reliably associate the payment with a withholding statement, as described in section 4.06(B)(1) of this Agreement and the information described in this section 5.07 for any account holders that are intermediaries or flow-through entities and the documentation for any passive NFFE with one or more substantial U.S. owners (or one or more controlling persons that is a specified U.S. person if QI is a reporting Model 1 or reporting Model 2 FFI).

Sec. 5.08. Documentation for U.S. Exempt Recipients. QI shall not treat an account holder as a U.S. exempt recipient unless QI obtains from the account holder—

(A) A valid Form W–9 on which the account holder includes an exempt payee code to certify that the account holder is a U.S. exempt recipient for purposes of chapter 4 reporting;

(B) Documentary evidence that is sufficient to establish that the account holder is a U.S. exempt recipient; or

(C) Documentary evidence that is sufficient to establish the account holder’s status as a U.S. person and QI can treat the person as an exempt recipient under the rules of §§ 1.6045–2(b)(2)(i) or 1.6049–

4(c)(1)(ii), as appropriate, without obtaining documentation.

Sec. 5.09. Documentation for U.S. Non-Exempt Recipients. QI shall not treat an account holder as a U.S. nonexempt recipient unless QI obtains a valid Form W–9 from the account holder, QI knows an account holder is a U.S. nonexempt recipient, or QI must presume a person is a U.S. non-exempt recipient to the extent required under section 5.13(C)(3) or (4) of this Agreement.

Sec. 5.10. Documentation Validity.

(A) In General. QI may not rely on documentation if QI has actual knowledge, or reason to know as described in section 5.10(B) or 5.10(C) of this Agreement, that there is a change in circumstances with respect to the information or statements contained in the documentation or account information that affects the reliability of the account holder’s claim. See § 1.1441–1(e)(4)(ii)(D) for the definition of change in circumstances for chapter 3 purposes. A change in circumstances affecting withholding information, including allocation information or withholding rate pools contained in a withholding statement, will also cause the documentation provided with respect to that information to no longer be reliable. Once QI knows, or has reason to know, that documentation provided by an account holder is unreliable or incorrect to establish foreign status or residency for purposes of claiming benefits under an applicable income tax treaty, it can no longer reliably associate a payment with valid documentation unless QI obtains the additional documentation described in this section 5.10. With respect to a beneficial owner claiming benefits under an applicable income tax treaty, QI cannot rely on the account holder’s claim of which limitation on benefits provision it satisfies if QI has actual knowledge that such claim is incorrect. QI will be considered to have reason to know that a claim for treaty benefits is unreliable or incorrect if the documentation provided by the account holder claims benefits under a treaty that does not exist or is not in force ( i.e ., if the country is not included on the list maintained at https://www.irs.gov/ businesses/international-businesses/united- states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z) . The rule in the preceding sentence will apply to

pre-existing accounts for which QI held valid documentation upon a change in circumstances or, with respect to a preexisting entity account, when it provides a written limitation on benefits statement (as described in section 5.03(B) of this Agreement). For all new accounts, this rule will apply on account opening. For purposes of this section 5.10(A), a “preexisting account” or “pre-existing entity account” is an account documented by QI prior to January 1, 2017, for a QI with a QI Agreement in effect prior to that date. For a QI that did not have a QI Agreement in effect prior to January 1, 2017, a “preexisting account” or “pre-existing entity account” means an account maintained (and for which QI has valid documentation) prior to the effective date of its QI Agreement.

In addition, if QI becomes aware of information resulting in the documentation no longer being reliable or correct and QI has not assumed primary withholding responsibility under chapters 3 and 4, QI agrees that it will promptly provide a withholding agent with corrected information ( e.g ., corrected withholding rate pools, corrected Forms W–9, or corrected U.S. TINs) within 30 days after QI knows or has reason to know that the documentation upon which it has relied is unreliable or incorrect. If QI receives notification from the IRS that documentation provided by an account holder is unreliable or incorrect ( e.g ., that the U.S. TIN provided by an account holder is incorrect), QI shall follow the procedures set forth in § 31.3406(d)–5. See also QI’s FATCA requirements as a participating FFI, registered deemed-compliant FFI, or registered deemed-compliant Model 1 IGA FFI or an NFFE’s requirements as a withholding agent under sections 1471 and 1472 following a change in circumstances.

(B) Reason to Know-Direct Account Holders. If QI is a financial institution as defined in § 1.1471–5(e), an insurance company (without regard to whether such company is a specified insurance company), or a broker or dealer in securities, QI shall be considered to have reason to know that documentation provided by a direct account holder is unreliable or incorrect only if one or more of the circumstances described in this section 5.10(B)

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applies. If an account holder has provided documentation that is unreliable or incorrect under the rules of this section 5.10(B), QI must request new documentation. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, QI may rely on the documentation originally provided if the rules of this section 5.10(B) permit such reliance and QI obtains the additional statements and documentation described in this section 5.10(B). If QI is an NFFE that is required to collect Forms W–8, see § 1.1441– 7(b)(2) for when QI shall be considered to have reason to know that a withholding certificate provided by a direct account holder is unreliable or incorrect.

(1) General Rules.

(i) QI shall not rely on a Form W–9 if it is not permitted to do so under the rules of § 31.3406(h)–3(e) and shall not rely on a Form W–8 if it is not permitted to do so under the rules of § 1.1441–7(b)(4) through (6) except as otherwise provided in this section 5.10(B).

(ii) QI shall not treat documentary evidence provided by an account holder as valid if the documentary evidence does not reasonably establish the identity of the person presenting the documentary evidence. For example, documentary evidence is not valid if it is provided in person by an account holder that is a natural person and the photograph on the documentary evidence, if any, does not match the appearance of the person presenting the document.

(iii) QI may not rely on documentation to reduce the withholding rate that would otherwise apply if—

(a) The account holder’s documentation is incomplete or contains information that is inconsistent with the account holder’s claim;

(b) QI has other account information that is inconsistent with the account holder’s claim; or

(c) The documentation lacks the information necessary to establish entitlement to a reduced rate of withholding.

For example, if an account holder is an entity and provides documentary evidence to claim treaty benefits and the documentary evidence establishes the account holder’s status as a foreign person and a resident of a treaty country but fails to provide the treaty statement in section

5.03 of this Agreement, the documentary evidence does not establish the account holder’s entitlement to a reduced rate of withholding. However, for purposes of establishing an account holder’s status as a foreign person or residency under an income tax treaty, documentation shall be considered inconsistent only if it is unreliable or incorrect under the rules of section 5.10(B)(2) or (3) of this Agreement.

(2) Rules Regarding Establishment of Foreign Status.

(i) QI shall not treat documentary evidence provided by an account holder before January 1, 2001, as valid for purposes of establishing an account holder’s status as a foreign person if QI has actual knowledge that the account holder is a U.S. person or if it has a current mailing or current residence address for the account holder in the United States.

(ii) QI shall not treat documentation provided by an account holder after December 31, 2000, as valid for purposes of establishing the account holder’s foreign status if QI classified the account holder as a U.S. person in its account information, or if it does not have a permanent residence address for the account holder. Further, QI shall not treat documentation provided with respect to an account as valid for purposes of establishing an account holder’s status as a foreign person if QI has a current mailing or permanent residence address (whether or not on the documentation) for the account holder in the United States, or if QI has a current telephone number for the person in the United States and has no telephone number for the person outside of the United States (except with respect to a preexisting obligation (as defined in § 1.1441– 1(c)(54)) to the extent the QI documented the foreign status of the account holder for purposes of chapter 3 or 61 before July 1, 2014). The limit on reason to know described in the preceding sentence with respect to a preexisting account documented before July 1, 2014, shall not apply, however, if QI is notified of a change in circumstances and as of the date of such notification QI shall not treat such documentation as valid for purposes of establishing the account holder’s foreign status.

If QI has classified the account holder as a U.S. person or has an address or sole telephone number for the account holder

in the United States, QI may nevertheless treat an account holder that is an individual as a foreign person if QI—

(a) Has in its possession, or obtains, additional documentary evidence (which does not contain a U.S. address) supporting the claim of foreign status and a reasonable explanation in writing supporting the account holder’s foreign status (as defined in § 1.1441–7(b)(12));

(b) Obtains a valid Form W–8, and the Form W–8 contains a permanent residence address outside the United States and a mailing address, if any, outside the United States (or if a mailing address is inside the United States, the account holder provides a reasonable explanation in writing supporting the account holder’s foreign status); or

(c) Has classified the account holder as a resident of the country in which the account is maintained; QI is required to report a payment made to the account holder annually on a tax information statement that is filed with the tax authority of the country in which the office that maintains the account is located as part of the country’s resident reporting requirements; and that country has a tax information exchange agreement or an income tax treaty in effect with the United States.

If QI has classified the account holder as a U.S. person or has an address or sole telephone number for the account holder in the United States, QI may nevertheless treat an account holder that is an entity (other than a flow-through entity) as a foreign person if QI—

(d) Has in its possession, or obtains, documentary evidence that substantiates that the entity is actually organized or created under the laws of a foreign country;

(e) Obtains a valid Form W–8, and the Form W–8 contains a permanent residence outside the United States and a mailing address, if any, outside the United States (or if a mailing address is inside the United States, the account holder provides additional documentary evidence sufficient to establish the account holder’s foreign status); or

(f) Has classified the entity as a resident of the country where the account is maintained; QI is required to report a payment made to the account holder annually on a tax information statement filed with the tax authority of the country in which

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the office that maintains the account is located as part of the country’s resident reporting requirements; and that country has a tax information exchange agreement or an income tax treaty in effect with the United States.

(iii) With respect to an account other than a preexisting obligation (defined in § 1.1441–1(c)(54)) that QI has documented the foreign status of the account holder for purposes of chapter 3 or 61 before July 1, 2014, QI shall not treat documentation as valid for purposes of establishing an account holder’s status as a foreign person if it has, either on the documentary evidence or in its current customer account files, an unambiguous indication of place of birth for the individual in the United States. The limit on reason to know described in the preceding sentence with respect to a preexisting obligation documented before July 1, 2014, shall not apply, however, if QI either reviews documentation that contains a U.S. place of birth or is notified of a change in circumstances, and, as of the date of such review or notification, QI shall not treat such documentation as valid for purposes of establishing the account holder’s foreign status.

QI may nevertheless treat the account holder with a U.S. place of birth as a foreign person if QI—

(a) Has in its possession, or obtains, documentary evidence evidencing citizenship in a country other than the United States and obtains a copy of the individual’s Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States; or

(b) Obtains a valid Form W–8BEN that establishes the account holder’s foreign status, documentary evidence evidencing citizenship in a country other than the United States, and 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.

(iv) QI shall not treat documentation as valid for purposes of establishing an account holder’s status as a foreign person if the account holder has standing instructions directing QI to pay amounts from its account to an address or an account maintained in the United States. QI may treat documentation as valid for establishing foreign status even though the account

holder has such standing instructions if the account holder provides a reasonable explanation in writing supporting the account holder’s foreign status (as defined in § 1.1441–7(b)(12)) or has both a valid Form W–8 establishing foreign status and documentary evidence establishing foreign status.

(3) Rules for Establishing Residency Under an Income Tax Treaty.

(i) QI shall not treat an account holder as a resident under an income tax treaty if the permanent residence address on a Form W–8 is not in the applicable treaty country or if the account holder notifies QI of a new permanent residence address that is not in the treaty country. QI may, however, rely on the Form W–8 if the account holder provides a reasonable explanation for the permanent residence address outside the treaty country or if QI has in its possession, or obtains, documentary evidence that establishes the claim of residency in a treaty country.

(ii) QI shall not treat an account holder as a resident under an income tax treaty if the permanent residence address on a Form W–8 is in the applicable treaty country but the Form W–8 contains a mailing address outside the treaty country or QI has a current mailing address for the account holder outside the applicable treaty country in its account information. A mailing address that is a P.O. Box, in-care-of address, or address at a financial institution (if the financial institution is not a beneficial owner) shall not preclude QI from treating the account holder as a resident of an applicable treaty country if such address is in the applicable treaty country. If QI has a current mailing address for the account holder outside the applicable treaty country (whether or not contained on the Form W–8), QI may nevertheless treat the account holder as a resident of the applicable treaty country if QI—

(a) Has in its possession, or obtains, additional documentary evidence supporting the account holder’s claim of residence in the applicable treaty country (and the additional documentation does not contain an address outside the treaty country);

(b) Has in its possession, or obtains, documentary evidence that establishes that the account holder is an entity organized in a treaty country (or an entity

managed and controlled in a treaty country, if the applicable treaty so requires);

(c) Knows that the address outside the applicable treaty country (other than a P.O. Box, or in-care-of address) for an entity that is a resident of the applicable treaty country is the address of a branch of such entity; or

(d) Obtains a written statement from the account holder that reasonably establishes entitlement to treaty benefits.

(iii) QI shall not treat documentary evidence as valid for purposes of establishing residency in a treaty country if QI has a current mailing or current permanent residence address for the account holder (whether or not on the documentary evidence) that is outside of the applicable treaty country, or QI has no permanent residence address for the account holder. If QI has a current mailing or current permanent residence address for the account holder outside of the applicable treaty country, QI may nevertheless rely on the documentary evidence if QI—

(a) Has in its possession, or obtains, additional documentary evidence supporting the account holder’s claim of residence in the applicable treaty country (and the documentary evidence does not contain an address outside the applicable treaty country, a P.O. Box, an in-care-of address, or an address of a financial institution);

(b) Has in its possession, or obtains, documentary evidence that establishes that the account holder is an entity organized in a treaty country (or an entity managed and controlled in a treaty country, if the applicable treaty so requires); or

(c) Obtains a valid Form W–8 that contains a permanent residence address and a mailing address in the applicable treaty country.

(iv) QI shall not treat documentation as valid for purposes of establishing an account holder’s residence in an applicable treaty country if the account holder has standing instructions for QI to pay amounts from its account to an address or an account outside the treaty country unless the account holder provides a reasonable explanation in writing establishing the direct account holder’s residence in the applicable treaty country or a valid Form W–8 that contains a permanent residence address and a mailing address in

Bulletin No. 2016–29 95 July 18, 2016

the applicable treaty country, or, if the account holder initially provided a Form W–8, documentary evidence establishing the account holder’s residence in the applicable treaty country.

(C) Reason to Know-Indirect Ac- count Holders. QI shall be considered to have reason to know that relevant information or statements contained in documentation provided by an indirect account holder is unreliable or incorrect if a reasonably prudent person in the position of a qualified intermediary would question the claims made. QI shall have reason to know that documentation provided by a nonqualified intermediary or a flowthrough entity is unreliable or incorrect if the nonqualified intermediary or flowthrough entity does not provide QI with, to the extent required, the names of the indirect account holders, their addresses, allocation information allocating payments to each indirect account holder, and sufficient information for QI to report payments on Forms 1042–S and 1099. In addition, QI shall have reason to believe that an indirect account holder is not entitled to a reduced rate of withholding under an income tax treaty if the nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity has not provided sufficient information so that QI can verify that the indirect account holder has provided a U.S. TIN or foreign TIN, if required, and made the necessary statements regarding limitations on benefits provisions and deriving the income under section 894 and the regulations thereunder. See § 1.1441–7(b)(10) and section 5.03 of this Agreement.

Sec. 5.11. Documentation Validity Period.

(A) Documentation Other than Form W–9. QI may rely on valid documentary evidence obtained from account holders in accordance with applicable know-your-customer rules as long as the documentary evidence remains valid under those rules or until QI knows, or has reason to know, that the information contained in the documentary evidence is incorrect. QI may rely on the representations described in section 5.03 of this Agreement obtained in connection with such documentation for the same period of time as the documentation. For establishing an account holder’s chapter 3 sta

tus (as defined in § 1.1441–1(c)(45)) or foreign status for chapter 61 purposes, QI may rely on a Form W–8 until its validity expires under § 1.1441–1(e)(4)(ii) and may rely on documentary evidence (other than documentary evidence obtained pursuant to applicable know-your-customer rules) until its validity expires under § 1.6049–5(c).

(B) Form W–9. QI may rely on a valid Form W–9 as long as it has not been informed by the IRS or another withholding agent that the form is unreliable or incorrect. If QI has primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility, it may rely on a Form W–9 unless one of the conditions of § 31.3406(h)– 3(e)(2)(i) through (v) apply.

Sec. 5.12. Maintenance and Retention of Documentation.

(A) Maintaining Documentation. QI shall maintain documentation by retaining the original documentation, a certified copy, a photocopy, a scanned copy, a microfiche, or other means that allow reproduction (provided that the QI has recorded receipt of the documentation and is able to produce a hard copy). For a direct account, if QI is not required to retain copies of documentary evidence under its knowyour-customer rules, QI may instead retain a notation of the type of documentation reviewed, the date the documentation was reviewed, the document’s identification number (if any) ( e.g ., a passport number), and whether such documentation contained any U.S. indicia. For direct accounts opened prior to January 1, 2001, if QI was not required under its know-yourcustomer rules to maintain originals or copies of documentation, QI may rely on its account information if it has complied with all other aspects of its know-yourcustomer rules regarding establishment of an account holder’s identity, it has a record that the documentation required under the know-your-customer rules was actually examined by an employee of QI in accordance with the know-your-customer rules, and it has no information in its possession that would require QI to treat the documentation as invalid under the rules of section 5.10(B) of this Agreement.

(B) Retention Period. QI shall retain a record of the account holder’s documen

tation obtained under this section 5 for as long as the documentation is relevant to the determination of QI’s tax liability or reporting responsibilities under sections 871, 881, 1461, 1474(a), and 3406.

Sec. 5.13. Application of Presumption Rules.

(A) In General. QI shall apply the presumption rules of section 5.13(C) of this Agreement if QI cannot reliably associate a payment with valid documentation from an account holder. The presumption rules cannot be used to grant a reduced rate of withholding. For example, the portfolio interest exception of sections 871(h) and 881(c) shall not apply to a person that is presumed to be foreign. Further, QI must apply the presumption rules when required and may not rely on its actual knowledge regarding an account holder’s chapter 4 status or status as a U.S. or foreign person to apply a reduced rate of withholding. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, QI must rely on its actual knowledge regarding an account holder rather than what is presumed under section 5.13(C) of this Agreement if, based on such knowledge, it should withhold an amount greater than the withholding rate under the presumption rules or it should report on Form 1042–S or Form 1099 an amount that would otherwise not be reported. Failure to follow the presumption rules may result in liability for underwithholding, penalties, and interest.

(B) Reliably Associating a Payment with Documentation. A payment can be reliably associated with documentation if it is considered reliably associated with documentation under the rules of § 1.1441–1(b)(2)(vii) and, for a withholdable payment, § 1.1471–3(c). Generally, QI can reliably associate a payment with documentation if, for that payment, it holds valid documentation, as described in this section 5, from the account holder; it can reliably determine how much of the payment relates to the valid documentation provided by such account holder; and it has no actual knowledge or reason to know, under the requirements of section 5.10 of this Agreement, that any of the information, certifications, or statements in or associated with the documentation are incorrect. Sections 5.13(B)(1) through (5) of this Agreement describe when a

July 18, 2016 96 Bulletin No. 2016–29

payment is reliably associated with documentation if the payment is made to an account holder that is an intermediary or flow-through entity (other than a nonparticipating FFI that is not acting on behalf of exempt beneficial owners).

(1) Reliably Associating a Payment with Documentation Provided by a Nonqualified Intermediary or Flow- Through Entity. Generally, QI can reliably associate a payment with documentation provided by a nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity if it can reliably associate the payment with a valid Form W–8IMY provided by the nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity, and it can determine the portion of the payment that relates to valid documentation associated with the Form W–8IMY for an account holder or interest holder of the nonqualified intermediary or flowthrough entity that is not itself a nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity; and the nonqualified intermediary or flowthrough entity provides sufficient information for QI to report the payments on Form 1042–S, Form 1099, or Form 8966 if reporting is required.

If the payment is a withholdable payment, the Form W–8IMY must provide the nonqualified intermediary’s or flowthrough entity’s chapter 4 status to the extent required for chapter 4 purposes. In lieu of the nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity providing documentation for an account holder that is subject to chapter 4 withholding, QI can reliably associate a withholdable payment with valid documentation associated with the Form W–8IMY from the nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity if it can determine the portion of the payment allocable to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool (to the extent permissible under § 1.1471– 3(c)(3)(iii)(B)). If the payment is a reportable amount, QI can reliably associate such payment with valid documentation provided by a nonqualified intermediary or a flowthrough entity that is a participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI if, in lieu of providing documentation for its account holders that are U.S. persons, such nonqualified intermediary or flowthrough entity allocates the payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. payees and also certifies on a valid Form

W–8IMY that it meets the requirements of § 1.6049–4(c)(4)(iii) with respect to any account holder of an account it maintains within the meaning of § 1.1471– 5(d)(5) ( i.e ., a direct account holder) that receives a payment included in this pool or allocates a payment that is a withholdable payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of recalcitrant account holders.

Notwithstanding the preceding sentences in this section 5.13(B)(1), to the extent a payment is not subject to reporting on Form 1042–S, Form 1099, or Form 8966, QI can reliably associate the payment with valid documentation if it can determine the portion of the payment that is allocable to a group of documented account holders (other than nonqualified intermediaries or flow-through entities) for whom withholding and reporting is not required. For example, QI can treat a payment of short term OID allocable to a group of documented foreign account holders as reliably associated with valid documentation. Further, if the documentation attached to a nonqualified intermediary’s or flow-through entity’s Form W–8IMY is documentation from another nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity, then QI must apply the rules of this paragraph to that other nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity.

(2) Reliably Associating a Payment with a Withholding Certificate Pro- vided by Another Qualified Intermedi- ary that Does Not Assume Primary Chapters 3 and 4 Withholding or Pri- mary Form 1099 Reporting and Backup Withholding Responsibility. Generally, QI can reliably associate a payment with documentation provided by another qualified intermediary that does not assume either primary chapters 3 and 4 withholding responsibility or primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility if it can reliably associate the payment with a valid Form W–8IMY and, if the form is associated with a withholdable payment, it includes the qualified intermediary’s chapter 4 status to the extent required for chapter 4 purposes. Additionally, the Form W–8IMY must be associated with a withholding statement that allocates the withholdable payment among the chapter 4 withholding rate pools (to the extent permissible under § 1.1471–3(c)(3)(iii)(B)),

and with respect to a payment of an amount subject to chapter 3 withholding that is either not a withholdable payment or a withholdable payment for which no chapter 4 withholding is required, that allocates such payment among chapter 3 withholding rate pools for foreign account holders as described in section 6.03(C) of this Agreement.

If the payment is a reportable amount, QI can reliably associate the payment with documentation provided by another qualified intermediary if the withholding statement allocates the payment to withholding rate pools attributable to U.S. non-exempt recipients and the documentation includes a valid Form W–9 for each U.S. nonexempt recipient account holder for which the other qualified intermediary is required to report on Form 1099 and, if required, backup withhold. QI can also reliably associate a reportable amount with valid documentation provided by another qualified intermediary that is a participating FFI or registered deemedcompliant FFI if, in lieu of providing documentation for each U.S. non-exempt recipient account holder, the qualified intermediary allocates the payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. payees and provides the applicable certification(s) on a valid Form W–8IMY for allocating the payment to this pool or allocates a payment that is a withholdable payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of recalcitrant account holders. Notwithstanding the preceding sentences in this section 5.13(B)(2), the presumption rules shall not apply if a payment cannot be allocated to each U.S. non-exempt recipient account holder or to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. payees to the extent the alternative procedures of section 6.03(D) of this Agreement apply.

(3) Reliably Associating a Payment with Documentation Provided by a Qualified Intermediary that Assumes Primary Chapters 3 and 4 Withholding Responsibility and Does Not Assume Primary Form 1099 Reporting and Backup Withholding Responsibility. Generally, QI can reliably associate a payment with valid documentation provided by another qualified intermediary that assumes primary chapters 3 and 4 withholding responsibility, but not primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding

Bulletin No. 2016–29 97 July 18, 2016

responsibility, if it can associate the payment with a valid Form W–8IMY from the qualified intermediary and, if the form is associated with a withholdable payment, it includes the qualified intermediary’s chapter 4 status to the extent required for chapter 4 purposes. Additionally, the Form W–8IMY must be associated with a withholding statement that allocates a payment that is a withholdable payment or an amount subject to chapter 3 withholding that is not a withholdable payment among a single withholding rate pool for all account holders with respect to which the qualified intermediary assumes primary chapters 3 and 4 withholding responsibility.

If the payment is a reportable amount, QI can reliably associate the payment with documentation provided by another qualified intermediary if the withholding statement allocates the payment to withholding rate pools attributable to each U.S. nonexempt recipient, as described in section 6.03(D), and the documentation includes a valid Form W–9 for each U.S. nonexempt recipient account holder for which the other qualified intermediary is required to report on Form 1099 and, if required, backup withhold. QI can also reliably associate such payment with valid documentation provided by another qualified intermediary that is a participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI if, in lieu of providing documentation for each U.S. non-exempt recipient account holder, the qualified intermediary allocates the payment made to the U.S. nonexempt recipient to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. payees and provides the applicable certifications on a valid Form W–8IMY for allocating the payment to this pool or allocates a payment that is a withholdable payment to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of recalcitrant account holders. Notwithstanding the preceding sentences in this section 5.13(B)(3), the presumption rules shall not apply if a payment cannot be allocated to each U.S. non-exempt recipient account holder or to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. payees to the extent the alternative procedures of section 6.03(D) of this Agreement apply.

(4) Reliably Associating a Payment With Documentation Provided by a Qualified Intermediary that Assumes Primary Form 1099 Reporting and Backup Withholding Responsibility.

Generally, QI can reliably associate a payment with valid documentation provided by another qualified intermediary that assumes primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility, but not primary chapters 3 and 4 withholding responsibility, to the extent it can associate the payment with a valid Form W–8IMY from the qualified intermediary that, if the payment is a withholdable payment, includes the qualified intermediary’s chapter 4 status to the extent required for chapter 4 purposes. Additionally, the Form W–8IMY must be associated with a withholding statement that allocates a payment that is a withholdable payment among chapter 4 withholding rate pools (other than a pool of U.S. payees and to the extent permissible under § 1.1471– 3(c)(3)(iii)(B)) and, with respect to a payment that is an amount subject to chapter 3 withholding but is either not a withholdable payment or a withholdable payment for which no chapter 4 withholding is required, allocates the payment among chapter 3 withholding rate pools for foreign account holders as described in section 6.03(C) of this Agreement, and identifies the portion of the payment for which QI assumes primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility.

(5) Reliably Associating a Payment with Documentation Provided by a Qualified Intermediary that Assumes Both Primary Chapters 3 and 4 With- holding Responsibility and Primary Form 1099 Reporting and Backup Withholding Responsibility. Generally, QI can reliably associate a payment with valid documentation provided by another qualified intermediary that assumes both primary chapters 3 and 4 withholding responsibility and primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility if QI can associate the payment with a valid Form W–8IMY from the qualified intermediary that, if the payment is a withholdable payment, includes the qualified intermediary’s chapter 4 status. Additionally, the Form W–8IMY must also designate the accounts for which the other qualified intermediary is acting as a qualified intermediary and is assuming primary chapters 3 and 4 withholding and primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility. If the other qualified intermediary is acting as a QDD, the

Form W–8IMY (or withholding statement) must also designate those accounts for which the QDD is receiving payments with respect to potential section 871(m) transactions or underlying securities as a QDD. If the qualified intermediary receiving a payment assumes both primary chapters 3 and 4 withholding responsibility and primary Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding responsibility for substitute interest payments as described in section 3.03(A), the Form W–8IMY must indicate that the qualified intermediary is assuming primary withholding responsibility for all such payments.

(C) Presumption Rules. With respect to a withholdable payment made to a foreign entity, if QI is an NFFE, it must follow the presumption rules of § 1.1471– 3(f) when it cannot reliably associate a withholdable payment with valid documentation. If QI is an FFI, it must follow its FATCA requirements as a participating FFI, registered deemed-compliant FFI, or registered deemed-compliant Model 1 IGA FFI to determine the chapter 4 status of an account holder when it cannot reliably associate a withholdable payment with valid documentation.

With respect to a payment that is an amount subject to chapter 3 withholding that is either not a withholdable payment or a withholdable payment for which no chapter 4 withholding is required, the presumption rules are the rules under § 1.1441–1(b)(3) that a withholding agent must follow to determine the status of a beneficial owner ( i.e ., as a U.S. person or foreign person and as an individual or entity (and the entity’s classification)) when it cannot reliably associate a payment with valid documentation. With respect to a reportable payment (including a withholdable payment made to an entity) that is not an amount subject to chapter 3 withholding, the presumption rules are the rules of § 1.6049–5(d) that a payor must follow to determine the status of a payee ( e.g ., as a non-exempt recipient) when it cannot reliably associate a payment with valid documentation. The presumption rules are as follows:

(1) Certain Withholdable Payments Made with Respect to an Offshore Ob- ligation. A withholdable payment paid outside of the United States as defined under § 1.6049–5(e) with respect to an

July 18, 2016 98 Bulletin No. 2016–29

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