Due Diligence Requirements — 0622 Inst W-8 (PDF)

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

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/international- businesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z to check whether a treaty exists and is in force.

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:

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).

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:

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

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.

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.

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)).
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:

i. You have in your possession, or obtain, documentary evidence (as described in Regulations

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.

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:

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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

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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.

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

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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.

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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-foreign- tins ;

• 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).

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.