Purpose of Form — 1021 Inst W-8BEN-E (PDF)

This form is used by foreign entities to document their statuses for purposes of chapter 3 and chapter 4, as well as for certain other Code provisions as described later in these instructions.

Foreign persons are subject to U.S. tax at a 30% rate on income they receive from U.S. sources that consists of:

Interest (including certain original issue discount (OID));

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Dividends;
Rents;
Royalties;
Premiums;
Annuities;
Compensation for, or in expectation of, services performed;
Substitute payments in a securities lending transaction; or
Other fixed or determinable annual or periodical gains, profits, or income.

This tax is imposed on the gross amount paid and is generally collected by withholding under section 1441 or 1442 on that amount. A payment is considered to have been made whether it is made directly to the beneficial owner or to another person, such as an intermediary, agent, or partnership, for the benefit of the beneficial owner.

Section 1446(a) requires a partnership conducting a trade or business in the United States to withhold tax on a foreign partner’s allocable share of the partnership’s effectively connected taxable income. In addition, section 1446(f) generally requires a transferee of a partnership interest (or a broker in the case of a transfer of a PTP interest) to withhold on the amount realized from the transfer when any portion of the gain from the transfer is treated as effectively connected gain under section 864(c) (8). Generally, a foreign person that is a partner in a partnership that submits a Form W-8BEN-E for purposes of section 1441 or 1442 will satisfy the documentation requirements under section 1446(a) or (f) as well. However, in some cases the documentation requirements of sections 1441 and 1442 do not match the documentation requirements of section 1446(a) or (f). See Regulations sections 1.1446-1 through 1.1446-6 (for documentation requirements under section 1446(a)) and Regulations sections 1.1446(f)-2 and 1.1446(f)-4 (for documentation requirements under section 1446(f)).

A withholding agent or payer of the income may rely on a properly completed Form W-8BEN-E to treat a payment associated with the Form W-8BEN-E as a payment to a foreign person who beneficially owns the amounts paid. If applicable, the withholding agent may rely on the Form W-8BEN-E to apply a reduced rate of, or exemption from, withholding. If you receive certain types of income, you must provide Form W-8BEN-E to:

Provide Form W-8BEN-E to the withholding agent or payer before income is paid or credited to you. Failure to provide a Form W-8BEN-E when requested may lead to withholding at a 30% rate or the backup withholding rate in certain cases when you receive a payment to which backup withholding applies.

In addition to the requirements of chapter 3, chapter 4 requires withholding agents to identify the chapter 4 status of entities that are payees receiving withholdable payments. A withholding agent may request this Form W-8BEN-E to establish your chapter 4 status and avoid withholding at a 30% rate on such payments.

Chapter 4 also requires participating FFIs and certain registered deemed-compliant FFIs to document their entity account holders in order to determine their chapter 4 statuses regardless of whether withholding applies to any payments made to the entities. If you are an entity maintaining an account with an FFI, the FFI may request that you provide this Form W-8BEN-E in order to document your chapter 4 status.

Additional information. For additional information and instructions for the withholding agent, see the Instructions for the Requester of Forms W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP, and W-8IMY.

Who Must Provide Form W-8BEN-E You must give Form W-8BEN-E to the withholding agent or payer if you are a foreign entity receiving a withholdable payment from a withholding agent, receiving a payment subject to chapter 3 withholding, or if you are an entity maintaining an account with an FFI requesting this form.

You must provide Form W-8EN-E to the 6050Y(b) issuer (as defined under Regulations section 1.6050Y-1(a)(8)(iii)), to establish your foreign status if you are a foreign entity (other than a partnership, simple trust or grantor trust) that is the seller of a life insurance contract under section 6050Y(b) (excluding a payment of effectively connected income). See Regulations section 1.6050Y-3.
You must also provide Form W-8BEN-E to the payor (as defined under Regulations section 1.6050Y-1(a)(11)), to establish your foreign status if you are an entity receiving a payment of reportable death benefits for

-2- Instructions for Form W-8BEN-E (Rev. 10-2021)

not apply to payments of interest for which the recipient is a 10 percent shareholder of the payer or to payments of interest received by a controlled foreign corporation from a related person. See sections 881(c)(3) and 881(c)(5). A future version of this form may require that persons receiving interest payments to which this form relates identify any obligation with respect to which they have one of these prohibited relationships.

You may also be required to submit Form W-8BEN-E to claim an exception from domestic information reporting on Form 1099 and backup withholding (at the backup withholding rate under section 3406) for certain types of income. Such income includes:

Broker proceeds.
Short-term (183 days or less) original issue discount (short-term OID).
Bank deposit interest.
Foreign source interest, dividends, rents, or royalties.
Claim that you are the beneficial owner of the income for which Form W-8BEN-E is being provided or a partner in a partnership subject to section 1446; and
If applicable, claim a reduced rate of, or exemption from, withholding as a resident of a foreign country with which the United States has an income tax treaty.

You may also use Form W-8BEN-E to identify income from a notional principal contract that is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States to establish the exception to reporting such income on Form 1042-S. See Regulations section 1.1461-1(c)(2)(ii)(F).

Form W-8BEN-E may also be used to claim an exemption from withholding for portfolio interest pursuant to section 881(c). The portfolio interest exemption does

purposes of section 6050Y(b) (other than a foreign partnership or a grantor or simple trust receiving a payment of reportable death benefits or a payment of effectively connected income that is subject to chapter 3 withholding). See Regulations section 1.6050Y-4.

Do not use Form W-8BEN-E. Do not use Form W-8BEN-E if:

You are a U.S. person (including U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and entities treated as U.S. persons, such as a corporation organized under the law of a state). Instead, use Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification.
You are a foreign insurance company that has made an election under section 953(d) to be treated as a U.S. person. Instead, provide a withholding agent with Form W-9 to certify to your U.S. status even if you are considered an FFI for purposes of chapter 4.
You are a nonresident alien individual. Instead, use Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Individuals), or Form 8233, Exemption From Withholding on Compensation for Independent (and Certain Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual, as applicable.
You are a disregarded entity, branch, or flow-through entity for U.S. tax purposes. However, you may use this form if you are a disregarded entity or flow-through entity using this form either solely to document your chapter 4 status (because you hold an account with an FFI) or, if you are a disregarded entity or a partnership, to claim treaty benefits because you are a hybrid entity liable to tax as a resident for treaty purposes. See Hybrid Entity Making a Claim of Treaty Benefits under Special Instructions , later.

A flow-through entity may also use this form for purposes of documenting itself as a participating payee for purposes of section 6050W. If you are a disregarded entity with a single owner or branch of an FFI, the single owner, if such owner is a foreign person, should provide Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E (as appropriate). If the single owner is a U.S. person, a Form W-9 should be provided. If you are a partnership, you should provide a Form W-8IMY, Certificate of Foreign Intermediary, Foreign Flow-Through Entity, or Certain U.S. Branches for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting.

You are acting as an intermediary (that is, acting not for your own account, but for the account of others as an agent, nominee, or custodian), a qualified intermediary (including a qualified intermediary acting as a qualified derivatives dealer), or a qualified securities lender (QSL). Instead, provide Form W-8IMY.
You are receiving income that is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, unless it is allocable to you through a partnership. Instead, provide Form W-8ECI, Certificate of Foreign Person’s Claim That Income Is Effectively Connected With the Conduct of a Trade or Business in the United States. If any of the income for which you have provided a Form W-8BEN-E becomes effectively connected, this is a change in circumstances and the Form W-8BEN-E is no longer valid.

government of a U.S. possession claiming the applicability of section 115(2), 501(c), 892, 895, or 1443(b). Instead, provide Form W-8EXP, Certificate of Foreign Government or Other Foreign Organization for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting, to certify to your exemption and identify your chapter 4 status. However, you should provide Form W-8BEN-E if you are claiming treaty benefits, and you may provide this form if you are only claiming you are a foreign person exempt from backup withholding or documenting your chapter 4 status. For example, a foreign tax-exempt organization under section 501(c) receiving royalty income that is not exempt because it is taxable as unrelated business income but that is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding under a royalty article of a tax treaty should provide Form W-8BEN-E. You should use Form W-8ECI if you are receiving effectively connected income (for example, income from commercial activities that is not exempt under an applicable section of the Code).

You are a foreign partnership or foreign grantor trust providing documentation for purposes of section 1446(a). Instead, provide Form W-8IMY and accompanying documentation.
You are a foreign partnership or foreign grantor trust that is the transferor of a partnership interest for purposes of section 1446(f). Instead, provide Form W-8IMY.
You are a foreign branch of a U.S. financial institution that is an FFI (other than a qualified intermediary branch) under an applicable Model 1 IGA. For purposes of identifying yourself to withholding agents, you may submit Form W-9 to certify to your U.S. status.

Giving Form W-8BEN-E to the withholding agent. Do not send Form W-8BEN-E to the IRS. Instead, give it to the person who is requesting it from you. Generally, this will be the person from whom you receive the payment, who credits your account, or a partnership that allocates income to you. An FFI may also request this form from you to document the status of your account.

When to provide Form W-8BEN-E to the withholding agent. Give Form W-8BEN-E to the person requesting it before the payment is made to you, credited to your account, or allocated. If you do not provide this form, the withholding agent may have to withhold at the 30% rate (as applicable under chapters 3 or 4), backup withholding rate, or the rate applicable under section 1446. If you receive more than one type of income from a single withholding agent for which you claim different benefits, the withholding agent may, at its option, require you to submit a Form W-8BEN-E for each type of income. Generally, a separate Form W-8BEN-E must be given to each withholding agent.

You are a foreign reverse hybrid entity transmitting documentation provided by your interest holders to claim treaty benefits on their behalf. Instead, provide Form W-8IMY. A foreign reverse hybrid entity also may not use this form to attempt to claim treaty benefits on its own behalf. See Foreign Reverse Hybrid Entities, later.
You are a withholding foreign partnership or a withholding foreign trust within the meaning of sections 1441 through 1443 and the accompanying regulations. Instead, provide Form W-8IMY.
You are filing for a foreign government, international organization, foreign central bank of issue, foreign tax-exempt organization, foreign private foundation, or

Instructions for Form W-8BEN-E (Rev. 10-2021) -3-

Note. If you own the income with one or more other persons, the income will be treated by the withholding agent as owned by a foreign person that is a beneficial owner of a payment only if Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable document) is provided by each of the owners. An account will be treated as a U.S. account for chapter 4 purposes by an FFI requesting this form if any of the account holders is a specified U.S. person or a U.S.-owned foreign entity (unless the account is otherwise excepted from U.S. account status for chapter 4 purposes).

Change in circumstances. If a change in circumstances makes any information on the Form W-8BEN-E you have submitted incorrect for purposes of either chapter 3 or chapter 4, you must notify the withholding agent or financial institution maintaining your account within 30 days of the change in circumstances by providing the documentation required in Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(6)(ii)(E)(2). See Regulations sections 1.1441-1(e)(4)(ii)(D) for the d e finition of change in circumstances for purposes of chapter 3, and 1.1471-3(c) (6)(ii)(E) for purposes of chapter 4.

With respect to an FFI claiming a chapter 4 status