Sec. 13 Taxpayer Identification — 0925 Publ 1187 (PDF)

Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code establishes the general requirements under which a person is required to furnish a U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to the person obligated to file the information return. The Withholding Agent must provide its EIN, QI-EIN, WP-EIN, or WT-EIN as appropriate, in the “W” Record and “T” Record, if the Withholding Agent is also the transmitter. A recipient U.S.TIN (SSN, ITIN, EIN, QI-EIN, WP-EIN, WT-EIN) must be provided on every “Q” Record when:

The income is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States.
A recipient claims tax treaty benefits (See the Instructions for Form 1042-S for exceptions to the U.S. TIN requirement and when a foreign TIN can be used instead of a U.S. TIN).
The recipient is a Qualified Intermediary, Withholding Foreign Partnership, or a Withholding Foreign Trust.
The recipient is a U.S. branch of an FFI or territory FFI that is treated as a U.S. person under Regulations Section 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv)(A) or is a U.S. branch not treated as a U.S. person that has certified that it will meet the requirements under Regulations section 1.1471-4.
A nonresident alien (NRA) is claiming exemption from withholding on independent personal services pursuant to a provision of an income tax treaty.
Other situations may apply, see Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities, and the Instructions for Form 1042-S.

In the event the recipient does not have a U.S. TIN, (or foreign TIN, if applicable), the withholding agent should advise the recipient to take the necessary steps to apply for a U.S. TIN. The recipient’s TIN and name combination are used to associate information returns reported to the IRS with corresponding information on the recipient’s tax return. It is imperative that the correct U.S. TIN for recipients is provided to the IRS. Don’t enter hyphens or alpha characters. Entering all zeros, ones, twos, etc., will have the effect of an incorrect TIN. The recipient’s TIN must not be truncated on the information returns that are filed with the IRS.

Truncated TIN (TTIN) rules - A Recipient’s Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN, SSN, or ITIN) may be truncated on copies of Form 1042-S provided to the recipient, if applicable. Refer to Instructions for Form 1042-S for proper formatting and eligible fields on Form 1042-S. A TTIN may not be used on any Form 1042-S required to be filed with the IRS. Further, the withholding agent’s EIN may never be truncated on a Form 1042-S filed with the IRS or provided to the recipient.

The withholding agent and recipient names with associated TINs should be consistent with the names and TINs used on other tax returns. Note: A withholding agent must have a valid EIN, QI-EIN, WP-EIN, and/or WT-EIN. It is no longer valid for a withholding agent to use SSNs and ITINs.