Beneficial Owners — 2026 Publ 515 (PDF)

If all the appropriate requirements have been established on a Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP, or, if applicable, on documentary evidence, you can treat the payee as a foreign beneficial owner.

Claiming treaty benefits for purposes of chapter 3. You may apply a reduced rate of withholding under chapter 3 to a foreign person that provides a Form W-8 claiming a reduced rate of withholding under an income tax treaty only if the person provides a U.S. or foreign TIN and certifies that:

It is a resident of a treaty country;
It is the beneficial owner of the income;
If it is an entity, it derives the income within the meaning of section 894 (it is not fiscally transparent); and
It meets any of the applicable LOB tests contained in the treaty and specifies the test under which it qualifies for benefits.

If the payment you make is a withholdable payment to an entity, a requirement to withhold under chapter 4 may apply based on the chapter 4 status of the payee regardless of whether a claim of treaty benefits may apply to such payee or other person receiving the income.

An entity derives income for which it is claiming treaty benefits only if the entity is not treated as fiscally transparent for that income. See Fiscally transparent entities claiming treaty benefits, discussed earlier under Flow-Through Entities.

LOB provisions in income tax treaties generally prevent third-country residents (unless the treaty contains a derivative benefits rule) and others that do not have a substantial nexus to the treaty country from obtaining treaty benefits. For example, a foreign corporation may not be entitled to a reduced rate of withholding unless a minimum

percentage of its owners are citizens or residents of the United States or the treaty country. Foreign entities that are residents of a country whose income tax treaty with the United States contains an LOB article are eligible for treaty benefits only if they satisfy one of the objective tests under the LOB article or obtain a favorable discretionary determination from the U.S. competent authority.

The exemptions from, or reduced rates of, U.S. tax vary under each treaty. You must check the provisions of the tax treaty that apply. See Tax Treaties, later, for information on how to access tax treaties.

If you know, or have reason to know, that an owner of income is not eligible for treaty benefits claimed or if the United States does not have an income tax treaty in force with that country, you may not reduce the rate of withholding. You are not, however, responsible for misstatements on a Form W-8, documentary evidence, or statements accompanying documentary evidence for which you did not have actual knowledge, or reason to know, that the statements were incorrect. Certain withholding agents, such as FIs, have limited reason-to-know requirements for this purpose. See Regulations section 1.1441-7(b) for these requirements.

Exceptions to TIN requirement. A foreign person does not have to provide a U.S. or foreign TIN to claim a reduced rate of withholding under a treaty for chapter 3 purposes if the requirements for the following exceptions are met.

Income from marketable securities (discussed next).
Unexpected payments to an individual (discussed under U.S. or Foreign TINs , later).

The allowance to provide a foreign TIN (rather than a U.S. TIN) does not apply to a payment to compensate an individual for personal services.

See U.S. or Foreign TINs, later, for when a foreign person is required to provide a foreign TIN for purposes other than making a treaty claim.

Marketable securities. A Form W-8 provided to claim treaty benefits does not need a U.S. or foreign TIN if the foreign beneficial owner is claiming the benefits on income from marketable securities for chapter 3 purposes. For this purpose, income from a marketable security consists of the following items.

Dividends and interest from stocks and debt obligations that are actively traded.
Dividends from any redeemable security issued by an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (mutual fund).
Dividends, interest, or royalties from units of beneficial interest in a unit investment trust that are (or were upon issuance) publicly offered and are registered with the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933.
Income related to loans of any of the above securities.

Offshore obligations. An offshore obligation is an account maintained at an office or branch of a bank or other FI located outside the United States or an obligation, contract, or other instrument with respect to which the payer

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of the payment is either engaged in business as a broker or dealer in securities or an FI that engages in significant activities at an office or branch located outside the United States.

A payment is made outside the United States if you complete the acts necessary to effect the payment outside the United States. However, an amount paid by a bank or other FI on a deposit or account will usually be treated as paid at the branch or office where the amount is credited unless the other requirements of Regulations section 1.6049-5(e)(2) are met with respect to the branch or office, unless the amount is collected by the FI as an agent of the payee.

If a payment is made outside the United States with respect to an offshore obligation, a payee may give you documentary evidence, rather than a Form W-8, to establish that the payee is a foreign person. See Regulations section 1.6049-5(c)(1) for the requirements for documentary evidence for offshore obligations. For accounts opened on or after July 1, 2014, through December 31, 2014, you may use the rules regarding the use of documentary evidence under Regulations sections 1.6049-5(c) (1) and (c)(4) as in effect prior to the issuance of the temporary regulations.

You may rely on documentary evidence given to you by an NQI or a flow-through entity with its Form W-8IMY. This rule applies even though you make the payment to an NQI or flow-through entity in the United States. In most cases, the NQI or flow-through entity that gives you documentary evidence will also have to give you a withholding state- ment, discussed later.

Documentary evidence. You may apply a reduced rate of withholding to income from marketable securities (discussed earlier) paid outside the United States for chapter 3 purposes with respect to an offshore obligation if the beneficial owner gives you documentary evidence in place of a Form W-8. To claim treaty benefits, the documentary evidence must be one of the following.

A certificate of residence that:

a. Is issued by a tax official of the treaty country of

which the foreign beneficial owner claims to be a resident,

b. States that the person has filed its most recent in come tax return as a resident of that country, and

c. Is issued within 3 years before it is presented to

you.

Documentation for an individual that:

a. Includes the individual’s name, address, and pho tograph;

b. Is an official document issued by an authorized

governmental body; and

c. Is issued no more than 3 years prior to being pre sented to you.

Documentation for an entity that:

a. Includes the name of the entity,

b. Includes the address of its principal office in the

treaty country, and

c. Is an official document issued by an authorized

governmental body.

In addition to the documentary evidence, a foreign beneficial owner that is an entity must provide a statement that it derives the income for which it claims treaty benefits and that it meets one or more of the tests set forth in an LOB article, if any (or similar provision), contained in the applicable treaty and must identify the specific test in the LOB article under which it qualifies for benefits. In the case of a withholdable payment made to an entity, you must also obtain the applicable documentation to establish that withholding does not apply under chapter 4.

Form W-8BEN. This form is used by a foreign individual to:

Establish foreign status;
Claim that such individual is the beneficial owner of the income for which the form is being furnished or a partner in a partnership subject to withholding under section 1446(a) or a transferee of an interest in a partnership under section 1446(f); and
If applicable, claim a reduced rate of, or exemption from, withholding under an income tax treaty.

A withholding agent, in some cases, may substitute its own form for a Form W-8BEN for individuals.

Form W-8BEN may also be used to claim that the foreign individual is exempt from Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding for income that is not subject to chapter 3 withholding and is not a withholdable payment. For example, a foreign person may provide a Form W-8BEN to a broker to establish that the gross proceeds from the sale of securities are not subject to Form 1099 reporting or backup withholding.

Date of birth requirement for certain account hold- ers. 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 individual 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 individual account holder’s date of birth on the Form W-8BEN in order for the form to not be invalid for a payment of U.S. source income reportable on Form 1042-S. If the individual’s date of birth is not provided on the Form W-8BEN, the form is still valid if you otherwise have the date of birth in your account files for the account holder or you obtain the date of birth on a written statement (including a written statement transmitted by email) from the account holder and associate the written statement with the Form W-8BEN. See the related foreign TIN requirement discussed under Foreign TIN requirement for account holders, later, which also generally applies with respect to accounts described in this paragraph.

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Form W-8BEN-E. This form is used by a foreign entity to:

Establish foreign status;
Establish an entity’s chapter 4 status to the extent required for chapter 4 purposes;
Claim that such entity is the beneficial owner of the income for which the form is being furnished or a partner in a partnership subject to withholding under section 1446(a) or (f) (excluding a partnership or grantor trust); and
If applicable, claim a reduced rate of, or exemption from, chapter 3 withholding under an income tax treaty.

Form W-8BEN-E may also be used to claim that the foreign entity is exempt from Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding for income that is not subject to chapter 3 withholding and is not a withholdable payment. For example, a foreign entity may provide a Form W-8BEN-E to a broker to establish that the gross proceeds from the sale of securities are not subject to Form 1099 reporting or backup withholding.

An entity payee may also provide a Form W-8BEN-E to establish that certain income from notional principal contracts is not effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business. In addition, a foreign hybrid entity claiming treaty benefits on its own behalf should provide you with a Form W-8BEN-E with respect to the income for which treaty benefits are being claimed. In certain cases, a similar agreed form may be associated with the payment instead of a Form W-8BEN-E.

Form W-8ECI. This form is used by a foreign person to:

Establish foreign status,
Claim that such person is the beneficial owner of the income for which the form is being furnished, and
Claim that the income is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States. (See Effectively Connected Income , later.)
Claim that the person is a dealer in securities for the exception to withholding under Regulations section 1.1446(f)-4(b)(6). See Section 1446(f): PTP Interests, later.

ECI for which a valid Form W-8ECI has been provided is generally not subject to chapter 3 or chapter 4 withholding.

If a partner submits this form to a partnership, the income claimed to be effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business is subject to withholding under section 1446. If the partner has made, or will make, an election under section 871(d) or 882(d), the partner must submit Form W-8ECI, and attach a copy of the election, or a statement of intent to elect, to the form.

Caution: If the partner’s only ECI is the income allocated from the partnership and the partner is not making the election under section 871(d) or 882(d), the partner should provide Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E to the partnership.

Form W-8EXP. This form is used by a foreign government, international organization, foreign central bank of issue, foreign tax-exempt organization, foreign private foundation, or government of a U.S. territory to:

Establish foreign status,
Establish the entity’s chapter 4 status to the extent required for chapter 4 purposes,
Claim that such person is the beneficial owner of the income for which the form is being furnished, and
Claim an exemption from withholding under both chapter 3 and chapter 4 for such entity or that the entity is a foreign private foundation subject to the 4% tax. See section 1443 for the withholding required for a payment made to such an entity.

If the government or organization named on the form is a partner in a partnership carrying on a trade or business in the United States, the ECTI allocable to the partner is subject to withholding under section 1446.

See also Foreign Governments and Certain Other For- eign Organizations , later.