What is a W-8 form for, and who has to fill it out?

A W-8 form is a document foreign individuals and entities use to certify their foreign status for US tax purposes.

It is also called a "Certificate of Foreign Status" because it proves your status as a foreign person to the IRS.

What is Form W-8 used for?

The form certifies the following:

• Foreign status
• Country of residence
• Type of income and whether tax has been paid on it. 

Which forms are there?

There are five different W-8 forms: W-8BEN for individuals, W-8BEN-E for entities, W-8ECI, W-8EXP and W-8IMY. Form W-9, by contrast, is the counterpart for US persons. 

In general, Form W-8BEN must be filled out by a non-US person whose income is subject to withholding or must be reported on a US tax return to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

W-8BEN forms prove your foreign status for the withholding tax exemption, which means you pay no tax on your income if it comes from outside the US.

How long is Form W-8BEN valid?

To be valid, the form must be given to the paying party (the withholding agent) before the payment is made.

It is valid from the date of signing until the end of the third calendar year after that, or until your circumstances change, whichever comes first.

Where do you submit the form?

Form W-8BEN usually goes to your payment provider or financial institution (for example a bank or credit card company).

When and why do companies have to submit the form?

For companies, the form proves foreign status and helps determine and calculate withholding tax rates.

Companies must fill out this form if they are not based in the US and receive US-source payments such as royalties or interest.

Form W-8IMY is used by intermediaries and flow-through entities such as partnerships that are not US persons and receive US-source payments on behalf of others.

It is similar to Form W-8BEN in that it certifies foreign status, country of residence, type of income and whether tax has been paid on that income.

Form W-9, on the other hand, is used by US citizens and US residents to give the payer their US taxpayer identification number (TIN), so the payer can report payments correctly to the IRS.

US-based businesses (including sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations) also use it to provide information about themselves and their workers for tax purposes.

How long is Form W-9 valid?

Keep in mind that you must submit a new form as soon as your details change, so your tax data stays correct and up to date.

If you owe income tax in the United States, you need to fill out and submit the right withholding forms. Depending on your situation, that may mean Forms W-8BEN, W-9 and/or 1099. You may also have to pay estimated taxes.

In short: W-8 forms are used by foreign individuals and entities to certify their foreign status for US tax purposes, while Form W-9 is used by US persons for reporting only and offers no withholding exemption or treaty benefits.

Foreign companies claim treaty benefits or reduced withholding rates on Form W-8BEN-E; Form W-8IMY is reserved for intermediaries.

Everything about the US tax system, US tax rates and the types of US taxes is here.

Form W-8BEN-E has eight pages and thirty parts, but a typical European company fills out only four of them: Part I (who you are), Part III (your tax treaty claim), one of the two FATCA parts XXV or XXVI, and Part XXX (signature). This guide follows the form and IRS instructions in the October 2021 version (Rev. 10-2021); according to the IRS page for the form, there is no newer version as of March 30, 2026. The completed form goes to your US customer, broker or licensee (the withholding agent), never to the IRS.

Part I: Who you are (lines 1 to 10)

• Line 1: The company name exactly as it appears in the company register.
• Line 2: The country of incorporation in English, for example Sweden, Norway or the Netherlands.
• Line 3: Only for a disregarded entity that receives the payment itself. For the vast majority of companies, leave it blank.
• Line 4, Chapter 3 status: Your entity type from a US perspective, exactly one box. Limited companies check Corporation. Partnerships usually belong on Form W-8IMY; have that checked before you tick Partnership. The question below, whether the entity is a hybrid making a treaty claim, is answered No by an ordinary corporation.
• Line 5, Chapter 4 status (FATCA): An operating business with less than half of its income and assets from passive sources such as interest, dividends or rent checks Active NFFE and confirms this later in Part XXV. A holding or asset-management company is usually a Passive NFFE and goes to Part XXVI. The many FFI boxes above are for banks, funds and insurers, not for you.
• Line 6: The company's registered address. The IRS does not accept a P.O. box or c/o address here.
• Line 7: Fill this in only if your mailing address differs from the registered address.
• Line 8: The US taxpayer identification number (EIN), if the company has one. You don't need it just to claim treaty benefits on dividends, interest or royalties.
• Lines 9a to 9c: 9a (GIIN) is only for financial institutions. In 9b, enter your company's tax number in its home country. 9c is only for companies based in a country that does not issue tax numbers.
• Line 10: Optional reference, such as your customer number with the payer. You can leave it blank.

Part II only applies to branches of financial institutions and disregarded entities with their own GIIN. Skip it.

Part III: Your tax treaty claim (lines 14 and 15)

Without this part, the payer withholds 30 percent; with it, the treaty rate applies. That is why Part III is where most forms go wrong.

• Line 14a: Check the box and enter your country of residence, for example Sweden. This declares that the company is resident there within the meaning of the treaty.
• Line 14c: Covers special cases involving dividends from US sources paid by foreign corporations. Usually left blank.
• Line 15, special rates and conditions: If you claim the standard treaty rate on dividends, interest or royalties, the IRS instructions say to leave this line blank. You need it when your claim depends on conditions that line 14 does not cover: for example the reduced rate for dividends from a qualifying shareholding, or business profits under Article 7, where you declare that your company has no US permanent establishment. In that case, enter the article and paragraph, the rate claimed (for Article 7 that is 0 percent) and the type of income, and describe in one sentence which condition of the article you meet.

Part XXV or XXVI: The FATCA certification

As an Active NFFE, check line 39 in Part XXV. This confirms that the company is not a financial institution, that less than 50 percent of its gross income in the prior year was passive, and that less than 50 percent of its assets produce passive income. As a Passive NFFE, check line 40a in Part XXVI plus either 40b (the company has no substantial US owners) or 40c, in which case you list those owners with name, address and US taxpayer identification number in Part XXIX.

Part XXX: Signature

The form is signed by someone with signing authority for the company, such as a managing director, board member or authorized officer. The box I certify that I have the capacity to sign for the entity identified on line 1 of this form must be checked, otherwise the form is invalid. Add your signature, your name in block capitals and the date in US format (MM-DD-YYYY). By signing, you certify under penalty of perjury that the company is the beneficial owner of the income and not a US person, and you commit to submitting a new form within 30 days if any information changes. The form is valid until the end of the third calendar year after signing. Keep a copy and make a note of the expiry date.

If you would rather not fill in the form yourself, or your case goes beyond the standard route (partnership, holding company with US shareholders, permanent establishment question), we will take care of it for you: Book the W-8 service.

It is important to know which form you need to claim exemption from US withholding tax, and to make sure it is filled in correctly.

If you need help completing the right form, Mount Bonnell Advisors is happy to assist. For owners of a US LLC without a US permanent establishment in particular, the W-8BEN-E is standard practice; our sister site zerotax.llc can also advise you on this.

Mount Bonnell Advisors is your partner for expert tax support for individuals living in and outside the USA, ongoing tax support for US companies, in English, company formation in the USA and much more. 

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If you'd like to find out what this means for your own situation, the best step is to book a consultation.