Guide to Global Payroll Management - 2020 - D-43

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Appendix D--Federal Forms and Instructions

Line 5. If you have a social security number (SSN), enter
it here. To apply for an SSN, get Form SS-5 from a Social
Security Administration (SSA) office or online at
www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf. If you are in the United
States, you can call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213.
Complete Form SS-5 and return it to the SSA.
If you do not have an SSN and are not eligible to get
one, you can get an individual taxpayer identification
number (ITIN). To apply for an ITIN, file Form W-7 with the
IRS. It usually takes 4-6 weeks to get an ITIN. To claim
certain treaty benefits, you must complete line 5 by
submitting an SSN or ITIN, or line 6 by providing a foreign
tax identification number (foreign TIN).

U.S. person. A U.S. person is defined in section 7701(a)
(30) and includes an individual who is a citizen or resident
of the United States. For purposes of chapter 4, a U.S.
person is defined in Regulations section 1.1471-1(b)
(141).

Withholding agent. Any person, U.S. or foreign, that has
control, receipt, custody, disposal, or payment of U.S.
source FDAP income subject to chapter 3 or 4 withholding
is a withholding agent. The withholding agent may be an
individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or
any other entity, including (but not limited to) any foreign
intermediary, foreign partnership, and U.S. branches of
certain foreign banks and insurance companies.
For purposes of section 1446, the withholding agent is
the partnership conducting the trade or business in the
United States. For a publicly traded partnership, the
withholding agent may be the partnership, a nominee
holding an interest on behalf of a foreign person, or both.
See Regulations sections 1.1446-1 through 1.1446-6.

CAUTION

A partner in a partnership conducting a trade or
business in the United States will likely be allocated
effectively connected taxable income. The partner is
required to file a U.S. federal income tax return and must
have a U.S. taxpayer identification number (TIN).
You must provide an SSN or TIN if you are:
Claiming an exemption from withholding under section
871(f) for certain annuities received under qualified plans,
or
Submitting the form to a partnership that conducts a
trade or business in the United States.
If you are claiming treaty benefits, you are generally
required to provide an ITIN if you do not provide a tax
identifying number issued to you by your jurisdiction of tax
residence on line 6. However, an ITIN is not required to
claim treaty benefits relating to:
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; and
Income related to loans of any of the above securities.

Specific Instructions

Part I

Line 1. Enter your name. If you are a foreign individual
who is the single owner of a disregarded entity that is not
claiming treaty benefits as a hybrid entity, with respect to
a payment, you should complete this form with your name
and information. If the account to which a payment is
made or credited is in the name of the disregarded entity,
you should inform the withholding agent of this fact. This
may be done by including the name and account number
of the disregarded entity on line 7 (reference number) of
the form. However, if the disregarded entity is claiming
treaty benefits as a hybrid entity, it should complete Form
W-8BEN-E instead of this Form W-8BEN.

Line 2. Enter your country of citizenship. If you are a dual
citizen, enter the country where you are both a citizen and
a resident at the time you complete this form. If you are
not a resident in any country in which you have
citizenship, enter the country where you were most
recently a resident. However, if you are a U. S. citizen, you
should not complete this form even if you hold citizenship
in another jurisdiction. Instead, provide Form W-9.

Line 6. If you are providing this Form W-8BEN to
document yourself as an account holder with respect to a
financial account (as defined in Regulations section
1.1471-5(b)) that you hold at a U.S. office of a financial
institution (including a U.S. branch of an FFI) and you
receive U.S. source income reportable on Form 1042-S
associated with this form, you must provide the TIN issued
to you by your jurisdiction of tax residence identified on
line 3 unless:
You have not been issued a TIN (including if the
jurisdiction does not issue TINs), or
You are a resident of a U.S. possession.
If you are providing this form to document a financial
account described above but you do not enter a TIN on
line 6, and you are not a resident of a U.S. possession,
you must provide the withholding agent with an
explanation for why you have not been issued a TIN. For
this purpose, an explanation is a statement that you are

Line 3. Your permanent residence address is the
address in the country where you claim to be a resident
for purposes of that country's income tax. If you are
completing Form W-8BEN to claim a reduced rate of
withholding under an income tax treaty, you must
determine your residency in the manner required by the
treaty. Do not show the address of a financial institution, a
post office box, or an address used solely for mailing
purposes. If you do not have a tax residence in any
country, your permanent residence is where you normally
reside.
If you reside in a country that does not use street
addresses, you may enter a descriptive address on line 3.
The address must accurately indicate your permanent
residence in the manner used in your jurisdiction.
Line 4. Enter your mailing address only if it is different
from the address you show on line 3.
Instructions for Form W-8BEN (Rev. 7-2017)

An ITIN is for tax use only. It does not entitle you
to social security benefits or change your
employment or immigration status under U.S. law.

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Guide to Global Payroll Management - 2020

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