Who Must Provide Form W-8BEN. You must give Form W-8BEN to the withholding agent or payer if you are a nonresident alien who is the beneficial owner of an amount subject to withholding, or if you are an account holder of an FFI documenting yourself as a nonresident alien.
What is the W-8BEN? The W-8BEN is a tax document for non-US taxpayers who earn US-sourced income, such as interest on a savings account.
The W-8BEN-E is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mandated form to collect correct Nonresident Alien (NRA) taxpayer information for entities for reporting purposes and to document their status for tax reporting purpose.
Form W9 doesn't expire and is valid as long as the information it contains is correct. W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, and W-8ECI forms are usually valid for three years or as long as the forms contain correct information. W-8EXP and W-8IMY are usually valid indefinitely provided that the information doesn't change.
The foreign person who's a beneficial owner completes the form, certifies its accuracy and completeness, and signs the form (or an authorized person signs on behalf of the beneficial owner). The beneficial owner must submit a new Form W-8ECI within 30 days of their information and certificate becoming incorrect.
8BENE. The purpose of the 8BENE formthe Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax ithholding and Reportingis for foreign entities, not individual workers.
As a withholding agent, Harvard University is required by the IRS to collect the appropriate W-8 form from any foreign entity to establish the entity's foreign status. These forms are a direct result of government regulations associated with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
If the owner of the disregarded entity is a foreign person, the owner must complete an appropriate Form W-8 instead of a Form W-9.
If your organisation requires our W9 form, you are in the right place. We are registered in Spain, and therefore are a non-US entity. This means that we don't have a W9 form. Instead we use the W-8BEN-E form, which is for non US-entities.
All US formed entities and US operations of foreign entities complete Form W-9. If you hold a permanent work Visa and reside in the US you may also complete a W-9. All others are considered to be non-US persons (also known as nonresident aliens) and will be required to complete a Form W-8.