Form W-9 (Rev. 11-2017)
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By signing the filled-out form, you:
1. Certify that the TIN you are giving is correct (or you are waiting for a
number to be issued),
2. Certify that you are not subject to backup withholding, or
3. Claim exemption from backup withholding if you are a U.S. exempt
payee. If applicable, you are also certifying that as a U.S. person, your
allocable share of any partnership income from a U.S. trade or business is not
subject to the withholding tax on foreign partners' share of effectively
connected income, and
4. Certify that FATCA code(s) entered on this form (if any) indicating that
you are exempt from the FATCA reporting, is correct. See What is FATCA
reporting, later, for further information.
Note: If you are a U.S. person and a requester gives you a form other than
Form W-9 to request your TIN, you must use the requester’s form if it is
substantially similar to this Form W-9.
Definition of a U.S. person. For federal tax purposes, you are considered a
U.S. person if you are:
• An individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien;
• A partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in
the United States or under the laws of the United States;
• An estate (other than a foreign estate); or
• A domestic trust (as defined in Regulations section 301.7701-7).
Special rules for partnerships. Partnerships that conduct a trade or business
in the United States are generally required to pay a withholding tax under
section 1446 on any foreign partners’ share of effectively connected taxable
income from such business. Further, in certain cases where a Form W-9 has
not been received, the rules under section 1446 require a partnership to
presume that a partner is a foreign person, and pay the section 1446
withholding tax. Therefore, if you are a U.S. person that is a partner in a
partnership conducting a trade or business in the United States, provide Form
W-9 to the partnership to establish your U.S. status and avoid section 1446
withholding on your share of partnership income.
In the cases below, the following person must give Form W-9 to the
partnership for purposes of establishing its U.S. status and avoiding
withholding on its allocable share of net income from the partnership
conducting a trade or business in the United States.
• In the case of a disregarded entity with a U.S. owner, the U.S. owner of the
disregarded entity and not the entity;
• In the case of a grantor trust with a U.S. grantor or other U.S. owner,
generally, the U.S. grantor or other U.S. owner of the grantor trust and not the
trust; and
• In the case of a U.S. trust (other than a grantor trust), the U.S. trust (other
than a grantor trust) and not the beneficiaries of the trust.
Foreign person. If you are a foreign person or the U.S. branch of a foreign
bank that has elected to be treated as a U.S. person, do not use Form W-9.
Instead, use the appropriate Form W-8 or Form 8233 (see Pub. 515,
Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities).
Nonresident alien who becomes a resident alien. Generally, only a
nonresident alien individual may use the terms of a tax treaty to reduce or
eliminate U.S. tax on certain types of income. However, most tax treaties
contain a provision known as a “saving clause.” Exceptions specified in the
saving clause may permit an exemption from tax to continue for certain types
of income even after the payee has otherwise become a U.S. resident alien for
tax purposes.
If you are a U.S. resident alien who is relying on an exception contained in
the saving clause of a tax treaty to claim an exemption from U.S. tax on
certain types of income, you must attach a statement to Form W-9 that
specifies the following five items.
1. The treaty country. Generally, this must be the same treaty under which
you claimed exemption from tax as a nonresident alien.
2. The treaty article addressing the income.
3. The article number (or location) in the tax treaty that contains the saving
clause and its exceptions.
4. The type and amount of income that qualifies for the exemption from
tax.
5. Sufficient facts to justify the exemption from tax under the terms of the
treaty article.
Example. Article 20 of the U.S.-China income tax treaty allows an exemption
from tax for scholarship income received by a Chinese student temporarily
present in the United States. Under U.S. law, this student will become a
resident alien for tax purposes if his or her stay in the United States exceeds 5
calendar years. However, paragraph 2 of the first Protocol to the U.S.-China
treaty (dated April 30, 1984) allows the provisions of Article 20 to continue to
apply even after the Chinese student becomes a resident alien of the United
States. A Chinese student who qualifies for this exception (under paragraph 2
of the first protocol) and is relying on this exception to claim an exemption
from tax on his or her scholarship or fellowship income would attach to Form
W-9 a statement that includes the information described above to support
that exemption.
If you are a nonresident alien or a foreign entity, give the requester the
appropriate completed Form W-8 or Form 8233.
Backup Withholding
What is backup withholding? Persons making certain payments to you must
under certain conditions withhold and pay to the IRS 28% of such payments.
This is called “backup withholding.” Payments that may be subject to backup
withholding include interest, tax-exempt interest, dividends, broker and
barter exchange transactions, rents, royalties, nonemployee pay, payments
made in settlement of payment card and third party network transactions,
and certain payments from fishing boat operators. Real estate transactions
are not subject to backup withholding.
You will not be subject to backup withholding on payments you receive if
you give the requester your correct TIN, make the proper certifications, and
report all your taxable interest and dividends on your tax return.
Payments you receive will be subject to backup withholding if:
1. You do not furnish your TIN to the requester,
2. You do not certify your TIN when required (see the instructions for Part II
for details),
3. The IRS tells the requester that you furnished an incorrect TIN,
4. The IRS tells you that you are subject to backup withholding because you
did not report all your interest and dividends on your tax return (for
reportable interest and dividends only), or
5. You do not certify to the requester that you are not subject to backup
withholding under 4 above (for reportable interest and dividend accounts
opened after 1983 only).
Certain payees and payments are exempt from backup withholding. See
Exempt payee code, later, and the separate Instructions for the Requester of
Form W-9 for more information.
Also see Special rules for partnerships, earlier.
What is FATCA Reporting?
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires a participating
foreign financial institution to report all United States account holders that
are specified United States persons. Certain payees are exempt from FATCA
reporting. See Exemption from FATCA reporting code, later, and the Instructions
for the Requester of Form W-9 for more information.
Updating Your Information
You must provide updated information to any person to whom you claimed
to be an exempt payee if you are no longer an exempt payee and anticipate
receiving reportable payments in the future from this person. For example,
you may need to provide updated information if you are a C corporation that
elects to be an S corporation, or if you no longer are tax exempt. In addition,
you must furnish a new Form W-9 if the name or TIN changes for the account;
for example, if the grantor of a grantor trust dies.
Penalties
Failure to furnish TIN. If you fail to furnish your correct TIN to a requester,
you are subject to a penalty of $50 for each such failure unless your failure is
due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.
Civil penalty for false information with respect to withholding. If you
make a false statement with no reasonable basis that results in no backup
withholding, you are subject to a $500 penalty.
