Form W-8BEN — Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner (Individuals)

What is Form W-8BEN?

Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Individuals), tells a U.S. withholding agent or payer that you are a foreign individual, not a U.S. citizen or resident. Payers such as freelance marketplaces, brokers, banks and U.S. clients ask for it before they pay you. Without it they may treat you as a U.S. person, or withhold U.S. tax at the full 30% statutory rate on certain U.S.-source income.

If your country has an income tax treaty with the United States, Part II lets you claim a reduced rate of withholding, for example on dividends, interest or royalties. The form says at the top: give this form to the withholding agent or payer, do not send it to the IRS. Entities use Form W-8BEN-E instead, and U.S. persons (including resident aliens) use Form W-9. The current revision is Rev. October 2021.

FileIt walks you through each line in plain language and prints your answers into the IRS's own PDF, including names with accents such as ł, ś or ș. It keeps the finished form in your vault and can send it for e-signature. You then give the signed form to whoever asked for it.

Who needs to fill out Form W-8BEN?

• Foreign freelancers and contractors paid by U.S. clients or U.S. freelance and app-store platforms, for work performed outside the United States.
• Non-U.S. residents with a U.S. brokerage or bank account that earns dividends or interest.
• Authors, artists and creators outside the U.S. receiving royalties from U.S. sources who want to claim a treaty rate.
• Foreign students, teachers and researchers claiming a treaty exemption on certain income.
• Not for: entities (Form W-8BEN-E), U.S. citizens and resident aliens (Form W-9), income effectively connected with a U.S. business (Form W-8ECI), or pay for personal services performed in the U.S. (Form 8233 or W-4).

When to use Form W-8BEN

• When a U.S. payer, platform, broker or bank asks you to certify your foreign status.
• When you want a reduced treaty rate of U.S. withholding on income such as dividends, interest or royalties.
• When information on a form you gave earlier becomes incorrect, for example you move to another country. The form says you agree to submit a new form within 30 days.
• When your payer asks you to renew it. A W-8BEN generally stays in effect until the last day of the third calendar year after you sign it, unless a change in circumstances makes it incorrect sooner.

What you need before you start

• Your full legal name and country of citizenship.
• Your permanent residence address abroad. A P.O. box or in-care-of address is not allowed on line 3.
• A separate mailing address, if you use one.
• Your foreign tax identifying number (FTIN) from your country of residence, or confirmation that your country doesn't require one.
• A U.S. SSN or ITIN, only if you need one (for example for certain treaty claims).
• Your date of birth.
• To claim a treaty rate: your treaty country, and for special rates the treaty article and paragraph, the rate, the type of income and the conditions you meet.

What’s on Form W-8BEN

The 2021 edition has 1 page. FileIt asks for it in 6 parts, and it is signed by Beneficial owner (the foreign individual):

1. Part I: Identification of beneficial ownerBeneficial owner (the foreign individual)
2. Line 3: Permanent residence addressBeneficial owner (the foreign individual)
3. Line 4: Mailing address (if different)Beneficial owner (the foreign individual)
4. Lines 5-8: Tax numbers, references and date of birthBeneficial owner (the foreign individual)
5. Part II: Claim of tax treaty benefits (if any)Beneficial owner (the foreign individual)
6. Part III: CertificationBeneficial owner (the foreign individual)

How to fill out Form W-8BEN, step by step

1 Lines 1-2: Name and citizenship

Enter the name of the individual who is the beneficial owner, meaning the person the income really belongs to, and their country of citizenship. A dual citizen enters the country where they are both a citizen and a resident when they complete the form.

2 Line 3: Permanent residence address

Give the address where you normally live, in the country where you claim to be resident for income tax. The form says: do not use a P.O. box or in-care-of address. Add the city or town, state or province, postal code and country.

3 Line 4: Mailing address

Fill this in only if your mail should go somewhere else. A mailing address may be a P.O. box. FileIt keeps it as an optional part you switch on.

4 Lines 5-6: U.S. TIN and foreign tax number

Line 5 is your U.S. Social Security number or ITIN, if one is required, for example for some treaty claims. Many people leave it blank. Line 6a is the tax number issued by your country of residence. If your country doesn't legally require one, check 6b instead.

5 Lines 7-8: Reference number and date of birth

Line 7 is optional and holds any reference the payer asked for, such as your account number with them. Line 8 is your date of birth, which the form prints as MM-DD-YYYY.

6 Part II, line 9: Treaty country

If you claim benefits under an income tax treaty between the United States and your country of residence, enter that country here. It is usually the country on line 3.

7 Part II, line 10: Special rates and conditions

Only for claims that depend on a specific treaty article, such as some royalty, student or researcher provisions. Give the article and paragraph, the withholding rate you claim, the type of income, and the additional conditions in that article that you meet. If you don't need line 10, leave it blank.

8 Part III: Certification and signature

Read the certifications. You confirm under penalties of perjury that you are the beneficial owner, that you are not a U.S. person, and that you will submit a new form within 30 days if anything becomes incorrect. Print your name, then sign and date. If you sign for someone else, tick the capacity box.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using W-8BEN for a company. Entities use Form W-8BEN-E.
• Giving a P.O. box or in-care-of address as the permanent residence address on line 3.
• Leaving line 6a blank without checking 6b when your country does issue tax numbers.
• Writing the date of birth in day-month order. The form asks for MM-DD-YYYY.
• Claiming a treaty country on line 9 that isn't the country where you are resident for tax.
• Filling in line 10 when you only need the general treaty claim on line 9.
• Sending the form to the IRS. It goes to the payer or withholding agent who asked for it.
• Forgetting to sign and date the form, or not providing a new one when your details change.

After you fill it out

Sign and date Part III, by hand on the printed PDF or with FileIt's optional e-signature, and give the form to the payer, platform, broker or bank that requested it, in the way they ask. Many platforms collect the same details in their own online tax interview instead of a PDF. Do not send it to the IRS.

Keep your copy. FileIt stores the finished PDF in your vault so you can see what you certified and when.

Submit a new form within 30 days if anything on it becomes incorrect, such as a move to another country, and whenever your payer asks you to renew it.

Form W-8BEN: frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by Internal Revenue Service (IRS): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-8-ben
• Edition shown on this page: Rev. October 2021 (checked 2026-09-28).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-28.

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