Form 8233 Example: Student and Teacher Walkthroughs

A worked Form 8233 example is the fastest way to see what belongs on each line, so this walkthrough uses two: a Chinese student with a part-time campus job claiming Article 20 of the U.S.-China treaty, and a Belgian professor on a two-year visiting appointment claiming the U.S.-Belgium teacher/researcher article. Both show the specific entries for Lines 11a through 14 and the statement you attach from IRS Publication 519. Get this form right and your employer can stop withholding the default 30% federal tax on your U.S. compensation; get it wrong and the withholding agent must apply the full rate regardless of your treaty rights.¹

When Form 8233 Is the Right Form

Form 8233 is used by a nonresident alien to claim a tax treaty exemption from withholding on compensation for personal services performed in the United States. That covers wages, salaries, consulting fees, honoraria, and compensatory scholarship or fellowship income tied to work you perform.²

If your payment is passive (royalties, dividends, interest, or a noncompensatory scholarship), you use Form W-8BEN instead.³ One exception: if the same withholding agent pays you both compensatory and noncompensatory amounts and you are claiming treaty benefits on both, a single Form 8233 can cover the pair.²

The form works only if three things are true: you are a nonresident alien for U.S. tax purposes, your country of residence has an income tax treaty with the United States, and there is a specific treaty article covering the type of service compensation you receive. Nonresident alien status turns on the green card test and the substantial presence test.⁴ Many treaties preserve student, trainee, teacher, and researcher benefits even after you become a resident for tax purposes, which is why the two examples below still work for people who have been in the U.S. long enough to meet substantial presence.⁵

What to Have in Front of You

Before you open the form, put the following on your desk:

Your SSN or ITIN. Both the form and the treaty claim require one. If you have neither, you must file Form W-7 for an ITIN at the same time, and ITINs take roughly 7 to 10 weeks to issue.⁶
Your foreign tax identifying number from your home country.
Your passport, visa type, and current U.S. immigration status.
Your payer’s full legal name, address, and Employer Identification Number.
The exact treaty article number, including any dollar cap and time limit.
The statement required by Publication 519 (Appendix A for students and trainees, Appendix B for teachers and researchers).²
Your contract, offer letter, or invitation letter documenting the work.

File a separate Form 8233 for each tax year, each withholding agent, and each type of income. Write the tax year in the space above Part I.²

Example 1: Chinese Student, Part-Time Campus Job

Assume you are a graduate student from the People’s Republic of China, in F-1 status, working as a part-time restaurant worker at your university’s student union. You want the U.S.-China treaty’s student article, Article 20, to exempt up to $5,000 of your wages this year.

Part I is straightforward identification. Enter your full name, your permanent Chinese address, your current U.S. address, your SSN or ITIN, your Chinese tax identifying number, “People’s Republic of China” as your country of tax residence, “F-1” as your visa type, and “Student” as your current U.S. immigration status.⁶

Part II is the treaty claim, and this is where the entries have to be concrete:

Line 11a, description of services: “part-time on-campus restaurant worker.” A generic entry like “services” will get the form kicked back.²
Line 11b: the total compensation you expect from this employer for the calendar year, before taxes.
Line 12a: “People’s Republic of China.”
Line 12b: “Article 20.”
Line 12c: the exempt amount, up to the $5,000 annual cap in Article 20.
Line 12d: your residency status. For the student article you generally only need to have been a resident of China at the time you entered the United States.²
Line 14: reference your attached statement.

The statement itself follows the model in Appendix A of Publication 519. It confirms you were a resident of China when you arrived in the United States, that you are present in the U.S. solely for your education, and that the compensation qualifies for the Article 20 exemption in an amount not exceeding $5,000 for the tax year. It states your date of arrival and notes that the exemption applies for the period reasonably necessary to complete your education.⁷

Example 2: Belgian Teacher on a Two-Year Visiting Appointment

Now assume you are a Belgian resident visiting a U.S. university as a visiting professor of economics for two academic years. You are claiming the teacher/researcher article of the U.S.-Belgium treaty, which provides a full exemption for a limited period.

In Part I, enter your Belgian permanent address, your U.S. campus address, your SSN or ITIN, your Belgian tax identifying number, “Belgium” as your country of tax residence, your visa type (typically J-1), and “Exchange Visitor – Professor” as your immigration status.

In Part II:

Line 11a: describe the work concretely. For example, “teaching two courses per semester in the economics department.”
Line 11b: your full expected salary from the university for the calendar year.
Line 12a: “Belgium.”
Line 12b: the teacher/researcher article number of the U.S.-Belgium treaty.
Line 12c: the exempt amount. If the treaty article gives a full exemption for the visit’s duration, this is your entire salary; if the article caps the exemption at two years and you stay longer, the cap governs.
Line 12d: your residency in Belgium.
Line 14: reference the attached statement.

The Appendix B statement confirms you are a resident of Belgium, that you are not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, that you are visiting the named U.S. institution for teaching or research for no more than two years, and that you have not previously claimed this treaty benefit.⁷

Independent Versus Dependent Services on Line 11a

Line 11a asks what you do, and the phrasing signals which treaty article applies. Independent personal services are work you perform as a self-employed contractor, for example “consulting contract to design software” or “three lectures at XYZ University.” Dependent personal services are work you perform as an employee, for example “part-time library assistant” or “teaching one chemistry course per semester.” Both go on Form 8233, but the treaty article you cite must match the category.²

Parts III and IV: Your Signature and the Withholding Agent’s

Part III is your certification under penalties of perjury that everything on the form is true and complete.⁶ Part IV is the withholding agent’s certification. After reviewing the form and your supporting documents, the agent signs to accept the claim. If the agent has reason to believe any statement is false or cannot determine your eligibility, the agent must reject the form and withhold at the standard rate.²

How the Form Actually Gets Filed

You do not mail Form 8233 to the IRS yourself. You give the signed form and your supporting documents to your withholding agent. The agent reviews them, signs Part IV, and mails one copy to the IRS office in Philadelphia, PA 19255-0725 within five days of acceptance.²

After mailing, the IRS has 10 days to object. The agent does not have to wait those 10 days before reducing withholding. The exemption is effective retroactive to the first payment covered by the form. If the IRS later objects, the agent must resume withholding and make up the shortfall.²

Renew Every Calendar Year

Form 8233 expires at the end of each calendar year. Even if your treaty article covers multiple years, you must file a new form for each tax year. If a new form is not on file when the new year starts, your employer withholds at the full 30% rate until one is accepted.²

If Tax Was Already Withheld

If your employer withheld at 30% because Form 8233 was not on file, you can still claim the treaty exemption on your annual return. On Form 1040-NR, reduce your reported wages on line 1a by the exempt amount, complete item L on Schedule OI, and attach a statement containing the information that would have gone on Form 8233.⁸ You will wait for a refund instead of keeping the money in your paycheck, which is why filing Form 8233 before the first payment is the better path.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

A treaty claim you are not entitled to can trigger a 20% accuracy-related penalty on the resulting underpayment.⁹ Failing to report required treaty benefits carries a separate $1,000-per-failure penalty. The withholding agent is personally liable for tax it should have withheld, plus interest and penalties, and that liability exists independently of what you owe.¹⁰ If an agent later learns that any fact on an accepted Form 8233 was false, the agent must notify the IRS and resume withholding immediately.² That shared exposure is why university payroll offices and corporate HR departments scrutinize these forms carefully, and why concrete, specific entries on Lines 11a through 14 and a proper Publication 519 statement are what get a claim accepted the first time.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1441 – Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8233 – Exemption From Withholding on Compensation for Independent and Certain Dependent Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-8BEN
4
Internal Revenue Service. Determining an Individual’s Tax Residency Status
5
Internal Revenue Service. Claiming Treaty Exemption for a Scholarship or Fellowship Grant
6
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8233
7
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
8
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1040-NR
9
Internal Revenue Service. Accuracy-Related Penalty
10
Internal Revenue Service. Withholding Agent