How to Fill Out Form W-8BEN for Nonresident Aliens

Form W-8BEN tells a US bank, broker, or other payer that you are a foreign individual rather than a US taxpayer, so the payer withholds US tax on your dividends, interest, royalties, or similar income at the correct rate. To fill out Form W-8BEN, confirm you qualify as a nonresident alien beneficial owner, complete the identification lines in Part I, use Part II only if you are claiming a tax treaty rate, sign Part III under penalties of perjury, and return the form to the payer. Done right, it can drop the default 30% withholding to 15%, 10%, or zero. Done wrong, or not at all, every payment you receive gets hit with the full 30%.

Before You Start: Make Sure It’s the Right Form

W-8BEN is for one specific filer: a nonresident alien individual who is the beneficial owner of US-sourced passive income not connected to a US business. Beneficial owner means you are the person who actually earns the income, even if someone else holds the account.

If that is not you, a different form applies:

Foreign corporations, partnerships, and trusts use Form W-8BEN-E.¹
Income connected to a US trade or business goes on Form W-8ECI. Trading stocks through a US broker does not by itself count as running a US business.²
Wages or personal service compensation where you want a treaty exemption go on Form 8233. Wages without a treaty claim go on Form W-4.³⁴

You also need to actually be a nonresident alien. US citizens and green card holders cannot use this form, and neither can foreign nationals who meet the IRS substantial presence test based on days spent in the United States over a three-year lookback. If you’ve spent significant time in the US recently, confirm your status against that test before signing.⁵ Putting a US address on a W-8BEN while you actually qualify as a US resident invalidates the form and can expose you to penalties for a false certification.

What to Have in Front of You

Gather these before you open the PDF:

Your full legal name as it appears on your passport.
Your country of citizenship.
Your permanent residence address in your home country. No PO boxes, no bank addresses, no care-of addresses.⁶
A separate mailing address, only if it differs from your permanent one.
Your foreign tax identifying number (FTIN) issued by your home country. Required if you hold an account at a US financial institution receiving reportable US-sourced income. If your country does not issue tax IDs, you can check a box instead.⁷
Your US TIN (SSN or ITIN) if you have one. Not always required, but it can extend how long the form stays valid.
Your date of birth.
If you’re claiming a treaty rate: the exact treaty article and paragraph that covers your income type, and the rate it allows. The IRS tax treaty tables list rates by country for dividends, interest, royalties, and other categories.⁸

Part I: Identification

Part I establishes who you are. Most lines are mechanical. A few trip people up.

Line 1 — Name. Your full legal name. If you own a foreign entity that is disregarded for US tax purposes, put your own name here, not the entity’s.⁶

Line 2 — Country of citizenship. The country that issued your passport.

Line 3 — Permanent residence address. The address of your tax home in your country of residence. No PO boxes, no in-care-of addresses, no financial institution addresses. A US address on this line is a red flag that can invalidate the form, because it suggests you may actually be a US resident.⁶

Line 4 — Mailing address. Leave blank if it matches Line 3. Fill in only if different.⁶

Line 5 — US TIN. Your SSN or ITIN, if you have one. Not required for every filer, but providing one can extend the form’s useful life.

Line 6a — Foreign TIN. The tax identifying number from your country of residence. Required if the form is tied to an account at a US financial institution receiving reportable US-sourced income. If your country does not issue tax IDs or doesn’t require you to have one, check the box on Line 6b.⁷

Line 7 — Reference number. Optional. Used by you or the withholding agent for internal tracking, usually an account number. Leave it blank unless the payer asks for something specific.⁷

Line 8 — Date of birth. MM-DD-YYYY format. Required when the form is attached to a US financial account, as part of FATCA reporting.⁶

Part II: Claiming a Treaty Rate

Part II is optional. Skip it entirely if you are not claiming a treaty benefit; the form still works to establish your foreign status. But if your country has an income tax treaty with the United States, this is where you cut your withholding rate, and the savings over time can be significant.

Line 9 — Treaty country. The country where you claim tax residency for treaty purposes. It must have an active income tax treaty with the United States.⁹

Line 10 — Special rates and conditions. This is the line people get wrong. You need three things: the treaty article and paragraph that supports your claim, the reduced rate, and the type of income it applies to. Add a short explanation of why you qualify.⁹

A Canadian resident claiming the treaty rate on US dividends might write: “Article X, Paragraph 2(b) — 15% rate on dividends — beneficial owner is a resident of Canada.” The 15% comes directly from the US-Canada treaty’s portfolio dividend provision. Different income types take different articles and different rates under the same treaty, so a Canadian claiming the treaty rate on interest would cite a different article and possibly a 0% rate. The IRS tax treaty tables are the fastest way to confirm the rate for your country and income type.⁸

Many treaties contain a Limitation on Benefits clause meant to stop people from routing income through treaty countries where they have no real economic ties. By signing Line 10 you are certifying that you meet every requirement of the article you cite, including any LOB provisions. Read the actual treaty article if you are not sure. An improperly claimed treaty position can trigger a $1,000 penalty for failure to disclose.

Part III: Signature

Signing certifies, under penalties of perjury, that you are not a US person, that you are the beneficial owner of the income, and that everything on the form is accurate. Print your name, sign, and date.

Electronic signatures are widely accepted but not every digital mark qualifies. The IRS requires an electronic signature to reasonably show that the person named on the form actually signed, which generally means the signer’s name, a timestamp, and a statement that the form was signed electronically. Typing your name into a signature line with nothing else behind it is not enough.¹⁰ Brokerage and bank portals that let you submit W-8BEN online usually build the compliant signature flow for you.

Where It Goes and How Long It Lasts

The W-8BEN does not go to the IRS. Give the signed form to the withholding agent — your bank, broker, or whichever US entity is paying you. They keep it on file and use it to justify applying the reduced rate instead of 30%.¹¹

A W-8BEN stays valid from the date you sign it through December 31 of the third calendar year after signing. A form signed any time in 2026 expires on December 31, 2029.⁶ The withholding agent will usually ask for a renewal when the time comes, but tracking the date yourself avoids a surprise 30% withhold on a payment you expected at 15%.

You must submit a new form within 30 days if anything on the current one becomes incorrect. The most common triggers are moving to the United States, moving out of the treaty country you listed on Line 9, or any change in citizenship. A new US address counts as a change in circumstances even if you still consider yourself a nonresident.⁶

One boundary to flag: if you hold a US account jointly, each owner has to submit their own W-8 form. If any co-owner is a US person and files a Form W-9, the entire account is treated as a US account regardless of your W-8BEN.⁶

What Happens If You Skip It or Fill It Out Wrong

The consequences hit the next payment. Without a valid W-8BEN on file, the payer must apply the full 30% statutory rate to every payment of US-sourced passive income.¹⁰ If your treaty rate was 15% or zero, the overwithheld money comes back only after you file a Form 1040-NR to claim a refund, which takes months.¹² Banks and brokerages routinely freeze or close accounts that lack a current W-8BEN, because the payer carries real liability for failing to collect one.

False information is worse. The signature is under penalties of perjury, so intentional misrepresentation can carry criminal exposure. Improperly claiming a treaty benefit without proper disclosure can trigger a $1,000 civil penalty per failure. Fill it out honestly, keep track of the expiration date, and send in a new one within 30 days whenever your circumstances change.

1
IRS. Form W-8BEN-E (Rev. October 2021)
2
Internal Revenue Service. Effectively Connected Income (ECI)
3
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8233
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8233 (Rev. December 2025)
5
Internal Revenue Service. Substantial Presence Test
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-8BEN (Rev. October 2021)
7
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-8BEN (10/2021)
8
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Treaty Tables
9
Internal Revenue Service. Form W-8BEN (Rev. October 2021)
10
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Forms W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP, and W-8IMY
11
Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-8 BEN
12
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-NR (2025)