How to fill up the W-8BEN form
If you’re a non US citizen applying to join Commission Junction or many other US based companies’ affiliate programs, you will be required to fill up the W-8BEN form and mail or fax the form over.
So first things first, you can download the W-8BEN form at the IRS website here.
For non US citizens, there are just a few fields you need to fill, namely for :
1) Your name in full
2) Your country
3) Type of owner – if you’re an individual than tick “individual”
4) Your address
9) Tick the box [a] for “The beneficial owner is a resident of….” and input your country’s name in the empty field. Ignore the rest (b-e), as in all likelihood you and your country has no tax treaty with the United States.
11) Tick the box for -“I have provided or will provide a statement that identifies those notational principal contracts…”
Sign at the bottom and input the date (month-day-year format).
Here is a bigger picture of the form and the areas to fill; if you need to view how it is done.
To be fair, this form is really only meant for individuals with earnings that are “sourced from the US” but since many US companies still ask for it, if you were asked to provide this form, consider it red tape that needs to be done.
Most individuals who conduct small business on the Web are not classified as earning from revenue sourced in the US, since they are likely to be renting a US based webhost to run their websites, and not owning a webhosting business there. Which is why Google themselves do not have this requirement for non US folks and they explain it more over here. To quote them:
“Non U.S. Business (No U.S. Activities )
United States (U.S.) Activities involve having employees or owning equipment in the U.S. that are involved in any way with revenue earned through the AdSense program. This includes, but is not limited to, owning a web server or owning a hosting service in the U.S., or having employees in the U.S. who are involved in either:
1. setting up a web server, hosting service, or website
2. developing content for your website
3. marketing to create a user base for your site
4. telephone support for your site
5. buying products for your site
6. maintaining your siteGenerally, utilizing an unrelated third-party U.S. web hosting service to host your web pages, renting web servers that are located in the U.S. from an unrelated third party, or having your payment sent to a U.S. Post Office Box or mail forwarding address, do not of themselves constitute U.S. Activities.
If you do not have U.S. Activities, please visit the Tax Information page under your My Account tab where you will agree to a statement to that effect. No tax forms are required in this instance.”
In all likelihood, if you’re not a US citizen, you will encounter many instances where you would be asked to submit this form, so it’s best to just fill the form up, and post it off.
I suppose the best of the answers.. though he missed to inform about entering your CJ Reference No
Thanks for that tip. Actually, it’s meant to be general and not just for CJ, but yeah, if you’re filling for CJ, you’d need to input your CJ account number under Part 1 and point 8] Reference Number.
Thanks man. That saves a lot of time.
Thanks for the help.My broker has sent me the form with no instructions and I would have given up had it not been for your blog.
I am an individual from pakistan and earning only $100 from cpx interactive and also i dont have any tax id here, will anyone plz tell me are the given steps by you are ok or i have to fullfill some other fields also ?
One more thing is should we have to type the whole form at computer or we can fill form by handwritten ?
@Panwar,
You just need to follow these steps, but take note of Part 1 and point [8] Reference Number….if CPX interactive gives you an account number, you might have to fill in that field with it. Also, you can certainly fill the W-8BEN form by handwriting. Just make sure you write clearly and in capital letters to avoid any confusion.
Cool
hi,I am an individual from India.I have opened a checking account in united states just for visiting purpose as I am a visitor to united states.The bank has asked me to fill this form.Do I have to fill this form the same way you have mentioned above or have to make any changes? I have no source of income in US.
Thanks.
Hi harshil
You just have to fill the form like that and it will be ok, at least for 90% of cases. If you are just an individual and have no business interests within the United States, than that’s how you should fill it up.
Regards
Dear Sir,
My Organization is a Tax Exempt Organization in Australia and we are into CPA marketing,pls confirm to us if we need to fill all Form W-8 or do we only fill the Part 1 and Part 4 ?
I will appreciate your kind respond on the above.
Thanks
SCF
@ Kenneth
You just need to fill the form as the example I gave…and that means all the necessary sections in Part 1,2,3, and 4.
Very nice information. I’ve recently had to fill this form out and in hindsight, having some sort of guide like this would of made the experience much less intimidating.
hello i am from pakistan etrade is a stock brokrage company
its also asked for W8BEN form to fill up so should i fill it
up with tht method showing in the picture at the top ?
plz answer and also this website is very help full for everyone
Hi muazam,
Just fill it up like my example. Etrade/CJ/all other companies should then accept your form. That is how I fill it up – No problems. Good luck.
Hi I am from Nepal currently residing in Singapore. I was in US and I have bank account there including Social Security Number (SSN). Now, I am planning to invest in US shares through online broker. Do I need to fill this form? If yes, is the format provided enough?
Also, since I have SSN, do I need to pay tax on income as US citizen?
Will appreciate your kind response on above
Thanks for such helpful website.
@ Kumud
Not sure of your status, but if you have an SSN, you should be a US citizen, and therefore you should be filling up the W-9 form instead, which is available at the IRS site http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
Hi, thanks for helpful information.
I am a non-us affiliate, beside acct ref no in sec 8, do I need to give my acct username?
How to fill up the field “Capacity in which acting” on the last part.
Thank you very much.
@ William K,
I don’t think there is any need to give your username in most cases, but this depends on the company you are dealing with. For example, Commission Junction gives each affiliate a user # and you just need to put this in.
There is no need to fill in the “Capacity in acting” on the last part.
Hey, Thanks for helpful information, I’ve had the W-8BEN form for 2 weeks and did not know how to fill it in, But thnks to your info I can send it off now : )
P.S Hi again Will I need to send my passport with the form ? because BMI(Broadcast Music, Inc) is where I’m sending it to ? thanks
@ Kyle
Yes, sometimes some companies require you to provide a copy of your ID copy or passport. Check with BMI first.
Hi I have been asked to fill in this form by Zazzle.com. I am a shop owner on that site and receive royalties for print on demand products that I design when sold. What is this form for? Will Zazzle withhold any royalty payments for tax purposes? Will the IRS want money from me?
@ Karen
This form is for non US citizens to exempt their earnings from the IRS, by certifying that they are non Americans. If you want to operate within Zazzle, I suppose you will need to submit the W-8BEN as they requested. Please contact Zazzle if you have any questions or issues.
Hi Darrin, Thanks for the reply. Your site is very clear and precise, quick to respond and very helpful. Will recommend it to others. Much appreciated.
Aww… thanks Karen
Glad to be of help.
Thank you Darren, this is an excellent list.
Hi,
why do I need to tick item 11 ? what does it mean? I’m filling this form for Zecco online broker.
Thank you for this website
Item 11 is needed. It’s just to acknowledge you will provide a written statement that your NPC (Notional Principal Contract) income is not sourced from the US and therefore not eligible for taxation.
HI,
Your efforts are really appreciable. Thanks for all the info. i have a question. I reside outside the Unites States, but i invest in the stock market via a broker in my country. Recently i received some dividends, for which i was charged tax, i suppose if i am n not residing in US i am exempted from the tax, isn’t it? Your blog helped me to understand that if i can fill the W-8BEN form i can reclaim the withheld amount, isn’t it? Do i need to fill in any other form as well?? What am i suppose to do with the form, should i post it to the company or should i handover the same to my broker to take care of the rest?
Would appreciate your response.
@ Abrar,
If you are not a US citizen, you are exempted from tax, as what I know. But I’m not sure if you can reclaim the withheld amount from your dividends since it seems they were issued before you submitted your W-8BEN form. If your broker is handling your investments, do get in touch with him, and you may of course hand him your form for submission with the IRS. I’m sure your broker can clear some things up for you; I don’t have much experience with stock market procedures unfortunately. All the best.
11) Tick the box for -“I have provided or will provide a statement that identifies those notational principal contracts…”
What is a notational principal contract ??
@ Owen
It is just something I think you have to acknowledge on the form. More details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notional_principal_contract