W-8BEN

Form W-8BEN is how you tell a US payer, in writing, that you are a foreign person. Banks, brokers, and platforms like Stripe, Amazon, and YouTube ask for it before paying you, because US law makes them withhold tax from certain payments to foreign people. The form certifies your foreign status, gives your address and foreign tax number, and, if your country has a tax treaty with the US, lets you claim a lower withholding rate.

The form matters most for FDAP income, the passive category that includes dividends, royalties, and certain interest. Without a W-8BEN on file, a US payer generally withholds 30% from those payments before you see a cent. With one that claims treaty benefits, the rate can drop sharply; many treaties cut royalty withholding to 10% or even zero. On a $10,000 royalty, that is the difference between losing $3,000 and losing nothing up front.

Know which version applies. W-8BEN is for individuals. A foreign company uses W-8BEN-E, a longer form with entity classification questions, and US businesses use Form W-9 instead. And here is a twist for LLC owners: because a single-member LLC is a disregarded entity, US platforms often require the owner's own W-8BEN rather than a form in the LLC's name, since the IRS looks straight through the LLC to you as the human behind it.

W-8BEN goes to the payer, who keeps it on file; it is never mailed to the IRS, and it expires after three calendar years unless your details change sooner. It also does nothing for your company's filing duties. A foreign-owned single-member LLC still files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 by April 15, and a multi-member LLC still files Form 1065 by March 15. The W-8BEN handles withholding at the source; the annual filings handle reporting.