Free W-8BEN helper

W-8BEN form, filled in right the first time with your treaty rate

A US platform, broker or client has asked for your W-8BEN. Three minutes here tells you whether it's even the right form, what goes on each line for someone in your country, and which treaty article cuts the 30% withholding.

Which form do I sign? Go to the lines

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you choose or type here is sent to Heirson or anyone else. We show example values; you fill the official IRS form yourself.

US$1,000 paid to you from the USRoyalty

No W-8BEN

US$300

30% withheld, the default for payments to someone the payer can't document.

W-8BEN with treaty

US$0

Choose your country to see the treaty rate.

Rates from IRS Tax Treaty Table 1 (Rev. May 2023). Withholding, not your final tax bill.

W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-9?

Answer until a form appears. Most people need two or three answers.

Q1Are you a US citizen or green card holder, anywhere in the world?
Q2Have you spent enough days in the US to be a resident for tax (the substantial presence test)?
Roughly: 31 days this year and 183 weighted days over three years (all of this year, a third of last year, a sixth of the year before).
Q3Who is being paid?
Q4Is the pay for work you do while physically in the US?
Q5Do you run a business in the US yourself, with income tied to it (an office, staff or dependent agent there)?

How to fill out the W-8BEN, line by line

Example values for your country and your kind of income. Read them, then type your own into the official form.

You live in

You're paid

Official form and instructions: Form W-8BEN (Rev. October 2021) and its instructions. Platforms often show the same lines in their own web form; the numbering stays the same.

W-8BEN treaty article and rate by country

Dividends and royalties for 40 treaty countries, as the IRS lists them.

Part II only matters for US-source income that is withheld: dividends, royalties and some interest. If you're paid for services you perform outside the US, there is normally nothing to claim.

Find a country

Country	Dividends	Copyright and software	Film and TV	Patents	Know-how

Rates come from IRS Tax Treaty Table 1, Tax Rates on Income Other Than Personal Service Income (Rev. May 2023), part of the IRS tax treaty tables. Dividend rates are the general rate on dividends paid by US corporations (income code 6); REIT and fund dividends can carry extra conditions. Copyright royalties include software unless the treaty says otherwise. "P" marks a protocol. Countries not listed by the IRS as treaty partners, such as the UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, stay at 30%.

Worked example

Say Priya lives in India and sells an e-book through a US platform: US$4,000 of royalties this year. Without a W-8BEN, 30% is withheld: US$1,200. With a W-8BEN claiming Article 12 of the US-India treaty, withholding drops to 15%: US$600. Because the India treaty has more than one royalty rate in the IRS table, line 10 should state the article, the 15% rate and "copyright royalties". Whether India then taxes the full US$4,000 and gives credit for the US$600 is a question for her Indian tax return, not for this form.

W-9 vs W-8BEN

One question decides it: are you a US person for tax?

	W-9	W-8BEN
Who signs	US citizens (even living abroad), green card holders, residents under the substantial presence test, US companies and partnerships	Non-US individuals, including the foreign owner of a single-member US LLC
What it does	Gives your SSN or EIN so the payer can file 1099s	Shows you're not a US person; can claim a treaty rate
Withholding	None, unless backup withholding applies	30% on US-source income like dividends and royalties, or the treaty rate you claim
Tax number	SSN or EIN required	Your home country tax number on line 6a; US number only in some cases
How long it lasts	Until something changes	To 31 December of the third year after signing
Goes to	The payer or platform, never the IRS

The two switches people miss

Moving to the US. The day you pass the substantial presence test you become a resident for tax and owe your payers a W-9 within 30 days. Leaving the treaty country you claimed is also a change in circumstances.

Owning a US LLC. The LLC has an EIN, so people assume it signs a W-9. If you're the only owner and you're not a US person, it doesn't: the W-9 instructions say a foreign owner of a disregarded entity gives a W-8, "even if the foreign person has a U.S. TIN". You sign the W-8BEN in your own name and put the LLC's name on line 7. An LLC with two or more owners is a partnership and does sign a W-9. If your company abroad owns the LLC, the form is the company's W-8BEN-E.

How long a W-8BEN is valid

Three full calendar years after the year you sign, then it lapses.

Date you signed (or will sign)

The IRS example: a form signed on 30 September 2015 stays valid through 31 December 2018. Once it lapses, a payer holding no valid form generally has to treat you as undocumented, which can mean 30% withholding on the next US-source payment until you sign a new one. A change before then (a new home country, a US address, US citizenship) means a new form within 30 days.

Who asks for a W-8BEN

Anyone paying you from the US who has to decide whether to withhold.

Freelance and creator platformsMarketplaces, app stores, video and publishing platforms. They collect it once in a tax interview.

BrokersFor US shares and funds. The treaty rate on dividends is applied automatically from line 9.

US clientsCompanies paying invoices, so they can show why they didn't issue a 1099 or withhold.

US banks and fintechsWhen you open an account, including one for your LLC, where you are the foreign owner.

Why a W-8BEN gets rejected

The eight errors that send it back, in the order payers see them.

A P.O. box, bank or "care of" address on line 3
Line 3 must be where you live for tax. Mail-only addresses go on line 4.
Line 3 and line 9 name different countries
The treaty country must be where you're resident. Living in Portugal and claiming the UK treaty fails.
A US address with a treaty claim
A US home address on line 3 tells the payer you may be a US resident. Students and researchers are the narrow exception.
No foreign tax number for a financial account
Banks and brokers with a US office need line 6a, or line 6b ticked if your country doesn't issue numbers.
Date of birth in the wrong order
Line 8 and the signature date are MM-DD-YYYY. 04-11-1990 is April 11, not 4 November.
The LLC's name on line 1
For a single-member LLC you own, line 1 is you. The LLC goes on line 7.
Royalties claimed with no line 10
If your treaty has different royalty rates, line 10 has to say which article, which rate and which kind of royalty.
A typed name as the signature
The IRS instructions say typing your name isn't an electronic signature. Use the platform's signing step or sign by hand.

W-8BEN questions

What is the W-8BEN form used for?

Form W-8BEN is how a non-US individual tells a US payer, broker or bank that they are not a US person. It stops backup withholding and 1099 reporting, and Part II lets you claim a lower withholding rate under your country's tax treaty with the US. You give it to the payer, not to the IRS.

How long is a W-8BEN valid?

From the day you sign it until the last day of the third calendar year after that. A form signed on 13 November 2026 stays valid until 31 December 2029, unless something on it becomes wrong first, in which case you give a new one within 30 days.

Do I need an ITIN or SSN to fill in a W-8BEN?

Usually not. Line 6a takes the tax number from your own country, and that is enough for most treaty claims. The IRS instructions say an ITIN isn't needed to claim treaty rates on dividends and interest from actively traded stocks and bonds or mutual fund dividends. Some payers ask for a US number for other income, such as certain royalties. Our ITIN guide explains when you can get one.

I own a US single-member LLC. Does the LLC sign a W-8BEN or a W-9?

Neither: you do. A single-member LLC is disregarded, so the payer needs the owner's form. If you are a non-US individual that is your own W-8BEN with your name on line 1, and you may write the LLC's name and account number on line 7. The W-9 instructions say a foreign owner gives a W-8 even if the LLC has an EIN.

Do freelancers outside the US need to claim a treaty on the W-8BEN?

Generally no. Pay for work you perform physically outside the US is not US-source income, so there is no US withholding to reduce. You still give the W-8BEN to prove you are not a US person; Part II can stay blank. Work done while you are in the US is different and uses Form 8233 or W-4.

Where do I send the W-8BEN?

To the person or platform paying you, usually through their tax form portal. Never to the IRS. Keep a copy and a note of the date you signed it.

W-8BEN-E for companies ITIN for non-residents Form W-7, line by line LLC operating agreement generator EIN without an SSN

Not tax advice. A general guide from Heirson, a company formation service, not a tax adviser. Line rules follow Form W-8BEN and its instructions (Rev. October 2021); rates follow IRS Tax Treaty Table 1 (Rev. May 2023). Updated 13 November 2026.

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