The W-8BEN-E Form:
How Should it be Completed?
The W-8BEN-E form is a form of the American Taxation
Authority, the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). It is intended
for entities and is designed, on the one hand, to communicate
your FATCA1 status to your bank (whether or not you want to
invest in American securities) and/or, in addition, to transmit
additional data concerning your identity, if you do indeed
want to invest therein. This form forms an integral part of
the documentation obligations imposed by the FATCA regulations, and must imperatively be completed and transmitted
to the American Authorities before any operation of any kind
can be carried out with regard to American securities. If you
so wish, you can find further information on the IRS website,
and detailed instructions for completing this declaration
correctly. For visiting the website www.irs.gov site, type `
iw8bene' in the search box at the top right-hand corner of the
screen, and click on the ensuing PDF link, or follow the link
below directly: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw8bene.pdf.
Private individuals may not use the W-8BEN-E form: they
have to complete the W-8BEN form.
How to complete the form?
PART I
Question 1: Complete name of the entity which is the
Beneficial Owner (including the company’s legal form, e.g.
SPRL).
Question 2: Country in which the entity was incorporated or
is established.
Question 3: Name of the ‘Disregarded Entity’ (single-owner
entity or not incorporated as a company) that is receiving the
payment. To be completed only if relevant.
Question 4: Type of entity. In most cases (SA, SPRL, SCS,…), it
is a `Corporation'. You can tick only one type of entity.
In summary:
Part I contains the entity’s identification data.
Part II specifically relates to `Disregarded Entities' (singleowner entities and those not incorporated as companies).
Part III relates to the possible right to the US reduced tax rate
on dividends, under the terms of the Treaty for the Avoidance
of Double Taxation signed between Belgium and the USA.
Parts IV to XXVIII relate to the entity’s FATCA status, and are
directly linked to Question 5 of Part I. Here, you can complete
only one heading.
In Part XXIX, the entity certifies that it has completed the
declaration correctly.
Part XXX concerns Americans possibly controlling a passive
NFFE (a passive Non-Financial Foreign (= non US) Entity).
This form (W-8BEN-E) must imperatively be completed in
English, and without any crossing out. In other words, in the
event of error, you will have to print out or ask for a new copy
of this form, and then complete it again.
Question 5 concerns the new FATCA legislation. The entity
must tick the box corresponding to its FATCA status. In any
event: if in doubt, contact your tax and/or legal advisor.
Belfius Bank is not in a position to answer this question
for you.
If the entity is a financial institution (FFI - Foreign Financial
Institution), as defined by the FATCA legislation, the corresponding category must be ticked.
The `financial institution' concept is extensive: it encompasses not only banks and insurance companies, but also
clearing houses, trust companies, hedge funds, private equity
funds, property/RE funds and pension funds. This concept
also includes investment instruments, such as open-ended
investment companies, for example.
For most “business” entities (SA, SPRL, SC, limited partnerships,…), either `Active NFFE’ , or `Passive NFFE' needs to be
ticked. The difference between the two is at the income and
assets level:
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FATCA: "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act": FATCA: Act relating to compliance
with tax obligations concerning foreign bank accounts. – (N. d. T.) (Source: IATA).
NFFE: "Non-Financial Foreign Entity": (N. d. T.)
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The W-8BEN-E Form:
How Should it be Completed?
• active NFFEs actually exercise a marketing activity or a
real business activity (production, industry, services other
than financial, etc.), and less than 50% of their gross
income from the previous calendar year is passive (in
particular: dividends, interest, rent, royalties, annuities);
moreover, less than 50% of the assets held by the NFFE
during the past calendar year are assets that generate or
contribute to the generation of ‘passive’ income.
Example: a butchery produces meat and has no other
income, apart from that generated by that activity.
• Passive NFFEs have gross income of which, during the
previous calendar year, more than 50% was generated by
‘passive’ products (in particular: dividends, interest, rent,
royalties, annuities), and more than 50 % of the assets
held at any time by the NFFE during the past calendar year
are assets that generate or contribute to the generation
of ‘passive’ income.
Example: a butchery which has a large investment portfolio, and which derives more income from of its financial
investments than from its core business.
If in doubt, contact your tax and/or legal advisor.
PART II
Part II is reserved for companies of the `Disregarded Entity'
variety and is to be completed only if the entity:
• Is a subsidiary of an FFI included in Part I, Line 1 ;
• Receives US income payments as an intermediary (including if it is a question of a subsidiary that is a `Disregarded
Entity');
• Is active in a country other than the one mentioned in Part
I, Line 2.
A ‘Disregarded Entity’ is an entity which has a single owner
and which has not been incorporated as a company. It is not
regarded as being a different entity from its owner: consequently, the certificate must be completed in the name of the
owner himself/herself.
If you think that you belong to this category, contact your tax
or legal advisor.
Question 6: The complete address of the entity’s head office
(residential address), on two lines. Don’t forget the country
(it can also be the USA; but in this case, the W-9 form has to
be used). Don’t mention any address in Post Office Box form,
nor indicate any formulas such as `c/o’, or any ‘p/a’ addresses.
Question 7: The postal address, on two lines, if it is different from the one indicated for the residential address. Don’t
forget the country.
Question 8: The TIN number: identification number for
United States tax purposes (Tax Identification Number), if
the entity has one. A US TIN number for entities is an EIN
number (Employer Identification Number).
Question 9a: Applies only to financial institutions in the broad
sense of the FATCA legislation (see above). Tick the box and
indicate the GIIN number (Global Intermediary Identification
Number) if you have one as a financial institution.
Question 9b: Tick the box and indicate your tax identification number outside of the USA (for Belgium: the company
number, or the VAT number).
Question 10: Possibly your bank account number or your
securities account number.
PART III
Part III relates to the possible right to the US reduced tax rate
on movable capital income, under the terms of the Treaty for
the Avoidance of Double Taxation signed between Belgium
and the USA. You should only complete this Part:
• If you would like to invest or have already invested in US
securities, and
• If you can claim the reduced US rate of the withholding
tax on the US movable capital income. To do this, you must
satisfy the Limitation on Benefits provisions envisaged by
the Treaty for the Avoidance of Double Taxation signed
between Belgium and the USA.
The terms of the limitation on benefits provision, included in
Article 21 of the Treaty for the Avoidance of Double Taxation,
signed between Belgium and the USA on 27/11/2006, can be
consulted on this website:
http://www.fiscus.fgov.be/interfafznl/fr/international/conventions/enVigueur.htm > Agreements > United States (new)
> Agreement of 27/11/2006 > Article 21,
or directly via the following link.
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The W-8BEN-E Form:
How Should it be Completed?
You can also contact Belfius Bank in order to obtain a copy
of this Article 21.
In short, and to simplify, for Belgium, the conditions that have
to be met are the following:
• More than 50% of the company’s shares are held by
Belgian or American residents, and less than 50% of the
company’s gross income is used to pay debts to nonBelgian residents, or
• The dividends received by the company are generated by
an industrial or commercial activity in the USA, or
• The company’s shares are quoted on a recognized stock
market and are regularly traded.
In this case, you can benefit from a reduced US tax rate on US
dividends, i.e. 15% instead of 30%, according to the current
legislation. It is incumbent upon you to determine whether or
not you meet the provisions of Article 21 of the Agreement
signed between Belgium and the USA.
Comment: if you are established in a country other than
Belgium, you must meet the conditions envisaged in the
Agreement signed between your country of residence and
the USA. If this is the case, contact your tax or legal advisor.
Question 14a: If you meet the conditions, tick this box and
also mention the entity’s country of residence.
Question 14b: If you have ticked Box 14a, you must also tick
Box 14b (Limitation on Benefits). NB: In this case, Point 9b
must also, imperatively, be completed.
Question 14c: To be ticked only if the entity itself is active in
the USA, if the dividends come from that activity, and if the
agreement signed with your country of residence dates from
before 01/01/1987.
PART IV to XXVIII
From Part IV to Part XXVIII inclusive, you should complete
only one heading, depending on your answer to Question 5,
except for certain financial institutions (FFI).
With regard more specifically to Part XXVI: if, at Question
5, you have ticked the box indicating that the entity is a
`passive NFFE', you must tick Question 40a, as well as either
Question 40b, or Question 40c:
• Question 40b: if no American person has control of the
entity to an extent of more than 25%, or
• Question 40c: if one or more American person(s) has/
have control of the entity to an extent of more than 25%.
In this case, Part XXX also has to be completed, with the
identification data (name, address and TIN number) of
those US Controlling Persons.
Definition of 'US Controlling Person': Substantial US Owner,
or US Controlling Person, is taken to mean any Specified US
Person, Given American Person, American citizen or resident,
who directly or indirectly owns more than 25% of the company’s shares or voting rights.
PART XXIX
In Part XXIX, you certify that you have completed the declaration correctly. You then sign, indicating your name and the
date (in DD/MM/YYYY format). And you also tick the box with
regard to the mention certifying that you are authorised to
sign for the entity.
Question 15: To be completed only if you are entitled to
a particular tax mode, as stipulated in the Treaty for the
Avoidance of Double Taxation: e.g. a US tax rate of 0% for a
Pension Fund Organisation - PFO.
If you cannot tick Boxes 14a and 14b because you do not
meet the conditions, you can invest in US securities nevertheless, but you will be taxed at the highest income tax rate
(currently: 30% of US income withheld).
Head Office • Boulevard Pachéco 44 • 1000 Brussels • Telephone +32 2 222 11 11 • www.belfius.be
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