A withholding foreign partnership (WP) is any foreign partnership that has entered into a WP withholding agreement with the IRS and is acting in that capacity. A withholding foreign trust (WT) is a foreign simple or grantor trust that has entered into a WT withholding agreement with the IRS and is acting in that capacity. A WP or WT may act in that capacity only for payments of amounts subject to nonresident alien (NRA) withholding that are distributed to, or included in the distributive share of, its direct partners, beneficiaries, or owners. A WP or WT acting in that capacity must assume NRA withholding responsibility for these amounts. You may treat a WP or WT as a payee if it has provided you with documentation (discussed later) that represents that it is acting as a WP or WT for such amounts. WP and WT withholding agreements The WP and WT withholding agreements and the application procedures for the agreements are in Revenue Procedure 2017-21 PDF. Employer identification number (EIN) A completed Form SS–4 must be submitted with the application for being a WP or WT. The WP or WT will be assigned a WP-EIN or WT-EIN to be used only when acting in that capacity. Documentation A WP or WT must provide you with a Form W-8IMY that certifies that the WP or WT is acting in that capacity and a written statement identifying the amounts for which it is so acting. The statement is not required to contain withholding rate pool information or any information relating to the identity of a direct partner, beneficiary, or owner. The Form W–8 IMY must contain the WP-EIN or WT-EIN. Related Identifying the Payee Persons Subject to NRA Withholding
