If you are making a payment to a nonqualified intermediary, foreign flow-through entity, or U.S. branch that is using Form W-8IMY, Certificate of Foreign Intermediary, Foreign Flow-Through Entity, or Certain U.S. Branches for United States Tax Withholding, to transmit information about the entity’s or branch's account holders or customers, you can treat the payment (or a portion of the payment) as reliably associated with valid documentation from a specific payee only if, prior to making the payment: You can allocate the payment to a valid Form W-8IMY, You can reliably determine how much of the payment relates to valid documentation provided by a payee (a person that is not itself a foreign intermediary, flow-through entity, or a U.S. branch), and You have sufficient information to report the payment on Form 1042-S, Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, or Form 1099, if reporting is required. The NQI, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch must give you certain information on a withholding statement that is associated with the Form W-8IMY. A withholding statement must be updated to keep the information accurate prior to each payment. Generally, a withholding statement must contain the following information: The name, address, and TIN (if any, or if required) of each person for whom documentation is provided. The type of documentation (documentary evidence, Form W-8 series, or Form W-9) for every person for whom documentation has been provided. The status of the person for whom the documentation has been provided, such as whether the person is a U.S. exempt recipient (U.S. person exempt from Form 1099 reporting), U.S. non-exempt recipient (U.S. person subject to Form 1099 reporting), or a foreign person. For a foreign person, the statement must indicate whether the person is a beneficial owner or a foreign intermediary, flow-through entity, or a U.S. branch. The type of recipient the person is, based on the Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 status codes used on Form 1042-S. Information allocating each payment, by income type, to each payee (including U.S. exempt and U.S. non-exempt recipients) for whom documentation has been provided. The rate of withholding that applies to each foreign person to whom a payment is allocated. A foreign payee's country of residence. If a reduced rate of withholding is claimed, the basis for a reduced rate of withholding (e.g., portfolio interest, treaty benefit, etc.). In the case of treaty benefits claimed by entities, whether the applicable limitation on benefits statement and the statement that the foreign person derives the income for which treaty benefits are claimed, have been made. The name, address, and TIN (if any) of any other NQI, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch from which the NQI’s payee will directly receive a payment. Any other information that you, as a withholding agent, request to fulfill your reporting and withholding obligations. Alternative procedure Under this alternative procedure the NQI can give you the information that allocates each payment to each foreign and U.S. exempt recipient by January 31 following the calendar year of payment, rather than prior to the payment being made as otherwise required. To take advantage of this procedure, the NQI must: inform you, on its withholding statement, that it is using the alternative procedure, and obtain your consent. You must receive such a withholding statement with all the required information (other than item 5) prior to making the payment. The alternative procedure cannot be used for payments to U.S. non-exempt recipients. Therefore, an NQI must always provide you with allocation information for all U.S. non-exempt recipients prior to a payment being made. Pooled withholding information If an NQI uses the alternative procedure, it must provide you with estimated temporary withholding rate pool information, as opposed to individual allocation information, prior to the payment of a reportable amount. A withholding rate pool is a payment of a single type of income (as determined by the income categories and Chapter 4 exemption codes on Form 1042-S) that is subject to a single rate of withholding. For example, an NQI that has foreign account holders receiving royalties and dividends, both subject to the 15% rate and using the same chapter 4 exemption code, will provide you with information for two withholding rate pools (one for royalties and one for dividends). The NQI must provide you with the payee specific allocation information (information allocating each payment to each payee) by January 31 following the calendar year of payment. Failure to provide allocation information If an NQI fails to provide you with the payee specific allocation information for a withholding rate pool by January 31, you must not apply the alternative procedure to any of the NQI's withholding rate pools from that date forward. Unless the NQI provides all the required information, including account holder specific allocation information, prior to any payments being made, you must treat the payees as undocumented and apply the presumption rules. An NQI is deemed to have failed to provide specific allocation information if it does not give you such information for more than 10% of any one withholding rate pool. However, if you receive such information by February 14, you may make the appropriate adjustments to repay any excess withholding incurred between February 1 and on or before February 14. If the NQI fails to reliably allocate more than 10% of the payment to a withholding rate pool by February 14 following the calendar year of payment, you must file a Form 1042-S for each account holder in the pool on a pro-rata basis. For example, if there are four account holders in a withholding rate pool that receives a $100 payment and the NQI fails to allocate more than $10 of the payment, you must file four Forms 1042-S, one for each account holder in the pool, showing $25 of income to each. You must also check the Pro-rata Basis Reporting box 15 of each form. If, however, the nonqualified intermediary provides allocation information for 90% or more of the payment to a withholding rate pool, the pro-rata reporting method is not required. Instead, you must file a Form 1042-S for each account holder for whom you have allocation information and report the unallocated portion of the payment on a Form 1042-S issued to unknown recipient.
