Publication 553 |
2000 Tax Year |
2001 Changes
Foreign Earned Income
Exclusion Increased
In 2001, the maximum foreign earned income exclusion increases from
$76,000 to $78,000.
Tax Withholding
The Internal Revenue Service issued regulations relating to the
withholding of tax on, and reporting of, certain U.S. source income
paid to foreign persons. These regulations are generally effective for
payments made on or after January 1, 2001. For more information, see
Publication 515,
Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and
Foreign Corporations.
New documentation requirements.
New forms replace the following forms and statement.
- Form W-8, Certificate of Foreign
Status.
- Form 1001, Ownership, Exemption, or Reduced Rate
Certificate.
- Form 1078, Certificate of Alien Claiming Residence in
the United States.
- Form 4224, Exemption From Withholding of Tax on Income
Effectively Connected With the Conduct of a Trade or Business in the
United States.
- Form 8709, Exemption From Withholding on Investment
Income of Foreign Governments and International
Organizations.
- Statement under former regulation section 1.1441-5,
relating to an individual's claim to be a U.S. citizen or resident, or
a partnership's or corporation's claim that it is a domestic
entity.
In addition, the address rule for dividends does not
apply for any payments of dividends made after December 31, 2000. A
reduced rate of withholding applies to dividends only if you have
received valid documentation.
The following are the new forms that should be used under the new
regulations.
- Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of
Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding.
- Form W-8ECI, Certificate of Foreign Person's
Claim for Exemption From Withholding on Income Effectively Connected
With the Conduct of a Trade or Business in the United
States.
- Form W-8EXP, Certificate of Foreign Government or
Other Foreign Organization for United States Tax
Withholding.
- Form W-8IMY, Certificate of Foreign Intermediary,
Foreign Flow-Through Entity, or Certain U.S. Branches for United
States Tax Withholding.
Document transition rules. During calendar year 2001,
you, a U.S. withholding agent, may rely on old Form W-8, Form
1001, Form 1078, Form 4224, and Form 8709 obtained under the
regulations in effect prior to January 1, 2001, even if the validity
period of those forms has expired, provided you can show that you have
made good faith efforts to obtain Forms W-8BEN, W-8ECI,
W-8EXP, W-8IMY, and W-9 from account holders
required to provide those forms. However, you cannot use the address
rule for dividends paid after 2000. You must have documentation. In
addition, and until further notice, you can rely upon Forms W-8
that contain a P.O. box as a permanent residence address provided you
do not know, or have reason to know, that the person providing the
form is a U.S. person and provided you do not know, or have reason to
know, that a street address is available. Finally, you may rely on
Forms W-8 for which there is a U.S. mailing address without
applying the provisions of section 1.1441-7(b) of the new
regulations regarding the presence of a U.S. mailing address on the
Form W-8 or as part of your account information provided you
received the form prior to December 31, 2001.
You may not rely on an old Form W-8 to treat a foreign
financial institution as the beneficial owner of income if you know,
or have reason to know, that the foreign financial institution is
acting as an intermediary on behalf of others.
New reporting requirements.
The new regulations make significant changes to the method for
reporting payments to foreign persons, particularly with respect to
payments made to foreign intermediaries, partnerships, and trusts. In
addition, Form 1042-S, Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income
Subject to Withholding, has been significantly revised to
reflect changes in the new regulations. Withholding agents that rely
on automated systems to report income paid to foreign persons should
ensure that they have made the necessary changes to their systems to
comply with these new reporting requirements.
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