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W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E: which one do you need?

Use W-8BEN if you are a foreign individual, including a freelancer or sole proprietor with no company. Use W-8BEN-E if a foreign company, partnership or other entity is being paid. If you own a US single-member LLC, the LLC does not sign: you give the form for its owner, W-8BEN if that is you as a person, W-8BEN-E if the owner is a company.

  • Checked against irs.gov on 2026-10-23

Not tax or legal advice. This guide is our reading of the IRS sources listed below. It is not tax or legal advice, and no tax professional has reviewed it. Check irs.gov, or ask a tax professional, before you rely on it.

The one question that decides it: who is the beneficial owner?

Both forms tell a US payer, platform or bank that the person being paid is not a US person, so it can withhold the right amount of US tax. The difference is who that person is.

  • W-8BEN is for an individual: a human being who is a nonresident alien and keeps the income.
  • W-8BEN-E is for an entity: a company, partnership, foundation or other organization formed outside the United States that keeps the income.

So ask whose name is on the contract and whose bank account receives the money. If it is yours, as a person, you need W-8BEN. If it is your company's, you need W-8BEN-E.

Typical cases

  • A freelancer abroad with no company, paid by a US client or a platform: W-8BEN. Working as a sole proprietor or under a trade name does not make you an entity.
  • A small foreign company (an SL, Ltd, GmbH, SAS, SRL and so on) paid by a US client: W-8BEN-E in the company's name.
  • A foreign person with a US brokerage or bank account: W-8BEN.
  • A foreign partnership or trust: usually W-8IMY, unless it claims treaty benefits in its own right. See the W-8BEN-E instructions.

W-8BEN-E is much longer than W-8BEN because an entity also has to state its FATCA status (for example active or passive NFFE). The W-8BEN-E guide walks through it.

The single-member LLC exception

A US LLC with one owner and no election is a disregarded entity: for US tax it does not exist apart from its owner. A disregarded entity never gives a W-8 in its own name. Its owner does.

  • You, a person living abroad, own the LLC: give W-8BEN in your own name. You can note the LLC's name and account on line 7.
  • A foreign company owns the LLC: the company gives W-8BEN-E with its own name on line 1, and can put the LLC's name on line 10.

The LLC does not give a W-9 either, even though it was formed in the United States and may have a US EIN. A W-9 is for US persons, and a disregarded LLC with a foreign owner takes its owner's status. If the LLC still needs an EIN, see how to get an EIN as a non-resident.

When it is neither form

  • You are a US citizen or resident, even if you live abroad: Form W-9. A US citizen living abroad is still a US person.
  • Your income is effectively connected with a US trade or business, such as profits of a business you run in the United States: Form W-8ECI.
  • You receive the money as an agent or intermediary for someone else: Form W-8IMY.
  • A foreign government or tax-exempt organization: Form W-8EXP.
  • Pay for personal services you performed while in the United States, with a treaty exemption: Form 8233.

Whichever you give, it goes to the payer or platform that asked for it, never to the IRS. It generally stays valid until the last day of the third calendar year after you sign it, and you replace it within 30 days if something on it becomes untrue. Without one, the payer may withhold 30% on US-source income. If you need to fill and sign it on a phone, PDF Sign & Fill handles both forms on Android, and your documents are never uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E?

W-8BEN is for foreign individuals and W-8BEN-E is for foreign entities such as companies. Both certify foreign status and can claim a tax treaty rate; W-8BEN-E also asks for the entity's FATCA status.

Do I need W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E for a single-member LLC?

Neither in the LLC's name. A disregarded single-member LLC is documented by its owner: W-8BEN if the owner is a foreign individual, W-8BEN-E if the owner is a foreign company.

What is the difference between W-8BEN and W-9?

W-9 is for US persons, including US citizens living abroad and US companies. W-8BEN is for individuals who are not US persons.

Is W-8BEN-E or W-8IMY right for a foreign partnership?

A foreign partnership that is not claiming treaty benefits in its own right generally gives W-8IMY, as an intermediary for its partners. Check the W-8BEN-E and W-8IMY instructions for your case.

How long is a W-8BEN valid?

Generally until December 31 of the third year after the year you sign it, unless something on it changes first.

The form guides

Sources

Written from: Instructions for Form W-8BEN (Rev. October 2021); Instructions for Form W-8BEN-E (Rev. October 2021); Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities.

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