Tax Form W-8BEN

[Rachel27]

I already filed Form W-8BEN in payout preferences, which I assume will exempt me from withholding tax deuctionsn from my income. However, in the list of future transactions, withholding tax is still being deducted. Why is this?

[Michel51]

anybody answer your question? i am trying to find informatiocoming reserrvation. i am not intrested in giving 30% to US goverment. and then reporting it to canada as well.

[Ligia0]

Hi, we are in the same situation.  We are exempt of paying taxes in the US, however AIRBNB is holding our taxes too.  How did AIRBNB intend to refund this money to us, since the US government gave us exemption? 

[Xin3]

I am in  the same situation and I called Airbnb for the assist, however they can't give me the answer. anybody knows it? please help, thanks!

[Michel51]

i ended up finding examples online on how to fill out the form did and they didn't withhold any money hope this helps. 

[Xin3]

Hi Michel, thanks for your reply. I appreciate it. Could you please tell me the details how you did it？ Thank you!

[Michel51]

found a video on youtube. I see your profile said china. you also need to figure out if there is a tax treaty between us and china. or will you be subject to double taxation. FWIW

FWIW i saw there is a change in terms iand conditions (December 2016) for Chinese resident?? don't ask me what they are because I didn't read it?

[Xin3]

Michel,Thanks again! 

   I filed the W-8BEN form on 20th Dec. 2016, after that Airbnb withhold 30% on all my payouts.

   I claimed this sentence in the W-8BEN form: "The beneficial owner is a resident of __China___ within the meaning of the income tax treaty between theUnited States and that country." 

   I am sure that there is income tax treaty between China and the United States, and the rate is lower than 30%.

   In addition, 

“Special rates and conditions (if applicable—see instructions): The beneficial owner is claiming the provisions of Article ________________

of the treaty identified on line 9 above to claim a ________ % rate of withholding on (specify type of income): 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Explain the reasons the beneficial owner meets the terms of the treaty article: __________________________________________________”

I didn't fill any blank in the sentence above when I submitted the W-8BEN form on 20th Dec. as I think these blanks might be filled by Airbnb. Is this the reason why I can't get a lower tax rate? Michel, DID YOU FILL THESE BLANKS?

Futhermore, today I reviewed the Taxpayer Information in my account. When I clicked the "edit" button, it proceeded to the page of "Edit your IRS Form W-8ECI details" in stead of "Edit your IRS Form W-8BEN details".  And even when I tried to add another taxpayer information, it always showed the page of "IRS Substitute Form W-8ECI" regardless of whether I chose the W-8ECI or the W-8BEN form. I mean I can't enter or edit the page of W-8BEN. I don't know why it changed and also I don't have any U.S. tax ID or SSN.  

[Jasmine58]

Hello, I'm a non US citizen and I don't have a SSN. I have to fill W-8BEN form. I want to ask you which address I should write there as the permanent address... is it the address of my apartment in Airbnb which is in US or is it the address where I live in my country?

Best, 

[Xin3]

As you said there is a change in terms and conditions (December 2016) for Chinese resident, could you please tell me where this file is or any further info. about it, since my English is limited. Thanks a lot for your help！

[Nan18]

Hi Xin,

Does airbnb still withold your tax? I have same situation, non-american list, non-american resident, non-american income, but they start to withold 30% tax from this year october, I filled W8ben form, do you think it will stop them withold tax? Customers cannot help and answer my question. Could you kindly share your experience to me?

Thanks a lot!

[Olivier590]

Hello Nan

Can you write an update about your situation ? Did Airbnb stop to withhold taxes on your incomes or went on despite you filled the form. I am facing the same situation, non US resident, non US listing and getting the notification I have to fill the form W-8BEN.
thanks

[Scott175]

Hi Michel!

I'm also a Canadian trying to figure out how to correctly fill in that form, I filled it out years ago but I'm still having 30% deducted from my listing.

Can you help me, or maybe share the link to the video?

Thanks!

Scott

[Tuyet0]

I am a canadian with a US airbnb listing, is anyone able to provide an answer?

[Scott175]

Hey Tuyet!

I've been putting a lot of work and google into this the past week or so. As near as I can figure, you must get a ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) from the IRS to qualify for the tax treaty exemption. It does no good to fill out the information on the AirBnb website form without that number, but (I am assuming from what scraps of information I could find online) once you give AirBnb that number they stop withholding US taxes.

Okay, here's come the tough part. To fill out the W7 form and get a ITIN, you have to submit proof of your citizenship to the IRS. They will only accept original documents (which means mailing my passport to them and waiting for it to be returned in two months) or "certified copies." I'm not parting with my passport, so the question is, what's a certified copy, and how can I get one? Took a fair bit of googling to find the answer.

There's two options. One is to go to the Canadian passport office and for a small fee of (I think) 45 bucks they will give you two or more photocopies that are "certified" by the Canadian government. I'm in LA, so I can't do that.

The other is to go to an "Acceptance Agent" in the USA who is an accountant that has been vetted and approved by the IRS. They will photocopy and verify the passport, and you can mail the certified copy in. The first and only acceptance agent I've gone to thus far wanted to charge $350 bucks to do that, so I'm hunting for another that might be cheaper.

The third option, actually, is to book an appointment in person with the IRS so they can verify my passport in person, but because it is tax season, they're all booked up for the next two months.

So, I'm currently on the hunt for an "Acceptance Agent" who will certify my passport copies for cheaper. Maybe even free? One can dream...

For you, my understanding is the best thing to do would be to go to the passport office in Vancouver. Pay for the certified copies. (Get as many as you can, I'm told there's no extra fee for more copies.)

Then either get a US accountant to help you or do it yourself: fill out form W7 and submit it with the copies and a tax return saying you earned zero dollar in the US. You'll get assigned an ITIN in about six weeks. If AirBnb has been withholding taxes, my expectation is that the IRS will reimburse you. You can then add your ITIN into the form on the AirBnb site to avoid getting taxes withheld going forward, until the ITIN needs to be renewed. I think every three years, but I may have misread that, I'm not sure.

The whole process is super confusing and unclear! 🙂 I've tried to make this reply as clear as I can. I hope it helps.

Good luck, I'll try to update here when (if?) I get it all figured out.

CAVEAT: I am not an accountant and anyone should follow any advice or suggestions I have made under their own risk!

ALSO: If anyone can correct me or help me where I've gone wrong, I'd REALLY appreciate it! And so would a lot of other people, it seems.