You are required to furnish a U.S. taxpayer identifying number on this form. You are generally required to enter your social security number (SSN) on line 2. To apply for an SSN, get Form SS-5 from a Social Security Administration (SSA) office. Fill in Form SS-5 and return it to the SSA.

If you do not have an SSN and are not eligible to get one, you must get an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). To apply for an ITIN, file Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, with the IRS. Generally, you apply for an ITIN when you file your tax return for which the ITIN is needed. However, if the reason for your ITIN request is because you need to provide Form 8233 to the withholding agent, you must file Form W-7 and provide proof that you are not eligible for an SSN (your Form SS-5 was rejected by the SSA) and include a Form 8233. It usually takes about 4-6 weeks to get an ITIN. For more information on requesting an ITIN, see the Form W-7 instructions.

If you have applied for a U.S. taxpayer identifying number but have not yet received it, you may attach a copy of a completed Form W-7 or SS-5 showing that a number has been applied for.

If your country of residence for tax purposes has issued you a tax identifying number, enter it here. For example, if you are a resident of Canada, enter your Social Insurance Number.

Your permanent residence address is the address in the country where you claim to be a resident for purposes of that country's income tax. If you are completing Form 8233 to claim a tax treaty withholding exemption, you must determine your residency in the manner required by the treaty. Do not show the address of a financial institution, a post office box, or an address used solely for mailing purposes. If you are an individual who does not have a tax residence in any country, your permanent residence is where you normally reside.

Most tax treaties that provide for a tax treaty withholding exemption require that the recipient be a resident of the treaty country at the time of, or immediately prior to, entry into the United States. Thus, a student or researcher may generally claim the withholding exemption even if he or she no longer has a permanent address in the treaty country after entry into the United States. If this is the case, you may provide a U.S. address on line 4 and still be eligible for the withholding exemption if all other conditions required by the tax treaty are met. You must also identify on line 12a and/or line 13b the tax treaty country of which you were a resident at the time of, or immediately prior to, your entry into the United States.

Enter your U.S. visa type. For example, foreign students are usually granted an “F-1” visa. Foreign professors, teachers, or researchers are usually granted a “J-1” visa. Business/vocational trainees are usually granted an “M-1” visa; however, some persons granted a “J-1” visa may also be considered business/vocational trainees (for example, a person admitted to complete a postgraduate residency in medicine).

If you do not have, or do not require, a visa, write “None.”

You are generally required to enter your date of entry into the United States that pertains to your current nonimmigrant status. For example, enter the date of arrival shown on your current Immigration Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record.

Enter your current nonimmigrant status. For example, enter your current nonimmigrant status shown on your current Immigration Form I-94.

Enter the date your current nonimmigrant status expires. For example, you may enter the date of expiration shown on your current Immigration Form I-94. Enter “DS” on line 9b if the date of expiration is based on “duration of status.”

Nonresident alien students, trainees, professors/teachers, and researchers using Form 8233 to claim a tax treaty withholding exemption for compensation for personal services must attach to Form 8233 a statement. The format and contents of the required statements are shown in Appendix A and Appendix B in Pub. 519.

For compensation for independent personal services, examples of acceptable descriptions to enter on this line include: “Consulting contract to design software” or “give three lectures at XYZ University.”

For compensation for dependent personal services, examples of acceptable descriptions to enter on this line include:

Enter the total amount of compensation for personal services you will receive from this withholding agent during the tax year. Enter an estimated amount if you do not know the exact amount.

Enter the specific treaty and article on which you are basing your claim for exemption from withholding (for example, “U.S./Germany tax treaty, Article 20(4)”).

If all income received for the services performed to which this Form 8233 applies is exempt, write “All.” If only part is exempt, enter the exact dollar amount that is exempt from withholding.

Generally, you may claim a withholding exemption based on a U.S. tax treaty with the country in which you claim permanent (or indefinite) residence. This is the foreign country in which you live most of the time. It is not necessarily the country of your citizenship. For example, you are a citizen of Pakistan but maintain your home in England. You cannot claim a withholding exemption based on the U.S./Pakistan tax treaty. Any withholding exemption you claim must be based on the U.S./United Kingdom tax treaty.

Enter the specific treaty and article on which you are basing your claim for exemption from withholding (for example, “U.S./Germany tax treaty, Article 20(3)”).

Provide sufficient facts to justify the exemption from withholding claimed on line 12 and/or line 13. Be sure you provide enough details to allow the IRS to determine the tax treaty benefit you are claiming.

Do not complete lines 15 through 18 if you are claiming on line 12b that all of the compensation you are receiving for independent personal services is exempt from withholding.

When the nonresident alien individual gives you Form 8233, review it to see if you are satisfied that the exemption from withholding is warranted. If you are satisfied, based on the facts presented, complete and sign the certification in Part IV.

You will need three copies of a completed Form 8233. Within 5 days of your acceptance, forward one copy to:

Give one copy of the completed Form 8233 to the nonresident alien individual. Keep a copy for your records. Each copy of Form 8233 must include any attachments submitted by the nonresident alien individual.

The exemption from withholding is effective for payments made retroactive to the date of the first payment covered by Form 8233, even though you must wait at least 10 days after you have properly mailed Form 8233 to the IRS to see whether the IRS has any objections to the Form 8233.

You must not accept Form 8233, and you must withhold, if either of the following applies:

If you accept Form 8233 and later find that either of the situations described above applies, you must promptly notify the IRS (by writing to the above address) and you must begin withholding on any amounts not yet paid. Also, if you are notified by the IRS that the nonresident alien's eligibility for the exemption from withholding is in doubt or that the nonresident alien is not eligible for exemption from withholding, you must begin withholding immediately. See Regulations section 1.1441-4(b)(2)(iii) for examples illustrating these rules.

If you submit an incorrect Form 8233, you will be notified by the IRS that the form submitted is not acceptable and that you must begin withholding immediately. Examples of incorrect Forms 8233 include:

You or your authorized agent must sign and date Form 8233. See Regulations section 1.1441-7(c) for information about authorized agents.