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                                                                                       Department of the Treasury
Instructions for Form W-8ECI                                                           Internal Revenue Service

(Rev. July 2017)
Certificate of Foreign Person's Claim That Income Is Effectively Connected With 
the Conduct of a Trade or Business in the United States

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code         Form W-8BEN-E, Form W-8EXP, or Form W-8IMY (as 
unless otherwise noted.                                     appropriate) for income that is not effectively connected.
Future Developments.    For the latest information about    If you submit Form W-8ECI to a partnership, the 
developments related to Form W-8ECI and its                 income claimed to be effectively connected with the 
instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were   conduct of a U.S. trade or business is subject to 
published, go to IRS.gov/FormW8ECI.                         withholding under section 1446. If a nominee holds an 
                                                            interest in a partnership on your behalf, you, not the 
What's New                                                  nominee, must submit the form to the partnership or 
These instructions have been updated to reflect             nominee that is the withholding agent.
temporary and final regulations under chapters 3 and 4      If you are a foreign partnership, a foreign simple trust, 
published in January 2017. These instructions include       or a foreign grantor trust with effectively connected 
additional guidance for when a foreign TIN or date of birth income, you can submit Form W-8ECI without attaching 
is required to be included on Form W-8ECI. In addition,     Forms W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, or other documentation for 
these instructions include guidance about the use of        your foreign partners, beneficiaries, or owners.
electronic signatures.
                                                            A withholding agent or payer of the income can rely on 
                                                            a properly completed Form W-8ECI to treat the payment 
General Instructions                                        associated with the Form W-8ECI as a payment to a 
Note. For definitions of terms used throughout these        foreign person who beneficially owns the amounts paid 
instructions, see Definitions, later.                       and is either entitled to an exemption from withholding 
                                                            under sections 1441, 1442, 1471, or 1472 because the 
Purpose of Form                                             income is effectively connected with the conduct of a 
Foreign persons are generally subject to U.S. tax at a 30%  trade or business in the United States or subject to 
rate on income they receive from U.S. sources. However,     withholding under section 1446.
no withholding under section 1441 or 1442 is required on 
                                                            Provide Form W-8ECI to the withholding agent or payer 
income that is, or is deemed to be, effectively connected 
                                                            before income is paid, credited, or allocated to you. 
with the conduct of a trade or business in the United 
                                                            Failure by a beneficial owner to provide a Form W-8ECI 
States and is includible in the beneficial owner's gross 
                                                            when requested may lead to withholding at the 30% rate 
income for the tax year.
                                                            or the backup withholding rate under section 3406.
This withholding exemption does not apply to personal       Additional information. For additional information and 
services income and income subject to withholding under     instructions for the withholding agent, see the Instructions 
section 1445 (dispositions of U.S. real property interests) for the Requester of Forms W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, 
or section 1446 (foreign partner's share of effectively     W-8ECI, W-8EXP, and W-8IMY.
connected income).
                                                            Who Must Provide Form W-8ECI
Income effectively connected with the conduct of a 
trade or business in the United States is not a             You must give Form W-8ECI to the withholding agent or 
withholdable payment under chapter 4 and thus is not        payer if you are a foreign person and you are the 
subject to withholding under sections 1471 or 1472.         beneficial owner of U.S. source income that is (or is 
                                                            deemed to be) effectively connected with the conduct of a 
If you receive effectively connected income from            trade or business within the United States or are an entity 
sources in the United States, you must provide Form         (including a foreign partnership or foreign trust) engaged 
W-8ECI to:                                                  in a U.S. trade or business submitting this form on behalf 
Establish that you are not a U.S. person,                   of your owners, partners, or beneficiaries.
Claim that you are the beneficial owner of the income 
for which Form W-8ECI is being provided or are an entity    Do not use Form W-8ECI if:
engaged in a U.S. trade or business submitting Form         You are a nonresident alien individual who claims 
W-8ECI on behalf of your owners, partners, or               exemption from withholding on compensation for 
beneficiaries, and                                          independent or certain dependent personal services 
Claim that the income is effectively connected with the     performed in the United States. Instead, provide Form 
conduct of a trade or business in the United States.        8233 or Form W-4.
                                                            You are the beneficial owner of a payment subject to 
If you expect to receive both income that is effectively    withholding and are claiming an exemption from 
connected and income that is not effectively connected      withholding for a reason other than a claim that the 
from a withholding agent, you must provide Form W-8ECI      income is effectively connected with the conduct of a 
for the effectively connected income and Form W-8BEN,       trade or business in the United States. For example, if you 

Jul 05, 2017                                          Cat. No. 25902V



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are a foreign person who is the beneficial owner of U.S.      income to you. Give Form W-8ECI to the person 
source income that is not effectively connected with a        requesting it before the payment is made, credited, or 
U.S. trade or business and you are claiming a reduced         allocated. If you do not provide Form W-8ECI, the 
rate of withholding under an applicable income tax treaty     withholding agent can have to withhold at the 30% rate or 
in effect, do not use Form W-8ECI. Instead, provide Form      the backup withholding rate. A separate Form W-8ECI 
W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E.                                      generally must be given to each withholding agent.
You are a foreign person receiving proceeds from the 
                                                              U.S. branch of foreign bank or insurance company. 
disposition of a U.S. real property interest. Instead, see 
                                                              A payment to a U.S. branch of a foreign bank or a foreign 
Form 8288-B.
                                                              insurance company that is subject to U.S. regulation by 
You are filing for a foreign government, international 
                                                              the Federal Reserve Board or state insurance authorities 
organization, foreign central bank of issue, foreign 
                                                              is presumed to be effectively connected with the conduct 
tax-exempt organization, foreign private foundation, or 
                                                              of a trade or business in the United States if the 
government of a U.S. possession claiming the 
                                                              withholding agent has an EIN provided by the branch. The 
applicability of section 115(2), 501(c), 892, 895, or 
                                                              presumption does not apply if the branch provides a 
1443(b). Instead, provide Form W-8EXP. However, you 
                                                              withholding agent with a Form W-8BEN-E for the income.
should use Form W-8BEN-E if you are claiming treaty 
benefits or are providing the form only to claim exempt       Expiration of Form W-8ECI. Generally, a Form W-8ECI 
recipient status for backup withholding purposes. You         will remain valid for a period starting on the date the form 
should use Form W-8ECI, however, if you received              is signed and ending on the last day of the third 
effectively connected income (for example, income from        succeeding calendar year, unless a change in 
commercial activities).                                       circumstances makes any information on the form 
You are acting as an intermediary (acting not for your        incorrect. For example, a Form W-8ECI signed on 
own account or for that of your partners, but for the         September 30, 2017, generally remains valid through 
account of others as an agent, nominee, or custodian) or      December 31, 2020.
qualified intermediary with respect to a payment subject to   Change in circumstances.   If a change in circumstances 
withholding. Instead, provide Form W-8IMY.                    makes any information on the Form W-8ECI you have 
You are a foreign partnership or foreign trust acting in      submitted incorrect, you must notify the withholding agent 
your capacity as a withholding foreign partnership or a       or payer within 30 days of the change in circumstances 
withholding foreign trust for purposes of sections 1441,      and you must file a new Form W-8ECI or other 
1442, and 1471 through 1474. A withholding foreign            appropriate form. For example, if during the tax year any 
partnership is, generally, a foreign partnership that has     part or all of the income is no longer effectively connected 
entered into a withholding agreement with the IRS under       with the conduct of a trade or business in the United 
which it agrees to assume primary withholding                 States, your Form W-8ECI is no longer valid. You must 
responsibility for each partner's distributive share of       notify the withholding agent and provide Form W-8BEN, 
income subject to withholding that is paid to the             W-8BEN-E, W-8EXP, or W-8IMY. See Regulations 
partnership. A withholding foreign trust is, generally, a     section 1.1441-1(e)(4)(ii)(D) for the definition of a change 
foreign simple trust or a foreign grantor trust that has      in circumstances for purposes of chapter 3, and 
entered into a withholding agreement with the IRS under       Regulations section 1.1471-(c)(6)(ii)(E) for purposes of 
which it agrees to assume primary withholding                 chapter 4.
responsibility for each beneficiary's or owner's distributive 
share of income subject to withholding that is paid to the    Definitions
trust. Instead, provide Form W-8IMY.
You are a foreign corporation that is a personal holding      Beneficial owner. For payments other than those for 
company receiving compensation described in section           which a reduced rate of withholding is claimed under an 
543(a)(7). Such compensation is not exempt from               income tax treaty, the beneficial owner of income is 
withholding as effectively connected income but can be        generally the person who is required under U.S. tax 
exempt from withholding on another basis.                     principles to include the income in gross income on a tax 
You are a foreign partner in a partnership and the            return. A person is not a beneficial owner of income, 
income allocated to you from the partnership is effectively   however, to the extent that person is receiving the income 
connected with the conduct of the partnership's trade or      as a nominee, agent, or custodian, or to the extent the 
business in the United States. Instead, provide Form          person is a conduit whose participation in a transaction is 
W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E (as applicable). However, if          disregarded. In the case of amounts paid that do not 
you made or will make an election under section 871(d) or     constitute income, beneficial ownership is determined as 
882(d), provide Form W-8ECI. In addition, if you are          if the payment were income.
otherwise engaged in a trade or business in the United            Foreign partnerships, foreign simple trusts, and foreign 
States and you want your allocable share of income from       grantor trusts are not the beneficial owners of income paid 
the partnership to be subject to withholding under section    to the partnership or trust. The beneficial owners of 
1446, provide Form W-8ECI.                                    income paid to a foreign partnership are generally the 
                                                              partners in the partnership, provided that the partner is not 
Giving Form W-8ECI to the withholding agent.          Do not 
                                                              itself a partnership, foreign simple or grantor trust, 
send Form W-8ECI to the IRS. Instead, give it to the 
                                                              nominee or other agent. The beneficial owners of income 
person who is requesting it from you. Generally, this will 
                                                              paid to a foreign simple trust (a foreign trust that is 
be the person from whom you receive the payment, who 
                                                              described in section 651(a)) are generally the 
credits your account, or a partnership that allocates 

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beneficiaries of the trust, if the beneficiary is not a foreign      Effectively connected income, after allowable 
partnership, foreign simple or grantor trust, nominee or             deductions, is taxed at graduated rates applicable to U.S. 
other agent. The beneficial owners of a foreign grantor              persons and resident aliens, rather than at the 30% rate. 
trust (a foreign trust to the extent that all or a portion of the    You must report this income on your annual U.S. income 
income of the trust is treated as owned by the grantor or            tax or information return.
another person under sections 671 through 679) are the               A partnership that has effectively connected income 
persons treated as the owners of the trust. The beneficial           allocable to foreign partners is generally required to 
owners of income paid to a foreign complex trust (a                  withhold tax under section 1446. The withholding tax rate 
foreign trust that is not a foreign simple trust or foreign          on a partner's share of effectively connected income is 
grantor trust) is the trust itself.                                  35% for corporate partners and 39.6% for all other taxable 
Generally, these beneficial owner rules apply for                    partners. In certain circumstances the partnership can 
purposes of sections 1441, 1442, and 1446, except that               withhold tax at the highest applicable rate to a particular 
section 1446 requires a foreign simple trust to provide a            type of income (for example, long-term capital gain 
Form W-8 on its own behalf rather than on behalf of the              allocated to a noncorporate partner). Any amount withheld 
beneficiary of such trust.                                           under section 1446 on your behalf, and reflected on Form 
The beneficial owner of income paid to a foreign estate              8805 issued by the partnership to you, can be credited on 
is the estate itself.                                                your U.S. income tax return.
A payment to a U.S. partnership, U.S. trust, or U.S.                 Foreign person. A foreign person includes a 
estate is treated as a payment to a U.S. payee. A U.S.               nonresident alien individual, a foreign corporation, a 
partnership, trust, or estate should provide the withholding         foreign partnership, a foreign trust, a foreign estate, and 
agent with a Form W-9. However, for purposes of section              any other person that’s not a U.S. person.
1446, a U.S. grantor trust shall not provide the withholding         Nonresident alien individual. Any individual who is not 
agent a Form W-9. Instead, the grantor or other owner                a citizen or resident alien of the United States is a 
must provide Form W-8 or Form W-9 as appropriate.                    nonresident alien individual. An alien individual meeting 
Chapter 3. Chapter 3 means chapter 3 of the Internal                 either the “green card test” or the “substantial presence 
Revenue Code (Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens               test” for the calendar year is a resident alien. Any person 
and Foreign Corporations). Chapter 3 contains sections               not meeting either test is a nonresident alien individual. 
1441 through 1464.                                                   Additionally, an alien individual who is treated as a 
                                                                     nonresident alien pursuant to Regulations section 
Chapter 4. Chapter 4 means chapter 4 of the Internal 
                                                                     301.7701(b)-7 for purposes of computing the individual's 
Revenue Code (Taxes to Enforce Reporting on Certain 
                                                                     U.S. tax liability, or an alien individual who is a bona fide 
Foreign Accounts). Chapter 4 contains sections 1471 
                                                                     resident of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
through 1474.
                                                                     Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or 
Disregarded entity.   A business entity that has a single            American Samoa is a nonresident alien individual.
owner and is not a corporation under Regulations section             See Pub. 519 for more information on resident and 
301.7701-2(b) is disregarded as an entity separate from              nonresident alien status including information about the 
its owner. A disregarded entity does not submit Form                 “green card test” and “substantial presence test.”
W-8ECI to a partnership for purposes of section 1446. 
Instead, the owner of such entity provides the appropriate                   Even though a nonresident alien individual 
documentation. See Regulations section 1.1446-1.                     !       married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien can 
                                                                     CAUTION choose to be treated as a resident alien for certain 
Effectively connected income.       Generally, when a                purposes (for example, filing a joint income tax return), 
foreign person engages in a trade or business in the                 such individual is still treated as a nonresident alien for 
United States, all income from sources in the United                 withholding tax purposes on all income except wages.
States other than fixed or determinable annual or 
periodical (FDAP) income (for example, interest,                     Withholding agent. Any person, U.S. or foreign, that has 
dividends, rents, and certain similar amounts) is                    control, receipt, custody, disposal, or payment of U.S. 
considered income effectively connected with a U.S. trade            source FDAP income subject to chapter 3 withholding is a 
or business. FDAP income may or may not be effectively               withholding agent. For purposes of chapter 4, any person, 
connected with a U.S. trade or business. Factors to be               U.S. or foreign, that has control, receipt, custody, 
considered to determine whether FDAP income and                      disposal, or payment of a withholdable payment is a 
similar amounts from U.S. sources are effectively                    withholding agent. The withholding agent can be an 
connected with a U.S. trade or business include whether:             individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or 
The income is from assets used in, or held for use in,               any other entity including (but not limited to) any foreign 
the conduct of that trade or business, or                            intermediary, foreign partnership, and U.S. branches 
The activities of that trade or business were a material             treated as U.S. person. Generally, the person who pays 
factor in the realization of the income.                             (or causes to be paid) an amount subject to withholding to 
There are special rules for determining whether income               the foreign person (or to its agent) must withhold.
from securities is effectively connected with the active             For purposes of section 1446, the withholding agent is 
conduct of a U.S. banking, financing, or similar business.           the partnership conducting the trade or business in the 
See section 864(c)(4)(B)(ii) and Regulations section                 United States. For a publicly traded partnership, the 
1.864-4(c)(5)(ii) for more information.                              withholding agent can be the partnership, a nominee 

Instructions for Form W-8ECI (Rev. 7-2017)                        -3-



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holding an interest on behalf of a foreign person, or both.    under U.S. tax principles. If more than one classification 
See Regulations sections 1.1446-1 through 1.1446-6.            applies to you, select the most specific status available. 
                                                               For example, if you are a private foundation, you are also 
Withholdable payment.   A withholdable payment means 
                                                               considered a tax-exempt organization, and you should 
any payment of U.S. source FDAP income, subject to 
                                                               check the box for private foundation rather than the box 
certain exemptions described in Regulations sections 
                                                               for tax-exempt organization.
1.1471-2(b) and 1.1473-1(a). However, no exceptions to 
withholding on U.S. source FDAP income for purposes            Line 5. Your permanent residence address is the 
other than chapter 4 apply when determining whether a          address in the country where you claim to be a resident 
payment is a withholdable payment. For example, an             for that country's income tax. Do not show the address of 
exclusion from an amount subject to withholding under          a financial institution, a post office box, or an address 
Regulations section 1.1441-2(a) does not apply for             used solely for mailing purposes unless such address is 
purposes of determining whether a payment constitutes a        the registered address of an entity identified on line 1 
withholdable payment. Under chapter 4, a payment of            which does not have another address in the jurisdiction. If 
effectively connected income is not a withholdable             you are an individual who does not have a tax residence 
payment.                                                       in any country, your permanent residence is where you 
                                                               normally reside. If you are not an individual and you do not 
U.S. person.  A U.S. person is defined in section 7701(a)
                                                               have a tax residence in any country, the permanent 
(30) and includes an individual who is a citizen or resident 
                                                               residence address is where you maintain your principal 
of the United States, as well as domestic partnerships, 
                                                               office.
corporations, trusts, and estates.
                                                               Line 6. Enter your business address in the United States. 
                                                               Do not show a post office box.
Specific Instructions
                                                               Line 7. Enter your U.S. taxpayer identification number 
Part I                                                         (TIN). A U.S.TIN is a social security number (SSN), 
                                                               employer identification number (EIN), or IRS individual 
Line 1. Enter your name. If you are providing this form for    taxpayer identification number (ITIN). Check the 
a disregarded entity with a single owner who is a foreign      appropriate box for the type of U.S. TIN you are providing. 
person, this form should be completed and signed by the        You are required to provide a TIN for this form to be valid.
foreign single owner. If the account to which a payment is 
made or credited is in the name of the disregarded entity,         If you are an individual, you are generally required to 
the foreign single owner can inform the withholding agent      enter your SSN. To apply for an SSN, get Form SS-5 from 
of this fact by including the name of the disregarded entity   a Social Security Administration (SSA) office or online at 
on line 3 of Part I of the form.                               www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf. If in the United States, you 
                                                               can call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213. Fill in Form SS-5 and 
        If you own the income or account jointly with one      return it to the SSA.
TIP     or more other persons, the income or account will          If you do not have an SSN and are not eligible to get 
        be treated by the withholding agent as owned by a 
                                                               one, you must get an ITIN. To apply for an ITIN, file Form 
foreign person if Forms W-8ECI are provided by all of the 
                                                               W-7 with the IRS. It usually takes 4-6 weeks to get an 
owners. If the withholding agent receives a Form W-9 
                                                               ITIN.
from any of the joint owners the payment must be treated 
as made to a U.S. person.                                          If you are not an individual (for example, if you are a 
                                                               foreign estate or trust), or you are an individual who is an 
Line 2. If you are providing this form for a corporation,      employer or who is engaged in a U.S. trade or business 
enter the country of incorporation. If you are filing for      as a sole proprietor, use Form SS-4 to obtain an EIN. If 
another type of entity, enter the country under whose laws     you are a disregarded entity, enter the U.S. TIN of your 
the entity is created, organized, or governed. If you are an   foreign single owner.
individual, provide your country of residence for tax                  You can also apply for an EIN online. For more 
purposes.                                                          TIP information, visit IRS.gov/businesses/small-
Line 3.  If you are providing this form for a disregarded              businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-
entity, enter the name of the disregarded entity receiving     identification-number-ein-online.
the payment. This line is not required but can assist the 
withholding agent that is making a payment to you. The         Line 8. If you are providing this Form W-8ECI to 
withholding agent can request additional referencing           document yourself as an account holder (as defined in 
information (such as your account number) which should         Regulations section 1.1471-5(a)(3)) with respect to a 
be entered on line 9. When completing this form, do not        financial account (as defined in Regulations section 
provide information concerning the disregarded entity on       1.1471-5(b)) that you hold at a U.S. office of a financial 
any line other than this line 3 or line 9. Instead, you should institution (including a U.S. branch of an FFI) and you 
complete the form using the information of the owner of        receive U.S. source income reportable on a Form 1042-S 
the disregarded entity.                                        associated with this form, you must provide the tax 
                                                               identifying number (TIN) issued to you by your jurisdiction 
Line 4. Check the box that applies. By checking a box,         of tax residence identified on line 5 unless:
you are representing that you qualify for this classification.     You have not been issued a TIN (including if the 
You must check the one box that represents your                jurisdiction does not issue TINs), or
classification (for example, corporation, partnership, etc.) 

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You properly identified yourself as a government,                in making, executing, and presenting the form. This 
central bank of issue, or international organization on          requirement does not apply to a partnership or other 
line 4.                                                          flow-through entity submitting this form with respect to a 
If you are providing this form to document a financial           payment of effectively connected income that is 
account described above but you do not enter a TIN on            beneficially owned by the entity’s partners or owners. 
line 8 and you are not a government, central bank of             Form 2848 can be used for this purpose. The agent, as 
issue, or international organization, you must provide the       well as the beneficial owner, can incur liability for the 
withholding agent with an explanation of why you have not        penalties provided for an erroneous, false, or fraudulent 
been issued a TIN. For this purpose, an explanation is a         form.
statement that you are not legally required to obtain a TIN      A withholding agent can allow you to provide this form 
in your jurisdiction of tax residence. The explanation may       with an electronic signature. The electronic signature must 
be written on line 8, in the margins of the form, or on a        indicate that the form was electronically signed by a 
separate attached statement associated with the form. If         person authorized to do so (for example, with a time and 
you are writing the explanation on line 8, you can shorten       date stamp and statement that the form has been 
it to "not legally required." Do not write "not applicable."     electronically signed). Simply typing your name into the 
                                                                 signature line is not an electronic signature.
Line 9. You or the withholding agent requesting this form 
can use this line to include any referencing information                 If any information on Form W-8ECI becomes 
that is useful to the withholding agent in carrying out its      !       incorrect, you must submit a correct new form 
obligations. For example, you can use line 9 to include the      CAUTION within 30 days to the requester of this form unless 
name and number of the account for which you are                 you will not receive a future payment from the withholding 
providing the form.                                              agent that would require an updated Form W-8.
Line 10. If you are providing this Form W-8ECI to 
document yourself as an account holder with respect to a         Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the 
financial account (as described in line 8 above) that you        information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue 
hold at a U.S. office of a financial institution (including a    laws of the United States. If you want to receive 
U.S. branch of an FFI), provide your date of birth if you are    exemption from withholding on income effectively 
an individual. Use the following format to input your            connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the 
information: MM-DD-YYYY. For example, if you were born           United States, you are required to provide the information. 
on April 15, 1975, you would enter 04-15-1975.                   We need it to ensure that you are complying with these 
                                                                 laws and to allow us to figure and collect the right amount 
Line 11. You must specify the items of income that are 
                                                                 of tax.
effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or 
business in the United States. You will generally have to        You are not required to provide the information 
provide Form W-8BEN, Form W-8BEN-E, Form W-8EXP,                 requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork 
or Form W-8IMY for those items from U.S. sources that            Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB 
are not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade        control number. Books or records relating to a form or its 
or business in the United States.                                instructions must be retained as long as their contents can 
If you are providing this form to a partnership because          become material in the administration of any Internal 
you are a partner and have made an election under                Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return 
section 871(d) or section 882(d), attach a copy of the           information are confidential, as required by section 6103.
election to the form. If you have not made the election, but     The time needed to complete and file this form will vary 
intend to do so effective for the current tax year, attach a     depending on individual circumstances. The estimated 
statement to the form indicating your intent. See                burden for business taxpayers filing this form is approved 
Regulations section 1.871-10(d)(3).                              under OMB control number 1545-0123. The estimated 
                                                                 burden for all other taxpayers who file this form is shown 
Part II
                                                                 below.
Signature. Form W-8ECI must be signed and dated by 
                                                                 The estimated average time is: Recordkeeping, 4 hr., 
the beneficial owner of the income, or, if the beneficial 
                                                                 4 min.; Learning about the law or the form, 1 hr., 51 
owner is not an individual, by an authorized representative 
                                                                 min.; Preparing and providing the form, 3 hr., 12 min.
or officer of the beneficial owner. If an authorized 
representative or agent is completing Form W-8ECI on             If you have comments concerning the accuracy of 
behalf of the beneficial owner of the income, the                these time estimates or suggestions for making this form 
representative or agent must check the box to certify that       simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You can 
he or she has the legal capacity to sign for the person          send us comments from IRS.gov/FormComments. You 
identified on line 1. If Form W-8ECI is completed by an          can write to the Internal Revenue Service, Tax Forms and 
agent acting under a duly authorized power of attorney for       Publications, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526, 
the beneficial owner, the form must be accompanied by            Washington, DC 20224. Do not send Form W-8ECI to 
the power of attorney in proper form or a copy thereof           this office. Instead, give it to your withholding agent.
specifically authorizing the agent to represent the principal 

Instructions for Form W-8ECI (Rev. 7-2017)                    -5-






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