What's New

Section 6049 contains new information reporting requirements for tax-exempt interest. For information on certification rules for tax-exempt interest payments, see Notice 2006-93 on page 798 of Internal Revenue Bulletin(I.R.B.) 2006-44 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb06-44.pdf.

Reminders

-The backup withholding rate is 28% for reportable payments.

-The IRS website offers TIN Matching e-services for payers to validate name and TIN combinations. See Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Matching
on page 4.

How Do I Know When To Use Form W-9?

Use Form W-9 to request the taxpayer identification number (TIN) of a U.S. person (including a resident alien) and to request certain certifications and claims for exemption. (See Purpose of Form on Form W-9.) Withholding agents may require signed Forms W-9 from U.S. exempt recipients to overcome any presumptions of foreign status. For federal purposes, a U.S. person includes but is not limited to:

-An individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien,

-A partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States,

-Any estate (other than a foreign estate), or

-A domestic trust (as defined in Regulations section 301.7701-7).

A partnership may require a signed Form W-9 from its U.S. partners to overcome any presumptions of foreign status and to avoid withholding on the partner's allocable share of the partnership's effectively connected income. For more information, see Regulations section 1.1446-1.

Advise foreign persons to use the appropriate Form W-8. See Pub. 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities, for more information and a list of the W-8 forms.

Also, a nonresident alien individual may, under certain circumstances, claim treaty benefits on scholarships and fellowship grant income. See Pub. 515 or Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, for more information.