W-8BEN Guide - Individual & Joint

The W-8BEN form is for individual non-US clients only and can be used for an individual or joint account. For a joint account, each individual holder is required to complete their own W-8BEN form

PART I – Identification of Beneficial Owner

• X Box 1: Clients name as per account set-up - Mandatory

• X Box 2: Clients country of citizenship in full, no abbreviations and not U.S. – Mandatory

• X Box 3: Permanent Residence Address including country code (Has to match client’s street address and must not have a C/- or PO BOX address noted and must not be U.S.) - Mandatory

• Box 4: Mailing Address including country code if different from Box 3 - Optional and should not be in the U.S.

• Box 5: If the individual has a U.S. TIN, it should be input here 

• X Box 6: Under the current arrangement clients should NOT populate their Australian TFN (individual) in this section for privacy reasons. If they have a foreign TIN, it can be populated in this section. 

• If the client does not populate section 6a they must tick section 6b - Mandatory 

• Box 7: Clients FinClear account number - Optional

• Box 8: Clients date of birth in US format MM/DD/YYYY – Mandatory

PART II – Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits

•  X Section 9: Country of tax residence for client, check for non-treaty countries and consistency with country of birth and country of address – Mandatory

• Section 10: Leave this section blank, unless special rate being claimed under the treaty (not standard interest and dividend rates)

PART III – Certification

• X Signature of beneficial owner – Mandatory

• X Printed name of signer – Mandatory

• X Date signed in US format MM/DD/YYYY – Mandatory

• X Capacity in which acting – Only applicable if Beneficial owner is not signing the W8 form. If signed by an agent under POA, the POA or a certified copy must be provided and the POA must specifically authorise the agent to execute the form.