W8BEN / W9

[Scunny8 0]

Hi all,

 

I have looked at several old topics around this but did not really answer my question.

 

I arrived in the USA last November and opened a bank account and was asked to fill out the W8BEN (already had a SSN from been in the country on a J1 visa previously) using my old address (parents address) and subsequently received mail asking me to fill it out again a couple of times which i did.

 

I am now past the substantial presence test and 185 days, and i am wondering if i now need to inform my bank that i have past the 183 days and send them a W9?

[milimelo 4,481]

If you’re a permanent resident you need to go back to the bank and give them your SSN. 

[Scunny8 0]

9 minutes ago, milimelo said:

If you’re a permanent resident you need to go back to the bank and give them your SSN. 

Apologies, i should have given more background information.

 

I have provided my SSN number, i did that when i opened the bank account.

 

I am currently undergoing AOS which i sent off in February and don't have my EAD or Travel Permit yet and still waiting for my interview to be scheduled.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

18 hours ago, Scunny8 said:

Hi all,

 

I have looked at several old topics around this but did not really answer my question.

 

I arrived in the USA last November and opened a bank account and was asked to fill out the W8BEN (already had a SSN from been in the country on a J1 visa previously) using my old address (parents address) and subsequently received mail asking me to fill it out again a couple of times which i did.

 

I am now past the substantial presence test and 185 days, and i am wondering if i now need to inform my bank that i have past the 183 days and send them a W9?

If you were here a full 24 hour day, every day in November and December and every day this year you may have just reached reached 183 days to be a resident alien for tax purposes.  [(30+31)/3] + 164

 

If you feel confident certifying on the W9 the following, then go for it.

 

Under penalties of perjury, I certify that:
1. The number shown on this form is my correct taxpayer identification number (or I am waiting for a number to be issued to me); and
2. I am not subject to backup withholding because: (a) I am exempt from backup withholding, or (b) I have not been notified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that I am subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends, or (c) the IRS has notified me that I am no longer subject to backup withholding; and
3. I am a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person (defined below); and
4. The FATCA code(s) entered on this form (if any) indicating that I am exempt from FATCA reporting is correct.
 

The bank is required to gather this info. If you swear to the above, then  it’s on you and not them. They should be fine that they have done what the government requires of them.  It’s probably not going to make a huge difference as to what form you have on file. They have to hold back 30% of the interest that account pays a nonresident to submit to the IRS as income tax. As a resident, they wouldn’t hold any out.
 

So for example my checking acct has $7545 in it today. Assuming my balance is around that all year, at the end of a year, I would earn $1 interest at my bank. If I was a foreigner or non-resident alien, they would hold out $0.30 to send off to the IRS toward possible taxes.  Thirty cents is not something I need to sweat. If you have have a bigger account or a higher rate of interest, you might have a more held out. But when you file taxes as a resident,  if they held out too much on a W8BEN, it would be refunded by the IRS.

 

So yes, you can certify you meet the W9 requirements, but it wouldn’t be a huge priority to do it today because it probably isn’t impacting you much unless you have a $100,000 cd invested and they held out $13-14 in a year. 🙄