Treaty Country Mismatch

In general, the Treaty Country Mismatch Warning is displayed when the Account Owner provides a Permanent and/or Mailing Address in a country that differs from the country in which they are claiming treaty benefits.

As a result of this mismatch, additional information and/or documentation establishing residency in the treaty county must be obtained to rely upon the treaty claim information provided.

Note that a Form W-8 with a Treaty Country Mismatch Warning that is otherwise valid may still be relied upon for purposes of claiming foreign status. However, the Treaty Country Mismatch Warning should be resolved, per the action items discussed below, before the Form W-8 is relied upon for purposes of establishing residence in a treaty country, and providing treaty benefits on payments of US-sourced FDAP income.

The following sections describe what must be obtained from the Account Owner before the provided Form W-8 can be used to establish residence in the treaty country provided.

To the extent the Permanent Address provided on the Form W-8 is not in the treaty country, or the Account Owner notifies you of a new Permanent Address that is not in the treaty country:

• A reasonable explanation for the Permanent Address outside the treaty country, or
• Documentary evidence that establishes residency in the treaty country.

To the extent the Mailing Address provided on the Form W-8 is not in the treaty country, or the address currently on file is not in the treaty country:

• Documentary evidence supporting the claim of residence in the treaty country (and the additional documentation does not contain an address outside the treaty country);
• Documentation that establishes that the Account Owner is an entity organized in the treaty country (or an entity managed and controlled in a treaty country, if required by the applicable treaty); or
• A written statement that reasonably establishes entitlement to treaty benefits.

Note that in these instances, you may also rely upon the Form W-8 to the extent you know the address outside the treaty country (other than a P.O. box or in-care-of address) is a branch of the Account Owner, who is a resident of the treaty country; or

Additional information is available here regarding criteria to consider when reviewing additional documentation provided by an Account Owner.

The information included above is based on the Instructions for the Requester of Forms W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP, and W-8IMY (Link).

Note that any references to documentary evidence above refer to documentary evidence described in Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(5)(i).

Where required, a reasonable explanation supporting an individual’s claim of foreign status means a written statement prepared by the individual, or, in the alternative, a checklist provided by you and completed by the individual stating that the individual meets one of the requirements listed in Regulations section 1.1441-7(b)(12)(i) through (iv).

For additional information on the standards of knowledge for chapter 3 purposes for relying on a claim of foreign status or a claim of residency in a treaty country and limitations on reason to know, see Regulations sections 1.1441-6(b)(1) and 1.1441-7(b).

For additional information on the standards of knowledge for Forms W-8 provided for chapter 4 purposes, see Regulations section 1.1471-3(e).