Form W-8BEN for foreign contractor payments
Form W-8BEN is the IRS form an individual foreign contractor signs to certify they are not a US person and to claim any tax treaty benefit. A US payer collects it before paying, keeps it on file as evidence the payment is foreign-source, and re-collects it when it expires, generally after three calendar years. This hub is the Omnivoo entry point for collecting, reading, and acting on the W-8BEN and the withholding rules that follow from it.
Why this hub exists
Get the W-8BEN wrong and the IRS presumption rules can leave the payer personally liable for 30% NRA withholding it never collected. The form is the gate to every downstream decision: who is a US person, what counts as US-source income, which treaty rate applies, and whether you file a 1042-S. This hub gathers every Omnivoo guide on collecting foreign-contractor tax forms, each one verified against the IRS, plus links to the withholding pillar pages that put them to work.
W-8BEN and tax-form guides
Every guide below answers one question a US payer faces when documenting a foreign contractor, from picking the right form to the withholding it triggers.
Withholding pillar guides
Once the form is on file, these pillar pages cover the withholding rules that decide what, if anything, you have to withhold and file.
Related hubs and tools
The W-8BEN is one piece of paying foreign contractors. These hubs cover the rest.
Primary sources
Every claim across these guides traces back to the IRS. Read the rules directly here.
This hub is general information, not legal or tax advice. The IRS rules cited here change, and the facts of a specific payment matter. Confirm any withholding, filing, or treaty decision with a qualified US tax advisor before you act on it.