Handling Changes to W-8 and W-9

Author: Steven D. Mercatante

IRS Forms W-8 and W-9 requires organizations like yours to collect very specific information about your payees. Besides regulating withholding, payers must make sure that the forms are current, complete and accurate. How can you ensure a proper form that will not subject your company to penalties, interest or tax?

In this course, industry expert and corporate tax attorney Steven D. Mercatante Esq. takes a look at some of the more common problems experienced by CPAs, accounts payable, and tax departments related documenting and validating payee information using the IRS Forms W-8 and W-9. He not only identifies the issues, but offers solutions and best-practices for addressing them.

Publication Date: May 2023

Designed For
If you are new to 1099/1042-S reporting, you supervise 1099 compliance and want to stay on top of changes in the law, or if you are a CPA and would benefit from more in depth training.

Topics Covered

• What's New — 1099 Filing Changes
• W-8 Validation Issue to Watch
• The W-9
• W-9/W-8 Validation For 1042/1042-S Filing
• Must Have A W9/W-8 Due Diligence Framework In Place Or Face Consequences
• W-9/W-8 Payee/Payment In Practice
• Who Is My Payee Non-U.S. Status Red Flags
• Who Is My Payee — U.S. or Non-U.S.?
• Who Is My Payee — Resident Alien Visas
• Who Is My Payee — Resident Aliens and Counting Days
• Who Is My Payee — Special Entity Rules
• Who Is My Payee — W-9 vs. W-9 Basic Rules
• W-8 and Purchase Invoices
• 1042-S Reportable Income
• W-8 Payment Sourcing
• W-8's & Treaty Benefits
• Wrap Up of General W-8 Validation Tips

Learning Objectives

• Identify what's new for Form W-9/W-8 due diligence rules
• Describe the latest strategies for validating IRS Forms W-9, W-8, and 8233
• Recognize how to develop best practices strategies for backup withholding (including rules and determining your deposit schedule)
• Identify Form W-9 do's and don'ts: including tips on validating Form W-9s when multiple names are provided, handling undocumented payees, service payments that require the reporting of a related good, and validating exempt organization payees
• Recognize and apply proven techniques for handling payee treaty benefit requests on Forms W-8 and the steps to validate foreign TINs
• Identify when to use each form W-8: Scenarios to consider
• Recognize best practices for validating payees from U.S. possessions
• Describe key data points to capture from Forms W-8/W-9 and ensure compliance with IRS reasonable cause regulations
• Identify how to spot Form W-8 & W-9 red flags before it's too late
• Identify how to document & validate sole proprietors, single member LLCs, partnerships, LLCs owned by other entities, S-Corps, and more Create processes for dealing with recent IRS changes to the Form W-9

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None