IRS seeks comments on burden of foreign status withholding certifications
Business, nonprofit and individual taxpayers must submit comments by Oct. 13, 2026 on the IRS's collection of Forms W-8 series.
The Internal Revenue Service issued a notice on August 10, 2026, extending the collection of information under OMB Number 1545-1621 and requesting public comment through October 13, 2026.
The collection concerns the Forms W-8 BEN, W-8 BEN-E, W-8 ECI, W-8 EXP and W-8 IMY, which foreign individuals, entities, intermediaries, governments and certain tax-exempt organizations use to certify status for U.S. withholding and reporting.
The IRS estimates 3,390,700 respondents will devote an average of 9 hours, 1 minute each, resulting in a total annual burden of 30,562,942 hours.
Comments should be directed to Andrés García, IRS, Room 6526, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20224, or emailed with "OMB Number: 1545-1621 - Public Comment Request Notice" in the subject line. For additional information, Ronald J. Durbala can be reached at (202) 317-5746. The notice states no changes are being made to the burden at this time.