Australian residents are subject to United States (‘U.S.’) tax at a rate of 30% on income they receive from
certain U.S. sources including dividends and most U.S. income from U.S. investments.
Australian residents can use W-8 forms to apply for a reduction in the amount of U.S. tax paid from 30% to 15%.
There are two main types of W8s used by Netwealth clients, the standard W-8BEN (for Individual & Joint
accounts), and the W-8BEN-E (for account types such as Super Funds, Trusts and Corporations).
We also have the W9 which is used by US Citizens. As a non-withholding QI (Qualified Intermediary)
Netwealth can review these forms on behalf of the IRS.
There are two main forms to be filled out based on the type of entity applying:
1 W-8BEN (for non-US Individual & Joint accounts)
2 W-8BEN-E (for non-US entities such as SMSFs, Trusts and Corporations)
The forms can be found on the IRS website:
W-8BEN: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf
W-8BEN-E: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8bene.pdf
US Residents for tax purposes will need to complete a W-9 Form, which can be found at:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
Disclaimer:
This information has been prepared by Netwealth Investments Limited (Netwealth), ABN 85 090 569 109,
AFSL 230975. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial product advice and you should determine its appropriateness having regard to you or your client’s particular circumstances. The relevant disclosure document should be obtained from Netwealth and considered before deciding whether to acquire, dispose of, or to continue to hold, an investment in any Netwealth product. While all care has been taken in the preparation of this document (using sources believed to be reliable and accurate), no person, including Netwealth, or any other member of the Netwealth group of companies, accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information.
The examples in this guide are provided to assist with completing the W-8 and do not
constitute legal, financial or taxation advice. This guide has been completed using the information provided by the IRS, which can be found on the IRS website, https://www.irs.gov/.
Investors should seek independent advice relevant to their specific circumstances before submitting a W8BEN-E, W-8BEN.