W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-9: which form to give, including if you own an LLC

This page is for people a US payer has asked for "a W-8" who are not sure which one, especially non-US individuals who own a US single-member LLC. It does not cover partnerships, trusts or financial institutions. Once you know the form is W-8BEN, the W-8BEN guide explains how to fill it in.

Quick check: which form

The rows above are the general rules. The instructions have more cases (personal services performed in the United States, trusts, governments, partnerships). If yours might be one of them, read the relevant IRS instructions or ask a tax professional (a CPA, an enrolled agent, or a tax attorney).

Individual or entity?

Form W-8BEN itself says at the top that it is for use by individuals and that entities must use Form W-8BEN-E. The W-8BEN-E instructions say the same from the other side: if you are a nonresident alien individual, do not use W-8BEN-E; use W-8BEN (or Form 8233 for certain pay for personal services).

What decides it is who the beneficial owner of the income is: generally the person who has to include the payment in gross income on a tax return, not someone who receives it only as a nominee, agent or custodian. The question gets harder when an LLC sits between you and the payer, which is the next section.

If you own a single-member LLC

Step 1: check whether the IRS disregards your LLC

The IRS page on single-member LLCs says that for income tax purposes, an LLC with only one member is treated as an entity disregarded as separate from its owner, unless it files Form 8832 and affirmatively elects to be treated as a corporation IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026. The same page says the activities of a disregarded single-member LLC are reflected on its owner's federal tax return. So if you are the only member and never filed Form 8832 to elect corporate treatment, your LLC is a disregarded entity for income tax purposes. If you did elect, skip to the corporation case.

Step 2: in the usual case, give your own W-8BEN

Both sets of IRS instructions point the same way:

• The W-8BEN instructions say that if you are the single owner of a disregarded entity, you are considered the beneficial owner of income received by the disregarded entity IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026. If you are a foreign individual who owns a disregarded entity that is not claiming treaty benefits as a hybrid entity, you should complete this form with your name and information IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026.
• The W-8BEN-E instructions say that, generally, a disregarded entity does not submit this Form W-8BEN-E to a withholding agent IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026. Instead, the owner provides the documentation: the single owner, if such owner is a foreign person, should provide Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E (as appropriate) IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026. For a non-US individual owner, that is Form W-8BEN.

If the payer pays into an account held in the LLC's name, tell the payer. The W-8BEN instructions suggest putting the LLC's name and account number in the reference number field so the payer can match your form to the account. Note also that the US tax number box on Form W-8BEN is labeled "SSN or ITIN"; which number you need, if any, is covered in the W-8BEN guide.

One question this does not settle is whether the LLC's income is effectively connected with a US trade or business. If it is, the W-8BEN instructions send you to Form W-8ECI instead (see below). Ask a tax professional if you are not sure.

Narrow cases where the LLC itself gives a W-8BEN-E

The W-8BEN-E instructions name two situations in which a disregarded entity may use that form: to document its own "chapter 4" status because it holds an account with a foreign financial institution, or to claim treaty benefits as a hybrid entity. A hybrid entity is one that US tax rules look through but that a treaty country does not; the W-8BEN instructions say a hybrid entity claiming treaty benefits is required to complete Form W-8BEN-E IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026. If a bank or payer asks the LLC itself for a W-8BEN-E, one of these may be why. Ask a tax professional before you sign one for the LLC.

If your LLC elected to be taxed as a corporation

Then the LLC is not disregarded, and the single-owner rules above do not apply to it. The W-9 instructions count a partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026 as a US person, and the W-8BEN-E instructions tell US persons, including entities such as a corporation organized under the law of a state, to use Form W-9 instead. The W-9 instructions also describe how an LLC that is not disregarded enters its own tax classification on its W-9. So in this case the LLC gives a W-9 in its own name.

If the owner is a US person, or there are two or more members

• US owner of a disregarded LLC: the W-8BEN-E instructions say if the single owner is a U.S. person, a Form W-9 should be provided IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026. The W-9 instructions name who gives it: the U.S. owner of the disregarded entity and not the disregarded entity IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026.
• Two or more members: the IRS page says a US LLC with at least two members is classified as a partnership by default unless it elects to be a corporation. A partnership created or organized in the United States is a US person under the W-9 instructions. That is outside the scope of this page.

US persons: Form W-9

The W-8BEN instructions say not to use W-8BEN if you are a US citizen, even if you live outside the United States, or another US person, including a resident alien. Use Form W-9 instead. This includes dual citizens: if one of your citizenships is US citizenship, the instructions say not to complete W-8BEN.

The W-9 instructions say that for federal tax purposes, a US person includes an individual who is a US citizen or US resident alien; a partnership, corporation, company or association created or organized in the United States; an estate other than a foreign estate; and a domestic trust. A non-citizen becomes a resident alien by meeting the "green card test" or the "substantial presence test" for the calendar year (Publication 519 explains both). The W-9 instructions also say that a foreign person may not provide a Form W-9.

If you gave a W-8BEN and later became a US resident, the steps are on when a W-8BEN expires.

Income connected with a US business: Form W-8ECI

The W-8BEN instructions say not to use W-8BEN for income that is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, unless it is allocable to you through a partnership. Use Form W-8ECI instead. The W-8BEN-E instructions say the same for entities.

• If income you already covered with a W-8BEN becomes effectively connected, that is a change in circumstances: the W-8BEN is no longer valid for that income, and you must file Form W-8ECI.
• The same applies to card and third-party network payments: the instructions say a foreign individual whose payments are effectively connected income should give the payment settlement entity (a merchant acquiring entity or third-party settlement organization) a W-8ECI rather than a W-8BEN.

The W-8BEN instructions do not define when income is effectively connected, and this site does not cover Form W-8ECI. See the IRS page for Form W-8ECI and ask a tax professional.

If you gave the wrong form

1. Work out the right form with the sections above.
2. Give it to the payer through its own process. When a change makes information on a form you gave incorrect, the W-8BEN instructions say you must notify the payer within 30 days IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026 and you must file a new Form W-8BEN or other appropriate form.
3. Common fixes:
   • You gave a W-8BEN-E for your disregarded LLC and none of the narrow cases above applies: give a W-8BEN in your own name instead, with the LLC's name and account number as the reference.
   • You gave a W-8BEN but you are a US citizen or US resident: give a Form W-9.
   • You gave a W-9 but you are not a US person: a foreign person may not provide a W-9, so give the W-8 form that fits. If the account is joint, note that the payer treats a payment as made to a US person if any joint owner gives a W-9.
4. Ask the payer about past payments. If tax was withheld, or not withheld, under the wrong form, ask the payer whether it can adjust it, and ask a tax professional before filing anything with the IRS.

Related pages

• Form W-8BEN for individuals: a task-by-task guide
• When a W-8BEN expires, and when you need a new one sooner
• The yearly list for a foreign-owned single-member LLC
• Form 5472 for a foreign-owned single-member LLC