W8 BEN Form

richtips86

Before starting to properly read up on investing, I bought into an OIEC provided by the Halifax. For various reasons I quickly stopped that arrangement but before doing so was asked by Halifax to complete a W8 BEN Form. Fast forward 18mths and I have now purchased shares in Apple. I've tried reading through the guidance and see that the form is valid for 3yrs but is there any way that I can check if it was filed by Halifax, or do I need to complete a new form as I am using III as my platform?

AnotherJoe

I believe the forms are per platform given the number of the damn things I've filled In!

And if you think about it each platform only knows about what you've done with them. I regularly get reminders about filling them in or at least it seems like that One of my platforms recently went to an electronic version which was nice.

Ps I'd expect there to be a check have completed a w8 Ben before you can buy, at least HL insists on that. Or maybe iii don't care ? Are iii and Halifax related entities ?

EdSwippet

Yes, it's per-platform, bank, broker, and so on. The platform, bank or broker doesn't actually 'file' anything, at least not with the IRS or any US authority, they just keep the form on record. This allows them to withhold US dividend tax at the appropriate treaty rate, 15% in this case. You can claim this 15% against UK tax, if your UK tax liability on it is 15% or higher; otherwise you can claim up to your UK tax liability on it.

Just hold your nose and complete another W-8BEN for your Interactive Investor account. Provided you've not yet received any Apple dividends, they should then arrive with the correct US tax paid. Otherwise, you'll have to reclaim half of the 30% over-withheld to the US from the IRS. This probably won't be a simple process, but then practically nothing involving US taxes ever is.

richtips86

That's really helpful thank you both! Yes no problems buying the shares with no prompt to complete the form, but will look at doing this weekend - I have about 5 spare hours!