One of our offices opened an account for an individual who presented, among other valid identification, a social security card which reflected "valid for work only with INS Authorization"; his "soc sec #" starts with 603 so we know it's not one of those ITIN (cause those start with 9, right?) The person signed a W8 and reflected this "soc sec #" on line 6 of the form. We process thru ITI and have a specially designated code to identify Non-resident aliens. My question: should we code the account as a NRA or should we have the person complete a W9 cerifying his soc sec and treat him like a US citizen? Thanks for the help!

You would be asking your customer to commit perjury by offering the third certification on the W-9; he is not a "U.S. person." The W-8BEN is the only option and, as you note, has a place to put the SSN if one is provided. Use the NRA code. If you file information returns on an NRA who has no U.S. tax liability, you run the risk of confusing the IRS into issuing a "C Notice" when they cannot locate a corresponding income tax return.

Yes, an ITIN would start with "9".

Thanks Ken! Come to find out when the office ran the soc sec # thru chexsystems they rec'd a message that the number had never been issued!! It's really a shame that the IRS, INS and Social Security websites are NOT as helpful as this one. This is the BEST one stop. Thank you very much!

Another scenario: Line 4 of the W8 is for the permanent address which should be from the country the individual is from; what if the person claims they have no permanent foreign address? For the record this is not the same account I originally wrote about. Thanks for your help.

Can anybody help me by clarifying this issue please?

I attended a Tax Reporting Seminar last year in the material that I still have from that class it says;

After 2001 (beginning January 2002), the financial institution must get additional documentation such as a passport proving their foreign status if the financial institution has a US mailing address for the customer.

I attended the same seminar in 2000 and they stressed the importance of a foreign address. The instructions for completion of the W-8ben state that "The permanent residence address is the address in the country where you claim to be a resident for purposes of that country's income tax. If you are an individual who does not have a tax residence in any country, your permanent residence is where you normally reside."

Now, since we have to get some other form of id to prove their foreign status, we would at least have that information from the passport etc.

Lori T

Thanks for your help! You made a good point about the second ID piece. I think I should attend one of those sessions.