The Internal Revenue Service Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International) recently responded to a request for assistance to understand under what circumstances is a Form W-8 that is signed with a handwritten signature and electronically transmitted to a withholding agent (for example, as a PDF or facsimile) a form upon which the withholding agent may rely.
The informal written guidance provided under Generic Legal Advice Memorandum AM 2012-008 dated August 8, 2012 describes the conditions necessary for a withholding agent to rely on a Form W-8 that is received via fax or e-mail.
