On August 14, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a preliminary draft Form W-8IMY, Certificate of Foreign Intermediary, Foreign Flow-Through Entity, or Certain U.S. Branches for United States Tax Withholding.
The draft Form W-8IMY is intended to replace the current Form W-8IMY (which was last revised in February of 2006) to accommodate changes brought about by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Currently, Form W-8IMY is provided by non-U.S. intermediaries and flow-through entities (e.g., qualified and nonqualified intermediaries, withholding and nonwithholding foreign partnerships, etc.) to establish their status for purposes of Chapter 3 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Once the form is finalized, it will also be used to provide certifications to a withholding agent necessary for reducing or eliminating U.S. withholding tax imposed by the provisions of FATCA (e.g., Chapter 4 of the IRC).
