How to complete Form W-8BEN-E

Form W-8BEN-E (Substitute)—Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Entities)

Form W-8BEN-E is used by foreign entities (Corporations, Partnerships, Simple trusts, Tax-exempt organizations, Complex Trusts, Estates, and International organizations) to certify their foreign tax status. Airbnb uses the simplified “substitute” version of an IRS Form W-8BEN-E to verify the foreign tax status of non-US entities.

Form W-8BEN-E is generally suitable in the following cases:

• Foreign entities receive payouts from a US located listing and do not file a tax return in the US. As required by the IRS, 30% withholding tax will apply only on the portion of the foreign entity’s hosting income associated with the US listing.
• Foreign entities who do not receive any payouts from a US-based listing. Completing a valid Form W-8BEN-E will certify the foreign status of the foreign entity, and that entity’s information will not be reported to the IRS.

Form W-8BEN-E is generally not appropriate if the entity is any of the following:

• Foreign entities that file a US tax return. Please refer to Form W-8ECI, which may be more appropriate. No US withholding taxes will be withheld if a valid Form W-8ECI is submitted to Airbnb.
• If you are a business entity or incorporated in the US, please refer to Form W-9.

If you are unsure which tax form is applicable to you, we recommend that you consult with a tax professional. Airbnb cannot provide you with any tax advice.

Payouts transacted by Airbnb from US based listings to foreign individuals/entities are considered to be “income from real property”, which may be subject to 30% US Nonresident Tax Withholding (NRA Withholding). You may qualify for a reduced rate 0% withholding, see Form W-8ECI.

Note that not every non-US Host will be prompted to provide Forms W-8BEN-E or Form W-8ECI. Generally speaking, Airbnb will request these forms from non-US Hosts with certain indicia of US tax status, including, but not limited to:

• Having one or more US listings (applicable to listing owners)
• Instructing Airbnb to make a payout to a US bank account
• Providing Airbnb a US telephone number for contact purposes
• Providing Airbnb a US residence or mailing address
• Other certain indicia of US status (ex: uploading US government-issued identification)

Form W-8BEN-E (Substitute) fields

Identification of beneficial owner

Legal business name

Enter the official, registered business name to be used as the taxpayer name.

If you are a disregarded entity or branch, do not enter your business name. Instead, enter the legal name of the owner entity.

Country/region

• If you are a corporation, enter your country of incorporation. If you are another type of entity, enter the country under whose laws you are created, organized, or governed. If the business was formed in the US, do not complete Form W-8BEN-E, and refer to Form W-9¹
• If the business entity is foreign but files a US tax return, do not complete Form W-8BEN-E, and refer to Form W-8ECI

US tax ID number (optional)

If your entity has a US EIN (employer tax identification number), enter this here.

Note: If you have a US employer tax identification number and have US listings/experiences, please consult with a tax advisor to ensure that Form W-8BEN-E is the correct form for your business entity. Completing Form W-8BEN-E will result in 30% US income tax withholding and US tax reporting (Form 1042-S) on earnings from your US based listings only.

Foreign tax ID number (optional)

Enter the entity’s foreign tax ID number issued by your country of tax residence.

Registered office address

Enter the official permanent business address which your entity is registered for tax purposes. Do not use a P.O. box or in-care-of address (other than a registered address)..

Mailing address

If your mailing address is different from your permanent address, please untick the box to provide a mailing address for your tax form. This is the address where we will post your year-end tax information report, if applicable. An electronic copy of your issued tax document will also automatically be made available for download in your Airbnb account.

Certification

Signature/Date

Typing your name acts as your legal signature and certifies that you have capacity to sign for the entity identified on this form.

Additional resource

If you have any questions regarding the fields above, please also refer to the IRS published Form W-8BEN-E form instructions.