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I have a PR corporation that is offering services at our Puerto Rico plant. Is this 1042 reportable?

Question

No matter how much I read about foerign payments made to US possessions I am still confused. My question: I have a PR corporation that is offering services at our Puerto Rico plant. Is this 1042 reportable?

My understanding is that companies incorporated in PR are considered foreign but individuals for tax purposes are considered US residents.

Answer

Puerto Rico has some tricky rules so let's run through the basics.

You will most definitely report a nonemployee service provider who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. company performing services in Puerto Rico, as U.S. residents are always subject to reporting.

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We have payments made to Canadian National Railways for loads brought into the US by rail. Are these payments considered US source income?

Question

We have payments made to Canadian National Railways for loads brought into the US by rail. Are these payments considered US source income?

Answer

Payments of U.S.-source income to non-U.S. persons are reportable on Form 1042-S and subject to 30% withholding.

The source of the income is determined by where the work is performed (see Publication 515 for more on sourcing).

When services being paid for are performed by a foreign vendor in the U.S., then you will report.

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Foreign government payee: Form W-8BEN or W-8EXP for treaty benefits?

Question

I have a foreign government organization insisting on using a W-8BEN form in order to claim tax treaty benefits. Their fear is that the  US source income applicable will not be covered under section 892. They provided a clause that stated do no complete W-8EXP for such income not covered under section 892 but complete W-8BEN instead.

What is the rule with such a scenario?

Answer

Generally Form W-8EXP, Certificate of Foreign Government or Other Foreign Organization for United States Tax Withholding is used by a foreign government, international or­ganization, foreign central bank of issue, foreign tax­ exempt organization, foreign private foundation, or government of a U.S. possession to do one of the following:

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How do we become FATCA compliant?

Question

I have a couple of quetions regarding the newly imposed FATCA regulations and I hope you can provided us some guidance on this topic.

Based on our limited readings on the new FATCA regulation, we notice that it highlights the reporting requirements for foreign financial institutions.  We are not sure of its applicability to us.

Currently, we have at least 17 foreign vendors in our Accounts Payable system.  These vendors are paid for goods and services such as reinsurance, consultancy, software application, training video, etc.  We need clarification on the applicability of the new FATCA regulation to State Fund by responding to the following questions:

  • In general, what does Accounts Payable have to do to be FATCA-compliant?
  • What is the FATCA implementation timeline? When does AP need to update procedures?
  • Which AP payments are going to be exempt from FATCA 30% withholding?
  • Which payments handled in AP are going to require new “due diligence” procedures and possible 30% FATCA withholding?
  • How do we identify procedural areas which require updating for FATCA compliance?
  • When will the IRS issue new Forms W-8 and when do we have to switch over to using the new W-8s?
  • If a foreign vendor provides online web training but not physically being here in the U.S., is 1042-S reporting still required?
  • If a foreign vendor submits a completed Form W8, does it mean that they’re exempt from the 30% withholding?  If not, how do we decide whether the 30% withholding requirement should apply to them or not?

Thank you.

Answer

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How do I handle treaty benefits involving a settlement with a Canadian citizen?

Question

I work for a title insurance company.  I have a settlement being paid to a Canadian national.  The settlement is for reimbursements of expenses he paid to make his title whole against a fraudulent interest presented by an adverse party.  But he is collecting all the fees he paid to do this against his title insurance policy.  He has provided a W8, but has not included a US tax ID#.

1) My understanding of the form W8 is that without providing his US tax ID#, the Canadian tax treaty benefits cannot be applied.  Is this correct?

2) Since this is a reimbursement, is there still withholding?  My guess is yes because the IRS will consider this a settlement claim rather than a reimbursement.  If withholding is necessary, at what rate?

3) If a US tax ID# is included on a new W8, is withholding still necessary?  If so, at what rate?

Answer

Validating treaty benefit issues is never a simple process under the law. Nevertheless, in working from the proper withholding certificate there are several things you can do to make the process smoother.

We will answer your questions using the numerated format that you have provided and as follows:

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Foreign Software Company Creating Product for Our Use: How to Report?

Question

I work for a  Title Insurance company.  We are in negotiations with a foreign software company to develop and maintain a custom software.  The foreign company is a national of a non-treaty country.  The software being developed will solely be owned by my company (my company has decided to treat this as services rather than royalties as we own the product). 

Using hypotheticals: The project will be expensive, consisting of hundreds of hours of development time, as well as other items.  All the development and maintenance will be done by the foreign nationals in their own country.

Now, my company is anticipating the need to bring a few of the foreign nationals to the US:  Business analysts to spec and price the project;  Project managers to determine exactly what is required to meet the various benchmarks;  Developers to demonstrate the best installation practices for the software as it is developed.  No programming or maintenance will be done on US soil.

What would be my company's reporting and withholding obligation, keeping in mind that the work done on US soil is a tiny fragment of the overall project cost (less than 1%), with the following caveats? 

1) If my company pays a constant amount on a monthly basis that encompasses payment for all work being done on the project, in this case would the whole amount paid be subject to reporting and withholding or only the percentage that constitutes the work done on US soil?

2) If the particlar services (US vs non-US) were portioned out and paid separately, would that make a difference?

3) If the software company agrees to payment by credit card, would that change my company's reporting and withholding obligation?

4) Just out of curiousity (and it may be out of your scope of practice), what happens with the 30% withheld in foreign reporting?  Does the foreign company have any recourse to collect it?  If the foreign company has a US branch  that is set up as a corporation with a US Tax ID, does this get applied against the taxes due from the US branch?

Answer

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For A U.S. Person Residing In Puerto Rico When Should 480.6B Reporting to Puerto Rico be Done Vs. Form 1099-MISC to the IRS?

Question

I reviewed the responses to several questions posed on the site regarding nonemployee compensation for individuals in Puerto Rico. I understand the distinction for a US person vs non-US person (for services performed in the US). However, I'm not clear on when the 480.6B to the Govt of Puerto Rico should be filed vs the 1099-MISC to the IRS. Or should they both be filed if they are a US person and reside in Puerto Rico?

Answer

Ok, we are kinda going with your statement that you are comfortable with the distinction between U.S. and Non-U.S. Persons vis a vis the payee in question being a Puerto Rican individual (and thus we will not delve into that distinction too far) but just to make sure....And all the same - are you sure you are up to date?

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Payment made to a foreign entity for a canelled R&D contract. Is there 1042-S reporting required?

Question

We made a settlement payment to a foreign entity.  It was payment for a cancelled R&D service contract. 

Is there 1042s reporting required?

Answer

One of the rules for filing Form 1042-S is that the payment is...

U.S. source income. This means you must be able to source the income back to the U.S. to have a reportable payment. In addition your payee and payment type must also line up with the sourcing. Thus identifying the type of payment will be crucial and then juxtaposing that to the source.

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What are the 1099 reporting requirements to a Canadian vendor?

Question

What are the 1099 reporting requirements to a Canadian vendor?

Answer

You need to be careful here. If you are sure you are dealing with a Non U.S. Person then your reporting will proceed as follows.

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Do I Form 1099 Report a Puerto Rican Payee Doing Work in Puerto Rico?

Question

My company is a title insurance underwriter.  We are working with a Puerto Rican attorney who is researching in Puerto Rico on a Puerto Rican legal issue.  What are my reporting obligations in this case?

Answer

These types of reporting situations are complicated and require a thorough review of all factors in the specific situation. No one situation will be the same as another. However, given the facts and circumstances you have outlined here is what you will need to do.

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