At Inversoft, I’ve been working on getting our tax exemption for various European countries. This process requires a valid 8802 be submitted to the IRS. In return, the IRS will ship you out a shiny new form 6616 that you can snail mail across the Atlantic to the country of your choice. Yes, feel the sarcasm. This process is unbelievably dated, horrific, slow, lame, tree-killing, etc.
After talking to a number of accountants, some knowledgable and many not, I finally have the form filled out correctly and I’m about to drop it in the mail. Since this process is SOOOO painful, I figured I would give other S-Corp owners a heads up to hopefully save their sanity and a bunch of time.
Here’s exactly how to fill out form 8802:
- Put your full legal company name at the top under Applicant Name
- Put your S-Corp’s FEIN under Applicant’s U.S. taxpayer identification number
- Leave Line 1 blank
- Put in your company address on Line 2. I put in the exact same address on my S-Corp’s tax return since we haven’t moved this year. I don’t know if this is required, but might as well error on the safe side.
- Put in your company address on Line 3a
- Put in your name (that is you the shareholder/CEO) in Line 3b
- Checkmark Line 4f since you are an S-Corp
- Checkmark 1120s under the Yes. heading of Line 5
- Leave Line 6 blank
- Write 2018 on Line 7
- Put the last year and month you filed a tax return for on Line 8. This is the fiscal year end. So, in my case, the last year and month (fiscal year end) I filed was December 2017, so I put in 201712 and it MUST be in this format.
- Checkmark Income Tax on Line 9
- Write this exact text in two (2) separate lines on Line 10
<Shareholder name> <Shareholder SSN> is a U.S. resident and will continue to be throughout the current tax year.
<S-Corp name> <S-Corp FEIN> has filed its required return and the entity classification has not changed since the return was filed. - Sign, date, add your phone number, name and title to the bottom
- Put your S-Corp name at to the top of the worksheet with your FEIN
- Put the current calendar year on the worksheet (still at the top section)
- Line 11 (on the worksheet) pick the country (or countries) you need and ask for 5 forms each
- Make sure you put in the correct total on Line 12
That’s all you need for form 8802. However, since you are filling this out for an S-Corp and according to tax law and treaties, S-Corp’s can’t claim exemptions or be identified as a corporation, you need to fill out a form 8821 also. The 8821 form is an authorization made by the shareholder in an S-Corp that is certifying that the form 8802 is correct. This is part of the perjury statement.
Filling out the form 8821 is also a nightmare and the instructions suck, so here are the steps for that form as well:
- Put your personal information (since you are the shareholder) on Line 1 (i.e. I put Brian Pontarelli here with my home address) including your SSN and phone number
- Leave Line 2 blank
- Don’t checkmark the checkbox on Line 3
- Write Income on Line 3a
- Write 1040 on Line 3b
- Write 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 on Line 3c (or whatever years you need)
- Write Form 8802 on Line 3d
- Leave Line 4 blank
- Checkmark Line 5a
- Leave Line 6 blank
- Sign, date, print your name and put your title as CEO (or whatever it is)
NOTE: I’ve heard that form 8821 might not be necessary if there is only one shareholder and they are filing form 8802. I haven’t confirmed this, but if you are worried about it, just send in a 8821 regardless.
Also, I HIGHLY advise against faxing these forms in. I faxed them in and they were rejected by the IRS because the fax was illegible. Likely, their fax machine sucked or mine did. Regardless, save yourself the headache and mail them in. Or better yet, send them UPS, Fedex or USPS certified.
That should be it. I’m sending mine off next week, so if they aren’t accepted, I’ll update this post with any fixes I made.
Invert your Mind 
Hello Sir,
My name is Jan and I have a dilemma.
My boss gave me a task on filling for his Form 8802 under S Corp. Now my problem is that I don’t think he has shareholders.
How can I fill out the form 8821 knowing that he doesn’t have any shareholders?
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All companies have shareholders. My guess is that he the only shareholder and owns 100% of the company. That’s the same as my situation so these instructions should work for you.
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Thank you Brian for your quick response.
I have other questions:
1. Let say he is the only shareholder. Is he going to be one who will fill out the Form 8821 too?
2. On “Line 11 (on the worksheet) pick the country (or countries) you need and ask for 5 forms each” we only need it for our client in India. Is it okay to request up to 5 forms and the fee will be the same, $85 for the overall cost of the application?
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Here are answers:
#1 – His information should be on form 8821 also. That form is for the shareholder.
#2 – You can order as many copies as you like for the $85 fee. At least, that’s what the instructions imply. I would assume they would reject it if you asked for like 10,000 copies.
😉
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Thanks Brian!
How about on Line 10 of the Form 8802? The Perjury Statement?
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Hi Brian,
On the Form 8802.
Your Number 10 instruction for Line 7 says:
Write this exact text in two (2) separate lines on Line 7
is a U.S. resident and will continue to be throughout the current tax year.
has filed its required return and the entity classification has not changed since the return was filed.
—-
In the form 8802 that I have, Line 7 says:
Calendar year(s) for which certification is requested.
Note. If certification is for the current calendar year or a year for which a tax return is not yet required to be filed, a penalties
of perjury statement from Table 2 of the instructions must be entered on line 10 or attached to Form 8802 (see instructions).
So I guess I should put the year that I am requesting the certification which is this year, 2018. And not the one that you instructed? Please enlighten me. Thank you so much!
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Oops. Thanks for finding that issue. I updated the post to have the correct information for Line 7 and Line 10 (the perjury statement). Let me know if those items don’t make sense or don’t line up with your form correctly.
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Hi Brian,
Thank you for being responsive. I really do appreciate your big help!
My last questions are ff:
1. What’s the status of your application now? Did you already receive the Form 6616?
2. If so, may I know the timeline of the application from lodging up to receiving the Form 6616?
3. How did you pay the user? ePay or check?
4. How did you send the documents? Snail mail or fax?
5. Aside from sending the Form 8802 & 8821 for the S-Corp (Single Shareholder), what are the other attachments did you include?
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Hi Jan,
#1 – I faxed my forms in the first time and they were rejected. Don’t fax them in, mail them in or use Fedex or something. I’m still waiting on the second round.
#2 – It takes a long time. 8 weeks or so.
#3 – I paid online and put the online payment number on the forms.
#4 – Fax, but definitely use snail mail.
#5 – I didn’t include any other attachments.
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Hi Brian,
I thought that would be my last questions.
I have some more clarifications.
1. On the Form 8802 – your instruction in # 10 says: Put the current calendar year on the worksheet (still at the top section). Now, I don’t see any field on the top section to put the current calendar year and I assume I should put 2018? I downloaded the form from IRS site so I bet it’s up to date.
2. On the Form 8821 – your instruction in # 6 says: Write 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 on Line 3c (or whatever years you need). Does this mean we have to the year 2018 since we need the Form 6616 for this year?
Thank you in advance!
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#1 – My step #10 says to put “2018” on line 7. Your line 7 should say something like “Calendar year(s) for which certification is requested.”.
#2 – The section is just to request authorization from the main shareholder (i.e. me) to allow the company to ask for form 6616s using form 8802. Basically, this means that you don’t have to keep filling out form 8821 each year since you granted authorization for future years.
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Hi,
Thanks so much for posting this incredibly helpful guide and (hopefully) saving my sanity!
The fee just went up (on 12/1/2018) to $185 for “non-individuals” — is an s-corp a non-idividual or not? (ack! there goes my sanity!!!)
Two more questions, my wife is also a shareholder (49%) in my s-corp. Do we need to file an 8821 for her also? And, does she need to be listed anywhere on the 8802?
Thanks again! — If you’re ever in Portland, OR I’ll buy you a beer!
-Donald
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I’m not sure on the S-Corp being an individual. I think you can probably look that up in the IRS code or ask your accountant. My guess is that an S-Corp is an individual since it is a pass-through entity.
If you have multiple shareholders, I think only the shareholder that is specified on the 8802 needs a 8821. Again, I’d have to check with an accountant to be certain though.
I haven’t been to Portland in a while, but maybe there will be a conference out there next year that I can speak at so we can grab a beer. 🙂
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I casually came across this post after a Google search. I am a CPA with 35+ years of experience. I have outbound international tax clients with controlled foreign corporations, including S Corps. I have been preparing Form 8802 for them for several years. There are many issues with obtaining a 6166.
The most common purpose of filing Form 8802 is to get a treaty-reduced withholding tax rate on foreign dividends.
The pressing issue for US taxpayers with interests in foreign corporations is preparing properly the revised Form 5471 and avoiding the Global Low-Tax Income Tax (GILTI). I have always avoided GITLI tax for my clients with a §962 election.
I live in Portland, OR. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. 415-577-7538
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Hey Brian!
Thank you so much for doing this. As an S-corp owner, I spent so many hours trying to decipher “Instructions for Form 8802” before coming across your helpful quick guide. Our company is trying to register for a VAT number for Germany through an accountant firm, and they are requesting this form. This is so we can start paying taxes on the products we are selling to there.
I noticed that you guys submitted this form for “income / tax exemption” but did you have to do this form to obtain a VAT number? or are the two the same thing? Wish they did not make it so hard to give them money haha
Thanks!
-Jimmy
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Depending on your situation, you might not need a VAT number and might not need to submit taxes to Germany. Instead, you can apply for a tax exemption from Germany based on a tax treaty between the US and Germany. Since we sell software electronically, we are applying for a tax exemption based on a treaty the US has with Germany.
You might want to look into that and see what your business needs.
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Thank you for sharing. Your simple to follow instructions should be on the IRS website explaining how to fill out form 8802. Very helpful. However I’m not clear why an S Corp would need to request multiple years of tax return certification? If the purpose of Form 6166 is to establish a residency certification wouldn’t one year be as valid as multiple years? I am starting to work with a company in Mexico who is requesting Form 6166 so they can license art designs from me in the U.S. to print on paper products there.
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From what I know, if you think you will need more forms in future years, you should ask for them up-front. Otherwise, you will need to resubmit the form each year.
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Thanks for the great info!
I ended up calling their help line anyway and got a couple of pieces of additional information:
– Form 8821 is NOT REQUIRED if there is only one shareholder and that is the person filing. The rep said “You don’t need permission from yourself!”. Instead, a line should be added to section 10 stating: “Name_of_filer_and_owner is the sole shareholder of the corporation.”
– The current charge for S corps is $185
– Any number of certifications can be requested for any number of countries for no extra charge. Supposedly this does not increase processing time either.
– If you can’t get through on the main FAX number, the alternate FAX is: 855-393-8902
– Current processing time is up to 60 days due to Trump’s government shutdown creating a backlog.
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FYI – I fixed your comments. That is interesting that they told you the 8821 wasn’t needed. I was told that it was. I’ll definitely update my post to include that as an option.
On the faxing, I would advise AGAINST faxing this in. If the IRS has even a small problem reading the fax, they will reject it. You should instead mail the forms in. It only adds a few days, but guarantees that the IRS can’t reject them because of an illegible fax image.
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Hi Brian,
Just wanted to offer a generous thank-you + Internet High-Five for breaking down a *hopelessly complicated process* into easy, digestible steps. I’m an S Corp seeking to exempt myself from double taxation and this post has spared me a $500 CPA fee along with untold hours of headaches.
I take it your forms were accepted okay?
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If only it were that simple. Haha. Our first round was rejected because I faxed it in and they couldn’t “read it”. Our second attempt was accepted though.
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Brian,
Thank you so much for this guide. It is extremely helpful. I have a few questions however:
– If this is my first year of incorporation, would I write “Not required to file” on Line 8?
– I have submitted Form 2553 (S Corp) a while back but have not yet recieved any confirmation on it. Do you think I could go ahead and submit Form 8802 while selecting ‘f’ on Line 4 while waiting for S Corp status?
Thanks again
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Hi Chris. Sorry for the delay. I was out of town for the last two weeks.
I’m not positive on your questions. Since you are a new business, you might have a tough time verifying that you exist until the IRS has proof via a submitted 1120S. Therefore, you might need to actually call the IRS and ask them how to fill this form out while you get the company setup.
Also, if you haven’t received your confirmation of incorporation, you should definitely call about that since that is key to this whole thing.
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Hi Brian,
Any insight on line 9, income tax or VAT?
Any help is much appreciated!
Regards,
Kim
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You’ll probably want to mark income tax if you are looking to leverage any of the tax treaties or exemptions. You can also mark multiple boxes I think if you do need to setup a VAT account.
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Hi Brian,
What if a company was treated as a disregarded entity in 2018 (reported on 1040, Sch. C), and is filing an 8802 in 2019 for an S-corp (changed entity type)? Would individual 8802’s have to be filed along with the 8802 for the S-Corp?
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This is a situation that I’m not well versed on, but I think you need to only fill out the 8802 for the entity that is certifying their residency. In this case, it would be your S-Corp. You would still use the 8821 with your personal information as the asserting party. Hope that helps.
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Hi Guys, if I apply for Form 8802, for how long the certifica of US residency is valid? The tax year?
Best regards,
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It’s valid for the years that you specify on the form.
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hi! I would LOVE to receive some guidance for a single-member LLC that is disregarded. I am totally unclear on how to file this form: is the applicant my LLC name? Or myself?
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Hi. I’m not sure I can help much with your setup since you are a different type of entity than my company. My guess is that if your LLC has an EIN, then you will need to fill out the 8802 for the company and then 8821 for you. Best of luck!
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This was really helpful! I have been noodling over this form for quite a while and can’t get through to anyone at the IRS. I am submitting this for a future year for work I will do in India in Feb 2021. So I assume I just put in that year as the one I am seeking. 2019 is the last year for which I filed. Were you able to confirm that the 8821 form isn’t needed if the CEO is the only employee and shareholder?
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I’m fairly certain that both forms are always needed.
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Hello Brian!
I know you posted this a while now, but I’m so happy to find it today! I lost my sanity doing this. I have a question, my company has 2 shareholders, but I only put one on the form 8802. I should put both on the 8802 and 8821? Thank You in advance.
Sol.
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Hi Sol. I’m glad this helped you out. I believe that you will need to include both shareholders on Line 10 of the 8802. Then you will need to submit form 8821 for both shareholders.
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Brian, wish I would of found your post earlier would of saved a bunch of time. Do you have a number to call to check the status of the return. Have called 267-941-1000 for two days getting busy signal.
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It think this is probably due to COVID. Usually the folks in the office answers right away.
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Hi,
Thanks for your great help!
Form 8802 Instructions on line 4f is mentioning the following requirement
Include the following with Form 8802.
1.The name and TIN of each shareholder for which certification is requested and any additional information that would be required if certification were being requested for each of those shareholders.
Do you know if this is a separate attachment or the info on line 10 is enough?
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I believe the information on the form is sufficient unless you have to provide a ton of info. Then you would need to include a separate sheet.
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@Brian Thanks for the useful instructions! I went through the similar issues with finding the instructions for sole proprietorship. I used your info as a base and called to the helpline for extra questions. As this may benefit others, posting them here.
In my case, the purpose was to prove residency of sole proprietorship specifically. It was advised to request an EIN for the sole proprietorship. Depending on what country one is requesting the form 6166, it may be country-specific or general-purpose. It’s fine to request multiple 6166 forms for each of multiple countries. Furthermore, after December 1st, it’s allowed to ask for a certificate for the next year.
The 8802 form:
Applicant Name: Person’s name (requestor, typically sole proprietorship owner)
Applicant’s U.S. taxpayer identification number: SSN
Then the same for spouse, if married, filed jointly.
Line 1. Sole proprietorship name (i.e. business name mentioned on Schedule C) + its EIN
Line 2. Business address (home address if contractor, working from home)
Line 3a. Mail to address. Where to mail the forms. Must be in US.
Line 3b. Put your (requestor) name + contact info.
Line 4. Check “individual”, residency type (e.g. “U.S. Citizen”, “Green card holder”, …), and “Sole proprietor”
Line 5. Check 1040. This is because a sole proprietorship is required to file Schedule C, which is part of the combined 1040.
Line 6. Skip. In my case, the certification is required for the sole proprietorship, not the owner.
Line 7. “2021, 2022”. As it is past the Dec 1st, 2021. I can ask for the next year.
Line 8. “2020 – newly formed business in 2021”. As sole proprietorship was “formed” in 2021. IRS would try to use 2020 tax return data to look up the business, so we need to give a hint for them to try EIN DB instead.
Line 9. “Income tax” or whatever is relevant for your case.
Line 10. “Under penalty of perjury is a US resident and will continue to be throughout the current tax year.” Say “current and next” if requesting for the next year as well. This is required because requesting for the current (and next) year for which the tax return is not filed yet.
Put yours and your spouse’s signature (if required).
Next page:
Applicant name: business name. Applicant TIN: proprietorship EIN
Appointee Name: owner name
Calendar year(s): 2021, 2022
Line 11. Number of certificates, e.g. Germany – 2, Russia – 2
Line 12. Total number: e.g. 4
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Here is a direct number of IRS unit processing 8802 and 6166 forms: 267-941-1000. It is not toll-free but they actually pick up and are very helpful. The number is mentioned in instructions to form 8802.
Also link with more info related to other entity types:
Click to access Instructions-for-Obtaining-a-Certificate-of-Status.pdf
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Correction to Line 8: “202012 Newly formed business in 2021”
As this is a new business aligned with the calendar year, the instructions say to specify the end of the previous tax period in 6 digit format and add a hint that the business is new.
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