Form to Certify FATCA Status Complex, May Lead to Errors, Practitioners Say

A new draft version of a form that intermediaries and other entities will need to submit to withholding agents under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is very complicated and will be difficult for many taxpayers to complete, practitioners told BNA in interviews Aug. 14.

The IRS unveiled the draft Form W-8IMY Aug. 14 as the next step in implementing the complex law. Under FATCA, foreign financial institutions could face a 30% withholding tax if they do not tell U.S. tax authorities about their U.S.-owned accounts.

“It is going to be very complicated to prepare,” Candace Ewell, a director in ...