As part of certifying U.S. residency, the IRS must be able to match the name(s) and taxpayer identification number(s) (TIN(s)) on this application to those previously verified on either the U.S. return filed for the tax period for which certification is to be based or on other documentation you provide.

Enter the applicant's name and TIN exactly as they appear on the U.S. return filed for the tax period(s) for which certification will be based. If the applicant was not required to file a U.S. return, enter the applicant's name and TIN as they appear on documentation previously provided to the IRS (for example, Form 8832, Entity Classification Election) or on documentation provided by the IRS (for example, a determination letter).

Enter your address for the calendar year for which you are requesting certification. If you are an individual who lived outside the United States during the year for which certification is requested, the special rules under Individuals With Residency Outside the United States, earlier, may apply to you.

Form 6166 and any related correspondence may be mailed to you or to a third party appointee. If you provide an address on line 3a, it will be used for all mail correspondence relating to your Form 6166 request. If you do not indicate a mailing address on line 3a, Form 6166 will be mailed to the address on line 2.

If the mailing address entered on line 3a is for a third party appointee, you must provide written authorization for the IRS to release the certification to the third party. By filling out the appointee's information in lines 3a and 3b (name and address), written authorization will be deemed to have been provided when you sign and date the Form 8802. You are not required to enter a phone number or a fax number of your third party appointee. However, by providing a phone number or fax number, you are authorizing the IRS to call or fax your third party appointee.

The Centralized Authorization File (CAF) contains information on third parties authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS and/or receive and inspect confidential tax information. If your appointee has a CAF number, enter it on line 3b.

In general, you do not need to fill out line 3b if you have attached Form 2848 or Form 8821. In line 3b, write “See attached authorization.” Attach a Form 2848 or Form 8821 for each additional third party that you wish to authorize to receive your tax information.

Partnerships are not considered U.S. residents within the meaning of the residence article of U.S. income tax treaties. Treaty benefits are only available to a partner who is a U.S. resident.

Include the following with Form 8802:

An LLC that is classified as a partnership follows the above procedures. Members of the LLC are treated as partners.

Domestic and foreign grantor trusts and simple trusts can be certified for U.S. residency, to the extent the owner of the grantor trust or beneficiaries of simple trusts are U.S. residents. Domestic complex trusts may be certified without regard to the residence of the settler or beneficiaries.

A trust is domestic if a court within the U.S. is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons has authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust.

If you are filing a Form 8802 on behalf of the estate of a decedent, you must include proof that you are the executor or administrator of the decedent's estate. Form 8802 can be submitted on behalf of an estate for the year of the taxpayer's death or any prior year. Proof can include a court certificate naming you executor or administrator of the estate. U.S. residency certification will be based on the tax information and residency of the decedent.

Generally, a corporation that is not incorporated in the United States is not entitled to U.S. residency certification. However, there are exceptions for certain corporations that are treated as U.S. corporations under sections 269B, 943(e)(1), 953(d), or 1504(d). Only Canadian and Mexican corporations are eligible to be treated as domestic corporations under section 1504(d).

Corporations requesting U.S. residency certification on behalf of their subsidiaries must attach a list of the subsidiaries and the Form 851, Affiliations Schedule, filed with the corporation's consolidated return.

S corporations are not considered U.S. residents within the meaning of the residence article of U.S. income tax treaties. Treaty benefits are only available to a shareholder who is a U.S. resident for purposes of the applicable treaty.

Include the following with Form 8802:

Trusts that are part of an employee benefit plan that is required to file Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, must include a copy of the signed Form 5500 with Form 8802.

An employee plan that is not subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) or is not otherwise required to file Form 5500 must include with Form 8802 a copy of the employee benefit plan determination letter.

An employee plan that is not required to file Form 5500 and does not have a determination letter must provide evidence that it is entitled to certification. It must also provide a statement under penalties of perjury explaining why it is not required to file Form 5500 and why it does not have a determination letter.

Generally, an organization that is exempt from U.S. income tax must attach to Form 8802 a copy of either the organization's determination letter from the IRS or the determination letter for the parent organization.

An exempt organization that is not required to file a U.S. income tax return and that has not received a determination letter will not be issued a Form 6166, unless such organization has other means of proving U.S. residency for tax treaty purposes. For such an entity, include with Form 8802 the entity's bylaws, corporate charter, trust agreement, partnership agreement, etc.

Disregarded entities (DRE) are not considered U.S. residents within the meaning of the residence article of U.S. income tax treaties. Treaty benefits will only be available to a DRE owner who is a U.S. resident. The DRE type must be specified on line 4i.

If you act as a nominee for another person or entity, you must provide all certification information required for each individual or entity for which you are acting as a nominee. For example, if you are acting as a nominee for a resident alien, you must attach the information required of applicants that are resident aliens. Similarly, if one of the entities for which you are acting as a nominee is a partnership, then you must submit the certification information for each of the partners requesting certification. In addition, you must include the following with Form 8802.

If the applicant was not required to file a U.S. income tax return for the tax period(s) for which certification will be based, check the applicable box next to “No.” If the applicant does not fit in any of the categories listed, check “Other” and on the dotted line that follows, enter the code section that exempts the applicant from the requirement to file a U.S. income tax return. See Table 1 for the statement required if the applicant did not file a U.S. income tax return.

If you answered “Yes” to line 5, do not complete line 6.

If you answered “No” to line 5, you must complete line 6.

If you answered “Yes” to line 6, check the appropriate box and enter the parent's, parent organization's, or owner's information. If the applicant is a minor child, enter the name, address, and TIN of the parent who reported the child's income.

If you answered “No” to line 6, attach proof of the parent's, parent organization's, or owner's income and an explanation of why the parent is not required to file a tax return for the tax period(s) for which certification is based.

The certification period is generally 1 year. You can request certification for both the current year and any number of prior years.

If you entered the most recent prior year on this line, see Form 8802 Filed Before Return Posted by the IRS, earlier.

Enter the four-digit (YYYY) calendar year(s) for which you are requesting certification. However, see the Exception below.

If you are requesting certification for a tax period for which a tax return is not yet due, enter the four-digit year and two-digit month (YYYYMM) that corresponds to the end of the most recent tax period for which you filed a tax return. For a prior year certification, the four-digit year and two-digit month should correspond to the end of the prior year tax period for which certification is requested.

If you were not required to file a U.S. tax return for the tax period for which certification is requested, enter the tax period that would have been applicable, if you were required to file a U.S. tax return. After the tax period, add "(not required to file)."

You must indicate the purpose of the certification.

Penalties of perjury statements from Table 2 may be entered in the space provided under line 10 or as an attachment to Form 8802. Penalties of perjury statements submitted independently of Form 8802 must have a valid signature and date. See Table 3.

Form 8802 will not be considered complete and valid if the application is not signed and dated by an individual who has the authority to sign Form 8802. A third party representative with authorization to sign Form 8802 must attach documentation (for example, Form 2848) of the authorization. See Table 3 to determine who has authority to sign Form 8802.

To avoid processing delays and possible rejection of Form 8802, if Form 8802 is signed by an individual who is not identified in the instructions, enter a statement in line 10 and attach any appropriate documentation to indicate such individual's authority to sign Form 8802. If you are granting authority to a third party, you must sign and date the documentation.

Providing your daytime phone number can help speed the processing of Form 8802. We may have questions about items on your application, such as the NAICS code, type of applicant, etc. By answering our questions over the phone, we may be able to continue processing your Form 8802 without mailing you a letter. If you are filing a joint application, you can enter either your or your spouse's daytime phone number.

Enter the number of certifications (Forms 6166) requested for each country listed in columns A, B, C, and D. For any country not listed, enter the country in the blank spaces at the bottom of Column D. If you are requesting certifications for more than one calendar year for a country, enter the number of certifications requested for all years to get the total number of certifications requested for that country.

Add the total number of certifications requested in columns A, B, C, and D of line 11, and enter the total on line 12.

If your request for Form 6166 is denied and you believe you are entitled to treaty benefits under a specific treaty article, you can request U.S. competent authority assistance following the procedures established in Rev. Proc. 2006-54, 2006-49 I.R.B. 1035, or its successor. A request for U.S. competent authority assistance regarding a residency issue will be accepted for consideration only if it is established that the issue requires consultation with the foreign competent authority to ensure consistent treatment by the United States and the applicable treaty partner. The U.S. competent authority does not make unilateral determinations with respect to residency. Residency determinations are made by mutual agreement between the two competent authorities.

Your request for U.S. competent authority assistance should be mailed to the address indicated in Rev. Proc. 2006-54, or its successor. Rev. Proc. 2006-54 is available at  
www.irs.gov/irb/2006-49_IRB/ar13.html.