Certification of U.S. Residency for Tax Treaty Purposes

 

Many U.S. treaty partners require U.S. citizens and U.S. residents to provide a U.S. Residency Certificate in order to claim income tax treaty benefits, and/or certain other tax benefits, in those foreign countries. The IRS provides this residency certification on Form 6166, a letter of U.S. residency certification.

Form 6166 is a computer-generated letter printed on stationary bearing the U.S. Department of Treasury letterhead certifying that the individuals or entities listed are residents of the United States for purposes of the income tax laws of the United States.

To obtain Form 6166, a letter of U.S. Residency Certification, you must submit a completed Form 8802, Application for United States Residency Certification. A user fee is charged to process all Forms 8802. Revenue Procedure 2018-50 announced a user fee increase for non-individual applicants effective December 1, 2018. Please review the Form 8802 Instructions for further details.

For more detailed information, please refer to the following topics:

Foreign Certification Requests - Form 6166

Form 8802, Application for United States Residency Certification – Additional Certification Requests

References/Related Topics