This is a great question that many foreign investors struggle with! I'm also a European investor in US stocks and went through this same confusion last year. Even though your stocks don't currently pay dividends, you'll still need to submit the W-8BEN form to your broker. This form serves as your certification that you're a non-US person for tax purposes, and most brokers require it regardless of whether your current holdings pay dividends or not. The reason is that the form establishes your tax status for your entire investment account. Your stocks might start paying dividends in the future, or you might buy dividend-paying stocks later. Having the W-8BEN on file from the beginning prevents any complications down the road. For capital gains when you sell, the good news is that as a non-US resident, you generally won't owe US capital gains tax on your stock sales. This is typically covered by the tax treaty between your European country and the US. You'll only need to report and pay taxes on those gains in your home country according to your local tax laws. I'd recommend getting the W-8BEN filed sooner rather than later - it's valid for 3 years and will give you peace of mind that your tax status is properly established with your broker.

I went through this exact same situation a few months ago as a non-US investor from Canada. Even though my stocks didn't pay dividends at the time, my broker still required the W-8BEN form to establish my foreign tax status. The key thing to understand is that the W-8BEN isn't just about current dividend income - it's about establishing your overall tax classification with your broker. This becomes important for several reasons: your stocks might start paying dividends later, you might purchase dividend-paying stocks in the future, or there could be other US-source income events that require proper withholding. When I eventually sold some of my positions, I didn't have to pay any US capital gains tax thanks to the Canada-US tax treaty. I only had to report the gains on my Canadian tax return. The W-8BEN had already established that I was a non-resident alien, so there were no complications with the broker or any unexpected withholding. My advice would be to go ahead and submit the W-8BEN form now, even before you need it. It's valid for three years and will prevent any issues down the road. Most brokers make it pretty straightforward to complete through their online platforms, and it's much easier to do it proactively rather than scrambling to get it done later when you actually need it.

I had almost the exact same experience! Called for verification, notice disappeared from my account the next day, and WMR updated with the standard processing message. My transcript stayed blank for about a week which had me worried, but then it suddenly updated with all the codes and my refund was deposited 3 days later. The disappearing notice is definitely a good sign - it means they accepted your verification and are moving forward with processing. The fact that WMR also updated suggests your return is actively being worked on. I'd expect to see transcript movement within the next few days, and probably your refund within 2 weeks max, even though they said 21 days. Keep checking but try not to stress too much - sounds like you're on the right track!

Those are definitely encouraging signs! The disappearing verification notice is usually the clearest indicator that they've accepted your verification and are moving your return forward. Combined with the WMR update, it sounds like your return is actively being processed now. Don't worry too much about the blank transcript - that's completely normal at this stage. Transcripts often lag behind by several days or even a week after other systems update. Based on similar experiences I've seen, you'll probably see your transcript populate with codes within the next 3-7 days, and your refund could arrive well before that 21-day window they gave you. The fact that the agent said everything looked good is also reassuring. Keep checking periodically but try not to stress - you're definitely moving in the right direction!

25 I just filed Form 8300 last month for selling my boat. One thing to note - if the buyer gives you installment payments and any single payment is over $10k in cash, or if the combined cash payments go over $10k within a 12-month period in related transactions, you still need to file Form 8300. The penalty for not filing can be pretty steep!

I just want to add some clarity on the timing requirements for Form 8300 since there seems to be some confusion in the thread. You must file Form 8300 within 15 days of receiving the cash payment - this is a hard deadline, not a guideline. For your F-150 sale at $14,500 cash, since you're selling at a loss (bought for $22k), you won't owe any capital gains tax. However, you're still required to file the form for the cash transaction reporting. One important detail: if the buyer splits the payment and gives you, say, $9,000 cash plus a $5,500 check, you wouldn't need to file Form 8300 since only the cash portion matters for this requirement. But if they give you $14,500 all in cash, then yes, you must file within 15 days. The form is really just to help track large cash movements in the economy - it doesn't automatically trigger a tax audit or anything scary like that. Just make sure to file it on time to avoid penalties!

Something else to consider - if the stock price drops after your purchase and you sell at a loss, you might face the wash sale rule complications if you continue participating in the ESPP program. This has bitten me before when I sold some underwater ESPP shares but then acquired more through the next purchase period within 30 days.

Great point about the wash sale rule complications! This is something that caught me off guard when I first started with ESPPs. The automatic nature of ESPP purchases makes it really easy to accidentally trigger wash sale rules if you're trying to harvest losses from previous purchases. One strategy I've learned is to be very strategic about timing any ESPP share sales if you're planning to continue in the program. You either need to wait more than 30 days after selling before your next ESPP purchase, or suspend participation for a purchase period if you want to realize losses for tax purposes. The wash sale rule gets even more complex with ESPPs because you might have shares from multiple purchase dates with different cost bases. I keep a spreadsheet tracking all my ESPP purchases and any sales to avoid accidentally creating wash sale situations. It's tedious but has saved me from some nasty surprises at tax time. Also worth noting - if you have other employee stock options or restricted stock that vest around the same time, those can potentially trigger wash sale rules too if they're the same underlying stock.

The comments about brokers reporting is spot on. Fidelity flagged several of my trades as wash sales when they technically weren't. Their system seems to just automatically flag any loss followed by a purchase within 30 days regardless of other factors. When I called them about it, they said "we report what our system flags, it's up to you and your tax advisor to make adjustments on your return if needed" which wasn't helpful at all.

This is a great discussion! Just wanted to add something I learned from my CPA last year - even though your same-day buy/sell scenario doesn't trigger a wash sale, you should definitely document the timeline clearly in your records. The key detail is that you bought ALL 200 shares first, then sold 100 at a loss. If you had done multiple separate buy orders throughout the day mixed with sell orders, the wash sale analysis could get more complex. The IRS looks at each "lot" of shares and when they were acquired versus when they were sold. Also, since you're holding the remaining 100 shares, just be extra careful about any future NVDA purchases in the next 30 days. Even buying just 1 share could trigger the wash sale rule on your previous $500 loss. I made that mistake once and had to adjust my cost basis calculations later.