Guide to Filling Out W-8 BEN Form for International Students on F1/OPT Status

The address you should use on your W-8 BEN depends on your tax residency status, not your physical location. Since you mentioned you're a nonresident alien, you should use your permanent foreign address (your address in India). The W-8 BEN is specifically designed to certify that you're a foreign person not subject to certain US tax withholding. Using your US address might create confusion about your tax status. The IRS generally wants to see your permanent foreign address on this form to establish your connection to your home country. If you're concerned about receiving communications, you can typically provide a mailing address separately to your broker that's different from what's on your W-8 BEN form.

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One important thing to consider when filling out your W-8 BEN: pay attention to Part II if you're claiming treaty benefits! As an Indian citizen, you might be eligible for reduced withholding on certain types of income. For investments, India and the US have a tax treaty that can reduce withholding on dividends from 30% to 25% in most cases if you complete that section correctly. Make sure you indicate "India" as the country and reference Article 10 of the treaty for dividend income. I see a lot of international students miss this and end up having too much withheld from their investment income.

Has anyone had experience fixing a W-8 BEN that was submitted with incorrect information? I realized after submitting mine that I used my US address instead of my home country address, and now I'm panicking about possible consequences.

Great question! I went through this exact same situation when I was on F1 and later OPT. The key thing to remember is that the W-8 BEN is specifically for establishing your foreign tax status, so you should definitely use your permanent foreign address (India) rather than your current US address. Even though you're physically residing in the US, you're still considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes, and the form is designed to confirm your foreign tax residency. Using your US address could potentially create confusion about your tax status with both your broker and the IRS. If your family has moved in India since you've been here, just use their current address - that's totally fine and very common for students in our situation. The important thing is having a legitimate connection to your home country address. Also, don't forget to check if you're eligible for treaty benefits in Part II of the form! As an Indian citizen, you might qualify for reduced dividend withholding rates under the US-India tax treaty, which could save you money on your investment income.