Need help with Line 7 of Form 8802 for tax residency certification - confused about which year to use!

The Form 8802 is used to request a "Certificate of U.S. Residency" (Form 6166) which proves your status as a U.S. resident for tax purposes. For Line 7, you need to request certification for the tax year that will be relevant to your employer and the tax treaty benefits you're trying to claim. Since you're starting a new job in March 2025, you would typically request certification for 2024 (the most recently completed tax year by that point). However, some countries or employers might want to see certification for the current year (2025). If you're unsure which your employer needs, it's best to ask them directly which tax year they require for the certification. Keep in mind that the IRS can only certify years for which you've already filed a return OR current/future years if they can verify your status based on previous filings. So if requesting 2025 certification, the IRS will look at your 2023/2024 filing history to confirm your status.

After dealing with a similar headache with Form 8802 last year, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which seriously saved me hours of frustration with my residency certification. I had the exact same confusion about which year to put on Line 7, and the tool analyzed my situation and gave me clear guidance specific to my country of employment. Their document review actually caught that I needed to request certification for multiple years to satisfy both the local tax authority AND my employer's requirements - something I would have completely missed. The tool walks you through the form line-by-line and explains exactly what documentation you need to include with your application.

I just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai for my Form 8802 application and it was seriously helpful! The document analysis correctly identified that I needed to request certification for both 2024 and 2025 in my situation, plus it flagged that I needed to check the box for "partnership" since I have foreign self-employment income alongside my W-2. The best part was the attachment checklist it generated - turns out I needed to include my Schedule C from last year which wasn't obvious from the IRS instructions. My application was approved without any issues and I got my Form 6166 certification back in about 5 weeks. Definitely recommend for anyone dealing with the residency certification process.

If you're struggling with the Form 8802 and need direct IRS guidance, I had success using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually speak with an IRS representative about my residency certification. I was in a similar situation - confused about Line 7 and which years to request - and after spending days getting busy signals, Claimyr got me connected to an agent in about 15 minutes. The IRS agent walked me through exactly how to complete the form for my situation in Australia. You can see how the service works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically hold your place in the phone queue and call you when an agent is available. Saved me literally hours of frustrating redial attempts.

I have to update my skeptical comment - I tried Claimyr out of desperation after my Form 8802 was rejected the first time, and it ACTUALLY WORKED. Got connected to an IRS international tax specialist in about 40 minutes (which is miraculous compared to my failed attempts). The agent explained that my application was rejected because I didn't include my most recent tax transcript as an attachment since I had amended my return last year. They also cleared up my Line 7 confusion - in my case, I needed to request certification for the tax year that aligned with my foreign country's tax year (which isn't the calendar year). This wasn't clear at all from the instructions. Resubmitted with the right information and got approved!

I've completed Form 8802 several times while working in different countries. For Line 7, here's a practical tip: consider what your employer or the foreign tax authority will be using this certificate for. If it's for withholding relief in 2025, request 2025. If it's to support a tax return filing for 2024, request 2024. Also, note that if you request certification for 2025 now, the IRS will review your 2023 tax return (the most recently filed year) to determine your residency status. If you haven't filed your 2023 return or had special circumstances that year, it could affect your certification. The fees are the same regardless of how many tax periods you request, so I usually request multiple years to be safe.

Quick tip from someone who screwed this up twice: don't forget that Line 7 is asking for the tax PERIOD, not just the year! If you're submitting this for a country that doesn't use the calendar year for their tax period, you need to be specific about the dates. For example, when I submitted mine for the UK (which uses April 6, 2024 - April 5, 2025 as their tax year), I had to put "04/06/2024 - 04/05/2025" rather than just "2024" or the IRS rejected it. The instructions don't make this clear at all!

Has anyone had experience with expediting the Form 8802 processing? I just realized I need to submit this for a new position but I only have about 4 weeks before I need the certificate. The IRS website says standard processing is 6-8 weeks which won't work for my timeline.

I went through this exact same confusion last year! For Line 7, you typically want to request certification for the tax year that your employer or the foreign tax authority will need for their records. Since you're starting in March 2025, I'd recommend requesting certification for 2024 (most recently completed tax year) as that's what most employers expect. However, @Sebastián Stevens made a great point - you can actually request multiple years on the same form for the same fee. Given the 6-8 week processing time and your March start date, I'd suggest requesting both 2024 and 2025 to cover all your bases. The IRS will use your 2023 filing (and 2024 once filed) to verify your residency status even for future year certifications. One thing that helped me was calling my HR department to ask specifically which tax year they needed - turns out they just needed proof of US tax residency status and didn't care about the specific year. This might save you some overthinking!

I've been through this process multiple times for different overseas positions, and I can share some practical insights that might help clear up the confusion! For Line 7, the key is understanding what your employer actually needs the certificate for. Most international employers requesting tax residency certification want to verify your US tax resident status for treaty benefits or withholding purposes. In your case, starting in March 2025, you'll likely want certification for 2024 (the most recently completed tax year when you start) or 2025 (the year you'll actually be working). Since the fee is the same regardless of how many years you request, I'd strongly recommend requesting both 2024 and 2025 on the same form. This gives you maximum flexibility and ensures you have the right documentation regardless of what your employer specifically needs. One important thing to note: the IRS can certify future years (like 2025) based on your previous filing history, so don't worry about not having filed 2025 taxes yet. They'll use your 2023 and 2024 returns to verify your ongoing US tax resident status. Given the 6-8 week processing time and your March start date, I'd submit your Form 8802 ASAP. Consider faxing it instead of mailing for potentially faster processing, and make sure every field is completed accurately since errors cause significant delays.

Based on everyone's helpful advice here, I'd recommend taking a two-pronged approach to get this resolved quickly and correctly. First, definitely request both 2024 and 2025 on Line 7 of your Form 8802 since the fee is the same for multiple years. This covers you regardless of what your employer specifically needs, and given the March start date, you want maximum flexibility. Second, while you're waiting for the IRS processing (which could take 6-8 weeks), reach out to your employer's HR or international tax team to ask specifically which tax year they need and if they have any other documentation requirements. Sometimes they just need proof of US tax residency status and don't care about the specific year. For submitting the form, definitely fax it rather than mail it - several people mentioned this can save 1-2 weeks of processing time. Make sure you're using the current version from the IRS website and that every field is completed accurately since errors cause major delays. The good news is that requesting 2025 certification isn't a problem even though you haven't filed those taxes yet - the IRS will use your 2023 and 2024 filing history to verify your US tax resident status. Just make sure to include any required attachments like tax transcripts if you've had amended returns or special circumstances. Given your tight timeline, I'd get this submitted ASAP and consider the expedited processing option if your employer can provide documentation of the firm deadline. Good luck! 🤞