Code of Federal Regulations · Section

§ 1.1461-1 — -1 Payment And Returns Of Tax Withheld

26 C.F.R. § 1.1461-1

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(a) Payment of withheld tax—(1) Deposits of tax. Every withholding agent who withholds tax pursuant to chapter 3 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and the regulations under such chapter shall deposit such amount of tax as provided in § 1.6302-2(a). If for any reason the total amount of tax required to be returned for any calendar year pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section has not been deposited pursuant to § 1.6302-2, the withholding agent shall pay the balance of tax due for such year at such place as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) shall specify. The tax shall be paid when filing the return required under paragraph (b)(1) of this section for such year, unless the IRS specifies otherwise. With respect to withholding under section 1446, this section shall apply only to publicly traded partnerships and nominees that withhold under § 1.1446-4 and brokers and publicly traded partnerships that withhold (or are otherwise liable for underwithholding) under § 1.1446(f)-4 on transfers of publicly traded partnership interests. See § 1.1461-3 regarding withholding tax liabilities under sections 1446(a) and 1446(f) and penalties that apply for failure to withhold under either of those sections.

(2) Penalties for failure to pay tax. For penalties and additions to the tax for failure to timely pay the tax required to be withheld under chapter 3 of the Code, see sections 6656, 6672, and 7202 and the regulations under those sections.

(b) Income tax return—(1) General rule. A withholding agent shall make an income tax return on Form 1042 (or such other form as the IRS may prescribe) for income paid during the preceding calendar year that the withholding agent is required to report on an information return on Form 1042-S (or such other form as the IRS may prescribe) under paragraph (c)(1) of this section. See section 6011 and § 1.6011-1(c). The withholding agent must file the return on or before March 15 of the calendar year following the year in which the income was paid. The return must show the aggregate amount of income paid and tax withheld required to be reported on all the Forms 1042-S for the preceding calendar year by the withholding agent, in addition to such information as is required by the form and accompanying instructions. See § 1.1474-1(c) for the requirement to show the aggregate chapter 4 reportable amounts and tax withheld on Form 1042. A single Form 1042 may be filed by a withholding agent to report amounts under chapters 3 and 4, including tax withheld. Withholding certificates or other statements or information provided to a withholding agent are not required to be attached to the return. A return must be filed under this paragraph (b)(1) even though no tax was required to be withheld during the preceding calendar year. The withholding agent must retain a copy of Form 1042 for the applicable statute of limitations on assessments and collection with respect to the amounts required to be reported on the Form 1042. See section 6501 and the regulations thereunder for the applicable statute of limitations. Adjustments to the total amount of tax withheld, as described in § 1.1461-2, shall be stated on the return as prescribed by the form and accompanying instructions.

(2) Amended returns. An amended return may be filed on a Form 1042 or such other form as the IRS may prescribe. An amended return must include such information as the form or accompanying instructions shall require, including, with respect to any information that has changed from the time of the filing of the return, the information that was shown on the original return and the corrected information.

(c) Information returns—(1) Filing requirement—(i) In general. A withholding agent (other than an individual who is not acting in the course of a trade or business with respect to a payment) must make an information return on Form 1042-S, “Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding,” (or such other form as the IRS may prescribe) to report the amounts subject to reporting, as defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, that were paid during the preceding calendar year. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any person that withholds or is required to withhold an amount under section 1441, 1442, or 1443 or § 1.1446-4(a) (applicable to publicly traded partnerships required to pay tax under section 1446(a) on distributions) or § 1.1446(f)-4(a) (applicable to brokers required to withhold on transfers of publicly traded partnership interests) must file a Form 1042-S for the payment withheld upon whether or not that person is engaged in a trade or business and whether or not the payment is an amount subject to reporting. A Form 1042-S shall be prepared for each recipient of an amount subject to reporting and for each single type of income payment. The Form 1042-S shall be prepared in such manner as the form and accompanying instructions prescribe. One copy of the Form 1042-S shall be filed with the IRS on or before March 15th of the calendar year following the year in which the amount subject to reporting was paid. It shall be filed with a transmittal form as provided in the instructions to the Form 1042-S and to the transmittal form. Withholding certificates, documentary evidence, or other statements or documentation provided to a withholding agent are not required to be attached to the form. Another copy of the Form 1042-S must be furnished to the recipient for whom the form is prepared (or any other person, as required under this paragraph (c) or the instructions to the form) on or before March 15 of the calendar year following the year in which the amount subject to reporting was paid. The withholding agent must retain a copy of each Form 1042-S for the statute of limitations on assessment and collection applicable to the Form 1042 to which the Form 1042-S relates. A withholding agent required by this section to furnish a recipient copy of Form 1042-S may furnish such copy electronically by complying with the requirements provided in § 1.6050W-2(a)(2) through (5) applicable to statements required under section 6050W (substituting the phrase “Form 1042-S” for the phrases “statement required under section 6050W” or “statements required by section 6050W(f)” each place they appear). A withholding agent that meets the requirements of that section for providing electronic copies to recipients may apply these rules to payments made in calendar year 2016.

(ii) Recipient—(A) Defined. For purposes of this section, the term recipient means—

(1) A beneficial owner as defined in § 1.1441-1(c)(6), including a foreign estate or a foreign complex trust, as defined in § 1.1441-1(c)(25);

(2) A qualified intermediary as defined in § 1.1441-1(e)(5)(ii);

(3) A withholding foreign partnership as defined in § 1.1441-5(c)(2) or a withholding foreign trust under § 1.1441-5(e)(5)(v);

(4) A territory financial institution treated as a U.S. person under § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv)(A);

(5) A U.S. branch that is treated as a U.S. person under § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv)(A);

(6) A nonwithholding foreign partnership or a foreign simple trust as defined in § 1.1441-1(c)(24), but only to the extent the income is (or is treated as) effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States by such entity, or if the nonwithholding foreign partnership or foreign simple trust is also described in paragraph (c)(1)(ii)(A)(9) or (c)(1)(ii)(A)(10) of this section;

(7) A payee, as defined in § 1.1441-1(b)(2) that is presumed to be a foreign person under the presumption rules of § 1.1441-1(b)(3); 1.1441-5(d) or (e)(6), or 1.6049-5(d);

(8) A partner (including a foreign partnership or a partner for which a qualified intermediary provides partner-specific documentation under § 1.1446-4(e)) receiving a distribution from a publicly traded partnership subject to withholding under section 1446(a) and § 1.1446-4 on distributions of effectively connected income, and a partner (including a foreign partnership or a partner for which a qualified intermediary provides partner-specific documentation under § 1.1446(f)-4(a)(7)) receiving an amount realized from a transfer of a publicly traded partnership interest under section 1446(f)(1) and § 1.1446(f)-4.

(9) A foreign intermediary, nonwithholding foreign partnership, or nonwithholding foreign trust that is a participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI with respect to a chapter 4 reporting pool of U.S. payees;

(10) A participating FFI or a registered deemed-compliant FFI that is a recipient of a withholdable payment described in § 1.1474-1(d)(1)(ii)(A)(1)(iii); and

(11) Any other person as required on Form 1042-S or the instructions to the form.

(B) Persons that are not recipients. A recipient does not include—

(1) A nonqualified intermediary, except with respect to a payment (or portion of a payment) for which a nonqualified intermediary that is an FFI is a recipient reporting as described in § 1.1474-1(d)(1)(ii)(A)(1)(iii), or if the nonqualified intermediary is also described in paragraph (c)(1)(ii)(A)(9) or (c)(1)(ii)(A)(10) of this section;

(2) A payee included in a chapter 3 or chapter 4 withholding rate pool;

(3) A flow-through entity, as defined in § 1.1441-1(c)(23) (to the extent it is receiving amounts subject to reporting other than income effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States), that is not a recipient described in paragraphs (c)(1)(ii)(A)(9) or (c)(1)(ii)(A)(10) of this section;

(4) A U.S. branch (including a territory financial institution) described in § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv)(A) that is not treated as a U.S. person under that section and is not a recipient described in paragraphs (c)(1)(ii)(A)(9) or (10) of this section; and

(5) A foreign broker withheld upon under § 1.1446(f)-4(a)(2)(ii) by another broker paying an amount realized from the transfer of a PTP interest.

(C) Coordination with chapter 4 reporting. See § 1.1474-1(d)(1)(ii)(A) for persons that are defined as recipients of a withholdable payment of U.S. source FDAP income for purposes of chapter 4 in addition to the persons that are recipients under this paragraph (c)(1)(ii).

(2) Amounts subject to reporting—(i) In general. Subject to the exceptions described in paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, amounts subject to reporting on Form 1042-S are amounts paid to a foreign payee or partner (including persons presumed to be foreign) that are amounts subject to withholding as defined in § 1.1441-2(a), distributions of effectively connected income under § 1.1446-4, or amounts realized from transfers of PTP interests under § 1.1446(f)-4. Amounts subject to reporting include amounts subject to withholding even if no amount is deducted and withheld from the payment because of a treaty or Internal Revenue Code exception to taxation or because an amount withheld was reimbursed to the payee under the adjustment procedures of § 1.1461-2. In addition, amounts subject to reporting include any amounts paid to a foreign payee on which a withholding agent withheld (including under § 1.1441-2(e)(7)) an amount (either under chapter 3 of the Internal Revenue Code or section 3406) whether or not the amount is subject to withholding. Amounts subject to reporting include, but are not limited to, the following items—

(A) The entire amount of a corporate distribution (whether actual or deemed) irrespective of any estimate of the portion of the distribution that represents a taxable dividend;

(B) Interest, including the portion of a notional principal contract payment that is characterized as interest. Interest shall also be reported on Form 1042-S if it is bank deposit interest paid to nonresident alien individuals as required under § 1.6049-8;

(C) Rents;

(D) Royalties;

(E) Compensation for dependent and independent personal services performed in the United States;

(F) Annuities;

(G) Pension distributions and other deferred income;

(H) Gambling winnings that are not exempt from tax under section 871(j);

(I) Income from the cancellation of indebtedness unless the withholding agent is unrelated to the debtor and does not have knowledge of the facts that give rise to the payment (see § 1.1441-2(d));

(J) Amounts that are (or are presumed to be) effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States (including deposit interest as defined in sections 871(i)(2)(A) and 881(d)) even if no withholding certificate is required to be furnished by the payee or beneficial owner. In the case of amounts paid on a notional principal contract described in § 1.1441-4(a)(3) that are presumed to be effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, the amount required to be reported is limited to the amount of cash paid from the notional principal contract;

(K) Scholarship, fellowship, or grant income and compensation for personal services that is not excludible from gross income under section 117 (whether or not the taxable scholarship, fellowship, grant income, or compensation for personal services is exempt from tax under an income tax treaty) paid to foreign students, trainees, teachers, or researchers;

(L) Dividend equivalents as described in section 871(m) and the regulations thereunder;

(M) Any dividend or any payment that references a dividend from an underlying security pursuant to a securities lending or sale-repurchase transaction paid to a qualified derivatives dealer even when the withholding agent is not required to withhold on the payment pursuant to § 1.1441-1(b)(4)(xxi), (xxii), or (xxiii);

(N) Amounts paid to foreign governments, international organizations, or the Bank for International Settlements, whether or not documentation must be provided;

(O) Original issue discount paid on the redemption of an OID obligation. The amount to be reported is the amount of OID includible in the gross income of the holder of the obligation, if known, or, if not known, the total amount of original issue discount determined as if the holder held the obligation from its original issuance. A withholding agent may determine the total amount of OID by using the most recently published “List of Original Issue Discount Instruments,” (Publication 1212, available from the IRS Forms Distribution Centers);

(P) The amount of any distribution made by a publicly traded partnership that is an amount subject to withholding under § 1.1446-4, or that is paid to a qualified intermediary or a U.S. branch of a foreign person that agrees to be treated as a U.S. person;

(Q) Except with respect to a broker that is a U.S. clearing organization, an amount realized on the transfer of a PTP interest under § 1.1446(f)-4 (unless an exception to withholding applies under § 1.1446(f)-4(b)(2) through (4)); and

(R) In the case of a broker that is a U.S. clearing organization—

(1) An amount realized (as determined under § 1.1446(f)-4(c)(2)(iii)) on a distribution made by a publicly traded partnership for which withholding is required under § 1.1446(f)-4(a); and

(2) An amount realized on the sale of a PTP interest cleared and settled through a net settlement system maintained by the clearing organization acting as a central counterparty in the sale (with the reporting on the non-netted amount), unless an exception to withholding would apply under § 1.1446(f)-4(b)(2) or (3).

(ii) Exceptions to reporting. The amounts listed in this paragraph (c)(2)(ii) are not required to be reported on Form 1042-S—

(A) Interest (including original issue discount) that is deposit interest under sections 871(i)(2)(A) and 881(d) and that is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, unless reporting is required under § 1.6049-8 (regarding payments to certain foreign residents) or is interest that is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States;

(B) Interest or original issue discount on certain short-term obligations, described in section 871(g)(1)(B) or 881(a)(3);

(C) Interest paid on obligations sold between interest payment dates and the portion of the purchase price of an OID obligation that is sold or exchanged in a transaction other than a redemption, unless the sale or exchange is part of a plan, the principal purpose of which is to avoid tax and the withholding agent has actual knowledge or reason to know of such plan (see § 1.1441-2(a)(5) and (6));

(D) Any item required to be reported on a Form W-2, including an item required to be shown on Form W-2 solely by reason of § 1.6041-2 (relating to return of information for payments to employees) or § 1.6052-1 (relating to information regarding payment of wages in the form of group-term life insurance);

(E) Any item required to be reported on Form 1099, and such other forms as are prescribed pursuant to the information reporting provisions of sections 6041 through 6050W and the regulations under those sections;

(F) Amounts paid on a notional principal contract described in § 1.1441-4(a)(3)(i) that are not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States (or not treated as effectively connected pursuant to § 1.1441-4(a)(3)(ii));

(G) Amounts required to be reported on Form 8288 (U.S. Withholding Tax Return for Dispositions by Foreign Persons of U.S. Real Property Interests) or Form 8804 (Annual Return for Partnership Withholding Tax (section 1446)). A withholding agent that must report a distribution partly on a Form 8288 or 8804 and partly on a Form 1042-S may elect to report the entire amount on a Form 8288 or 8804;

(H) Interest (including original issue discount) paid with respect to foreign-targeted registered obligations issued before January 1, 2016, that are described in § 1.871-14(e)(2) to the extent the documentation requirements described in § 1.871-14(e)(3) and (e)(4) are required to be satisfied (taking into account the provisions of § 1.871-14(e)(4)(ii), if applicable;

(I) Interest on a foreign-targeted bearer obligation (see §§ 1.1441-1(b)(4)(i) and 1.1441-2(a)) issued before March 19, 2012;

(J) Except as provided in § 1.1461-1(c)(2)(i)(M), any payment to a qualified derivatives dealer when the withholding agent is not required to withhold on the payment pursuant to § 1.1441-1(b)(4)(xxi), (xxii), or (xxiii). This exception does not apply to withholding agents that are qualified derivatives dealers;

(K) Gain described in section 301(c)(3); and

(L) Amounts described in § 1.1441-1(b)(4)(xviii) (dealing with certain amounts paid by the U.S. government).

(iii) Applicability date. Paragraph (c)(2) of this section applies beginning January 19, 2017.

(3) Required information. The information required to be furnished under this paragraph (c)(3) shall be based upon the information provided by or on behalf of the recipient of an amount subject to reporting (as corrected and supplemented based on the withholding agent's actual knowledge) or the presumption rules of §§ 1.1441-1(b)(3), 1.1441-4(a), 1.1441-5(d) and (e), 1.1441-9(b)(3), 1.1446-1(c)(3) (as applied to publicly traded partnerships required to pay tax under section 1446 on distributions of effectively connected income) or 1.6049-5(d). The reference in the previous sentence to presumption rules applicable to withholding under section 1446 shall apply to partnership taxable years beginning after May 18, 2005, or such earlier time as the regulations under §§ 1.1446-1 through 1.1446-5 apply by reason of an election under § 1.1446-7. The Form 1042-S must include the following information, if applicable—

(i) The name, address, taxpayer identifying number of the withholding agent, and the withholding agent's status for chapter 3 purposes (based on the status codes applicable for chapter 3 purposes provided on the form);

(ii) A description of each category of income paid based on the income codes provided on the form (e.g., interest, dividends, royalties, etc.) and the aggregate amount in each category expressed in U.S. dollars;

(iii) For a payment not subject to withholding under chapter 4, the rate of withholding applied or the basis for exempting the payment from withholding under chapter 3, and the exemption applicable to the payment for chapter 4 purposes (based on the exemption codes provided on the form);

(iv) The name and address of the recipient;

(v) The name and address of any nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch as described in § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv) (other than a branch that is treated as a U.S. person) to which the payment was made;

(vi) The taxpayer identifying number of the recipient if required under § 1.1441-1(e)(4)(vii) or if actually known to the withholding agent making the return;

(vii) The taxpayer identifying number of a nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity (to the extent it is not a recipient) or other flow-through entity to the extent it is known to the withholding agent;

(viii) The country (based on the country codes provided on the form) of the recipient and of any nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity the name of which appears on the form; and

(ix) Such information as the form or the instructions may require in addition to, or in lieu of, information required under this paragraph (c)(3).

(4) Method of reporting—(i) Payments by U.S. withholding agents to recipients. A withholding agent that is a U.S. person (other than a foreign branch of a U.S. person that is a qualified intermediary as defined in § 1.1441-1(e)(5)(ii) that makes payments of amounts subject to reporting on Form 1042-S must file a separate Form 1042-S for each recipient who receives such amount. For purposes of this paragraph (c)(4), a U.S. person includes a U.S. branch (including a territory financial institution) described in § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv)(A) that is treated as a U.S. person. Except as may otherwise be required on Form 1042-S or the instructions to the form, only payments for which the income code, exemption code, withholding rate, and recipient code are the same may be reported on a single Form 1042-S. See paragraph (c)(4)(ii) of this section for reporting of payments made to a person that is not a recipient. See § 1.1474-1(d)(4) for additional requirements that may apply for reporting on Form 1042-S with respect to a withholdable payment that is a chapter 4 reportable amount.

(A) Payments to beneficial owners. If a U.S. withholding agent makes a payment directly to a beneficial owner it must complete Form 1042-S treating the beneficial owner as the recipient. Under the grace period rule of § 1.1441-1(b)(3)(iv), a U.S. withholding agent may, under certain circumstances, treat a payee as a foreign person while the withholding agent awaits a valid withholding certificate. A U.S. withholding agent who relies on the grace period rule to treat a payee as a foreign person must file a Form 1042-S to report all payments on Form 1042-S during the period that person was presumed to be foreign even if that person is later determined to be a U.S. person based on appropriate documentation or is presumed to be a U.S. person after the grace period ends. In the case of joint owners, a withholding agent may provide a single Form 1042-S made out to the owner whose status the U.S. withholding agent relied upon to determine the applicable rate of withholding. If, however, any one of the owners requests its own Form 1042-S, the withholding agent must furnish a Form 1042-S to the person who requests it. If more than one Form 1042-S is issued for a single payment, the aggregate amount paid and tax withheld that is reported on all Forms 1042-S cannot exceed the total amounts paid to joint owners and the tax withheld thereon.

(B) Payments to a qualified intermediary, a withholding foreign partnership, or a withholding foreign trust. A U.S. withholding agent that makes payments to a qualified intermediary (whether or not the qualified intermediary assumes primary withholding responsibility for purposes of chapter 3 and chapter 4 of the Code), a withholding foreign partnership, or a withholding foreign trust shall complete Forms 1042-S treating the qualified intermediary, withholding foreign partnership, or withholding foreign trust as the recipient. The U.S. withholding agent must complete a separate Form 1042-S for each chapter 3 and chapter 4 withholding rate pool with respect to each qualified intermediary. A qualified intermediary that does not assume primary withholding responsibility on all payments it receives provides information regarding the proportions of income subject to a particular withholding rate (i.e., a chapter 3 withholding rate pool) to the withholding agent on a withholding statement associated with a qualified intermediary withholding certificate. In such a case, the U.S. withholding agent must complete a separate Form 1042-S for each chapter 3 and chapter 4 withholding rate pool with respect to the qualified intermediary. To the extent a qualified intermediary is required to report a payment under chapter 61, it may provide a U.S. withholding agent with information regarding withholding rate pools for U.S. non-exempt recipients (as defined under § 1.1441-1(c)(21)). Amounts paid with respect to such withholding rate pools must be reported on a Form 1099 completed for each U.S. non-exempt recipient to the extent such U.S. non-exempt recipient is subject to Form 1099 reporting and is not reported on Form 1042-S. See, however, § 1.1441-1(e)(5)(v)(C) for when a qualified intermediary may provide a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S payees (in lieu of reporting such payees on a withholding statement) and for the withholding rate pools (including chapter 4 withholding rate pools) otherwise reportable on a withholding statement provided by a qualified intermediary.

(C) Amounts paid to U.S. branches treated as U.S. persons. A U.S. withholding agent making a payment to a U.S. branch of a foreign person (including a territory financial institution) described in § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv)(A) shall complete Form 1042-S as follows—

(1) If the branch has provided the U.S. withholding agent with a withholding certificate that evidences its agreement with the withholding agent to be treated as a U.S. person, the U.S. withholding agent files Forms 1042-S treating the U.S. branch or territory financial institution as the recipient;

(2) If the branch has provided the U.S. withholding agent with a withholding certificate that transmits information regarding beneficial owners, qualified intermediaries, withholding foreign partnerships, or other recipients, the U.S. withholding agent must complete a separate Form 1042-S for each recipient whose documentation is associated with the U.S. branch's or territory financial institution's withholding certificate; or

(3) If the U.S. withholding agent cannot reliably associate a payment with a valid withholding certificate from the U.S. branch, it shall treat the U.S. branch as the recipient and report the income as effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States except as otherwise provided in § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv)(B)(4).

(D) Dual Claims. A U.S. withholding agent may make a payment to a foreign entity that is simultaneously claiming a reduced rate of tax on its own behalf for a portion of the payment and a reduced rate on behalf of persons in their capacity as interest holders in that entity on the remaining portion. See § 1.1441-6(b)(2)(iii). If the claims are consistent and the withholding agent accepts the multiple claims, the withholding agent must file a separate Form 1042-S for those payments for which the entity is treated as the beneficial owner and Forms 1042-S for each of the interest holders in the entity for which the interest holder is treated as the recipient. For those payments for which the interest holder in an entity is treated as the recipient, the U.S. withholding agent shall prepare the Form 1042-S in the same manner as a payment made to a nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity as set forth in paragraph (c)(4)(ii) of this section. If the claims are consistent but the withholding agent has not chosen to accept the multiple claims, or if the claims are inconsistent, the withholding agent must file a separate Form 1042-S for the person or persons it has chosen to treat as the recipients.

(ii) Payments made by U.S. withholding agents to persons that are not recipients—(A) Amounts paid to a nonqualified intermediary, a flow-through entity, and certain U.S. branches. If a U.S. withholding agent makes a payment to a nonqualified intermediary, a flow-through entity, or a U.S. branch (including a territory financial institution) described in § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv) (other than a U.S. branch or territory financial institution that is treated as a U.S. person), it must complete a separate Form 1042-S for each recipient to the extent the withholding agent can reliably associate a payment with valid documentation (within the meaning of § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(vii)) from the recipient which is associated with the withholding certificate provided by the nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch or territory financial institution. See § 1.1474-1(d)(4)(i) for when a withholding agent may report a chapter 4 reportable amount made to such an entity in a chapter 4 withholding rate pool. See also § 1.1441-1(e)(3)(iv)(A) for when a withholding statement provided by a nonqualified intermediary may include a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of U.S. payees. If a payment is reported by the withholding agent in a chapter 4 withholding rate pool, the withholding agent must report on Form 1042-S the nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity as a recipient associated with the applicable chapter 4 withholding rate pool. If a payment is made through tiers of nonqualified intermediaries or flow-through entities, the withholding agent must nevertheless complete Form 1042-S for the recipient to the extent it can reliably associate the payment with documentation from the recipient. A withholding agent that is completing a Form 1042-S for a recipient that receives a payment through a nonqualified intermediary, a flow-through entity, or a U.S. branch or territory financial institution must include on the Form 1042-S the name of the nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, U.S. branch or territory financial institution from which the recipient directly receives the payment. If a U.S. withholding agent cannot reliably associate the payment, or any portion of the payment, with valid documentation from a recipient either because no such documentation has been provided or because the nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch or territory financial institution has failed to provide sufficient allocation information so that the withholding agent can associate the payment, or any portion thereof, with valid documentation, then the withholding agent must report the payments as made to an unknown recipient in accordance with the appropriate presumption rules for that payment. Thus, if the payment is not a withholdable payment and under the presumption rules the payment is presumed to be made to a foreign person, the withholding agent must generally withhold 30 percent of the payment and report the payment on Form 1042-S made out to an unknown recipient and shall also include the name of the nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, U.S. branch or territory financial institution that received the payment on behalf of the unknown recipient. If, however, the recipient is presumed to be a U.S. non-exempt recipient (as defined in § 1.1441-1(c)(21)), the withholding agent must withhold on the payment as required under section 3406 and report the payment as required under chapter 61 of the Code. See § 1.1474-1(d)(4) for reporting requirements that apply to payments of chapter 4 reportable amounts paid to nonqualified intermediaries and flow-through entities. If, however, the payment is a withholdable payment, the withholding agent must report the payment as made to a chapter 4 withholding rate pool of nonparticipating FFIs in accordance with the presumption rule under § 1.1471-3(f)(5). For a payment to a foreign partnership on the transfer of a publicly traded partnership interest subject to § 1.1446(f)-4(a), see paragraph (c)(1)(ii)(A)(8) of this section (treating the foreign partnership as a recipient).

(B) Disregarded entities. If a U.S. withholding agent makes a payment to a disregarded entity but receives a valid withholding certificate or other documentary evidence from a foreign person that is the single owner of a disregarded entity, the withholding agent must file a Form 1042-S treating the foreign single owner as the recipient. The taxpayer identifying number on the Form 1042-S, if required, must be the foreign single owner's TIN.

(iii) Reporting by qualified intermediaries, withholding foreign partnerships, and withholding foreign trusts. A qualified intermediary, a withholding foreign partnership, and a withholding foreign trust shall report payments on Form 1042-S as provided in their agreements with the IRS and the instructions to the form.

(iv) Reporting by a nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, and certain U.S. branches. A nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch (including a territory financial institution) described in § 1.1441-1(e)(2)(iv) (other than a U.S. branch or territory financial institution that is treated as a U.S. person) is a withholding agent and must file Forms 1042-S for amounts paid to recipients in the same manner as a U.S. withholding agent. A Form 1042-S will not be required, however, if another withholding agent has reported the same amount for which the nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch would be required to file a return and the entire amount that should be withheld from such payment has been withheld (including withholding and reporting in accordance with the applicable presumption rule for the payment). A nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch must report payments made to recipients to the extent it has failed to provide the appropriate documentation to another withholding agent together with the information required for that withholding agent to reliably associate the payment with the recipient documentation or to the extent it knows, or has reason to know, that less than the required amount has been withheld. A nonqualified intermediary or flow-through entity that is required to report a payment on Form 1042-S must follow the same rules as apply to a U.S. withholding agent under paragraphs (c)(4)(i) and (ii) of this section.

(v) Pro rata reporting for allocation failures. If a nonqualified intermediary, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch (including a territory financial institution) described in § 1.1441-1(b)(2)(iv) (other than a U.S. branch or territory financial institution treated as a U.S. person) uses the alternative procedures of § 1.1441-1(e)(3)(iv)(D) and fails to provide information sufficient to allocate the amount subject to reporting paid to a withholding rate pool to the payees identified for that pool, then the withholding agent shall report the payment in accordance with the rule provided in § 1.1441-1(e)(3)(iv)(D)(6).

(vi) Other withholding agents. Any person that is a withholding agent not described in paragraph (c)(4)(i), (iii), or (iv) of this section (e.g., a foreign person that is not a qualified intermediary, flow-through entity, or U.S. branch) shall file Form 1042-S in the same manner as a U.S. withholding agent and in accordance with the instructions to the form.

(d) Report of taxpayer identifying numbers. When so required under procedures that the IRS may prescribe in published guidance (see § 601.601(d)(2) of this chapter), a withholding agent must attach to the Form 1042 a list of all the taxpayer identifying numbers (and corresponding names) that have been furnished to the withholding agent and upon which the withholding agent has relied to grant a reduced rate of withholding and that are not otherwise required to be reported on a Form 1042-S under the provisions of this section.

(e) Indemnification of withholding agent. A withholding agent is indemnified against the claims and demands of any person for the amount of any tax it deducts and withholds in accordance with the provisions of chapter 3 of the Code and the regulations under that chapter. A withholding agent that withholds based on a reasonable belief that such withholding is required under chapter 3 of the Code and the regulations under that chapter is treated for purposes of section 1461 and this paragraph (e) as having withheld tax in accordance with the provisions of chapter 3 of the Code and the regulations under that chapter. In addition, a withholding agent is indemnified against the claims and demands of any person for the amount of any payments made in accordance with the grace period provisions set forth in § 1.1441-1(b)(3)(iv). This paragraph (e) does not apply to relieve a withholding agent from tax liability under chapter 3 of the Code or the regulations under that chapter.

(f) Amounts paid not constituting gross income. Any amount withheld in accordance with § 1.1441-3 shall be reported and paid in accordance with this section, even though the amount paid to the beneficial owner may not constitute gross income in whole or in part. For this purpose, a reference in this section and § 1.1461-2 to an amount shall, where appropriate, be deemed to refer to the amount subject to withholding under § 1.1441-3.

(g) Extensions of time to file Forms 1042 and 1042-S. The IRS may grant an extension of time in which to file a Form 1042 or a Form 1042-S. Form 2758, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Excise, Income, Information, and Other Returns (or such other form as the IRS may prescribe), must be used to request an extension of time for a Form 1042. Form 8809, Request for Extension of Time to File Information Returns (or such other form as the IRS may prescribe) must be used to request an extension of time for a Form 1042-S. The request must contain a statement of the reasons for requesting the extension and such other information as the forms or instructions may require. It must be mailed or delivered not later than March 15 of the year following the end of the calendar year for which the return will be filed.

(h) Penalties. For penalties and additions to the tax for failure to file returns or furnish statements in accordance with this section, see sections 6651, 6662, 6663, 6721, 6722, 6723, 6724(c), 7201, 7203, and the regulations under those sections.

(i) Reporting in electronic form. See §§ 301.6011-2(b) and 301.6011-15 of this chapter for the requirements of a withholding agent that is not a financial institution with respect to the filing of Forms 1042-S and 1042 in electronic form. See § 301.1474-1(a) of this chapter, which applies for purposes of this section to a withholding agent that is a financial institution with respect to the filing of Forms 1042 and 1042-S in electronic form.

(j) Applicability date. The rules of this section apply to returns required to be filed for taxable years ending on or after December 31, 2023. (For returns required to be filed for taxable years ending before December 31, 2023, see this section as in effect and contained in 26 CFR part 1, as revised April 1, 2022.)

For Federal Register citations affecting § 1.1461-1, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.

26 C.F.R. § 1.1451-2 26 C.F.R. § 1.1461-2

Authorizing Statute