Confirming your client's tax residency

Every year we do a review of all the clients on our platforms to determine if they have indicated that they are tax residents of a foreign jurisdiction. They could have indicated this through information provided during the account opening process or personal contact information they’ve updated throughout the year. 
 
We’re required to confirm your client's tax residency under the:

• Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), US legislation requiring us to confirm your client’s status as a US or non-US citizen or tax resident, and
• Common Reporting Standard (CRS), a single global standard for the collection, reporting and exchange of financial account information on foreign tax residents.

As part of our ongoing CRS and FATCA reporting obligations, we contact clients because:

1. We have found foreign indicia (evidence of foreign tax residency) on file and require confirmation of tax residency from them. Foreign indicia could be a foreign address, contact details or foreign ID on file. We may also know that your clients have a foreign taxpayer identification number (TIN) but we don’t have this TIN recorded or;
2. ​​they’re an entity that need to self-certify for the first time, regardless of whether evidence of foreign tax residency has been found on file.

To help you and your clients provide the right documents, we’ve outlined the requirements below. 

You can find the ID forms here or by searching for “ID forms” at Adviser Tools. 

Individuals

Entities

 
It’s important to note that we may contact your clients for additional information, like a copy of their Australian identification, if required.

US Specified Persons must provide a United States of America (US) Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) when opening a new account with Macquarie.  

Existing account holders without a US TIN will continue to be contacted as part of our annual FATCA and CRS due diligence procedures.

A US Specified Person includes, but is not limited to:

• US citizen and US residents for tax purposes
• Holder of a US TIN or US Reportable Account
• Entities that are US Specified Persons
• Non-US entities with US controlling persons.

For dual-listed securities that derive income in the United States of America (US), the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires certain documentation from the ultimate beneficial owner to ensure the appropriate level of tax is withheld in the US. 

The W-8BEN form can be completed to establish that the investor is not a US person and that they are the beneficial owner of the income received. Where an investor is a resident for tax purposes of a country with which the US has negotiated a double tax agreement (DTA) with, in completing this form, the investor may be able to claim a reduced rate of, or exemption from, US withholding tax (US WHT).

For the lower withholding rate to apply, a W-8BEN form for individual investors or a W-8BEN-E form for entity investors must be completed in full and submitted before any income is paid or credited.

Individual investors

Individual investors who are not US citizens or are non-residents for US tax purposes, are required to complete a W-8BEN form – Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding.

W-8BEN
W-8BEN (non-custodial)

This guide explains what you need to do:

Guide to completing W-8BEN – Individual

Note: Only one W-8BEN form is required per individual, regardless of how many dual-listed securities are held. Where there are multiple beneficiaries, such as a joint account, a form must be completed for each beneficiary.

Entity investors

Entity investors that are non-residents for US tax purposes are required to complete a W-8BEN-E form – Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding.

W-8BEN-E
W-8BEN-E (non-custodial)

This guide explains what you need to do:

Guide to completing W-8BEN – Entity

Note: ‘Entity’ includes companies, trusts, self-managed superannuation funds (SMSF) and deceased estates. Only one W-8BEN-E form is required per entity, regardless of how many dual-listed securities are held.

Where to send W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E forms

Email

If you want to return the form via email, please scan and send your completed form to wrapsolutions@macquarie.com.

Post

If you want to return the form by post, please submit the original signed W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E form to the below address, with any other required documentation, by registered mail to:

Attn: Corporate Actions W-8BEN Forms 
Macquarie Wrap 
GPO Box 4045 
Sydney NSW 2001

Don’t send the form directly to the share registry as further information is required from us prior to submission.

• News Corporation (NWS) and News Corporation Non Vote (NWSLV)¹
• RESMED (RMD)
• Vanguard All-World Ex-US Shares Index ETF (VEU)
• Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF (VTS)
• Coronado Global Resources Inc (CRN)

At present we’re unable to facilitate access to reduced withholding tax treaty rates for any other securities or for securities held through an SMA.

Note: Superannuation and Pension clients fall under the trustee of Macquarie Investment Management Limited, and therefore clients do not need to submit a form as the forms are completed under trustee sign-off.

_1. If you hold either or both NWS and NWSLV, only 1 W-8BEN form is required.

Investors are subject to a maximum withholding tax rate of 30% on certain income derived from US sources. Where the requisite form is completed, a withholding tax of 15% may apply for Australian tax residents who derive certain income sourced in the US, in accordance with the Australia/US Double Taxation Agreement (DTA).

Alternatively, where the relevant form is not completed in full or in part, DTA benefits will not apply, resulting in a standard 30% rate of withholding tax for Australian resident investors.

Generally, a current W-8BEN form will remain in effect until 31 December, three years after the date of signing. For example, a form signed on 15 March 2022 will remain in effect until 31 December 2025. However, if a change in circumstances makes any information on the form incorrect, a new W-8BEN form (or other appropriate form) must be filed to continue to claim a reduced rate of withholding tax under the DTA.