Fixed-fee service · W-8BEN
Your US dividends taxed at 15% instead of 30%, from the very next payment.
The W-8BEN certifies to your broker that you are not a US tax resident — and triggers the treaty rate. We prepare it line by line for €49: you answer a questionnaire, you sign, your broker applies it.
No win, no fee · Pricing 100% public · FR / EN
Example based on US$1,000 of gross US dividends per year. Indicative amounts — every claim is verified before filing.
The basics
What it is, and who it is for
Three pages of IRS form, an immediate effect on every US dividend you receive.
What it is
The W-8BEN is the official certification through which you attest to your broker that you are not a US tax resident. Without a valid one on file, the default 30% withholding hits every US dividend. With it, your broker applies the 15% treaty rate directly: that is what relief at source means — the right rate at payment time, nothing to claim back afterwards.
Who it is for
Any individual who is not a US resident and holds US shares, whatever the broker. Companies, family holding structures and other entities file the W-8BEN-E instead — a longer form with additional classification questions — which we also prepare, for €129.
The process
What we actually do
Four steps — only one of them takes you more than five minutes.
01
You answer a five-minute questionnaire
Identity, tax-residence address, your national tax number, the accounts involved: everything the form needs, asked in plain language — never in IRS jargon.
02
We prepare the form, line by line
Every box is completed for your situation, including the treaty section — country, article and rate claimed — the part that, done wrong, gets the form rejected or quietly keeps the full rate in place.
03
You sign, we guide the handover to your broker
Every institution has its own channel: upload, post, built-in module. You get the exact procedure for yours, plus a ready copy for each of your accounts.
04
We log the deadline and warn you before it expires
A W-8BEN expires at the end of the third calendar year after signature. We alert you ahead of time so you re-sign in time — and never fall back to the full rate.
Price & timing
One fixed fee, no subscription
A published price, paid once — and an expiry date we track for you.
€49
W-8BEN — individuals
one-off fee · covers all your US holdings
€129
W-8BEN-E — companies & entities
classification questionnaire included
≤ 2 days
working-day preparation time once we have your answers
3 yrs
maximum validity — until 31 December of the 3rd year after signature
Straight talk
What can go wrong
The W-8BEN looks simple. Here are the four traps we see most often — and what we do about them.
The silent expiry
The form stops being valid on 31 December of the third calendar year after signature. Nobody warns you: the full rate quietly returns on your dividends. Our expiry reminder exists precisely for this.
A botched treaty section
Line 10 of the form — the treaty rate and article claimed — is where the mistakes pile up: wrong article, misstated rate, a field left blank when it was required. The result: a rejected form, or the full rate kept in place without your knowledge.
A change in circumstances voids it
Moving abroad, changing tax residence, changing status: the form becomes invalid and a new one must be provided within 30 days. Tell us about the change and we redo the document.
It does not fix the past
The W-8BEN has no retroactive effect: dividends already withheld at the full rate stay withheld. Those amounts need a refund claim — a separate service, charged only on success.
What comes next
The W-8BEN is one piece of a system
Relief at source
The W-8BEN is the textbook case of the right rate applied at payment time. Other countries allow it too — and some rule it out in practice: see which.
Reduced rates at source, country by country →Withholding-tax recovery
For the years when no valid W-8BEN was in place: we quantify what is still recoverable within the deadlines and file for you. We get paid only when you do.
The recovery service →Certificate of tax residence
Not needed for the W-8BEN itself, but required in most refund claims. We prepare it for €79.
The residence-certificate service →FAQ
Your W-8BEN questions
Do I need an ITIN to complete a W-8BEN?
As a general rule, no. For a standard securities portfolio, your national tax number (in France, the one on your tax notice) is enough in the relevant box. An ITIN only becomes necessary for certain refund claims filed directly with the IRS — a separate service at €149, deducted from our fee if you then entrust us with the recovery.
My broker never asked me for a W-8BEN. Is that normal?
Some brokers build it into account opening, others do not — especially when the custody chain runs through several intermediaries. The most reliable test is your statement: if a US dividend shows up docked by 30%, no valid W-8BEN is on file with that institution.
Does one form cover all my accounts?
No: the W-8BEN is filed with each account-holding institution. Since the information is identical, we provide a ready-to-sign copy for each of your brokers within the same fixed fee.
I have been withheld at the full rate for years. Is that money gone?
Not necessarily. A refund claim with the IRS remains possible within the statute of limitations — as a general rule 3 years from the withholding. Beyond that, it is indeed gone: the date of your oldest over-withheld dividend matters more than its amount.
Your next dividend can already land at the right rate.
Five minutes of questionnaire today, a form ready within two working days, and never the default full rate again.