Zoe Bell

Can one of you kind souls give me an idiots guide to the difference between a W8 and W9 form.

I have people who pay us money from the US insisting on a W9 form but I think they actually want a W8.

Basically this school pay for people to attend a conference. thye are based in the US . The conference ( which I run ) is Canada and their accounts department is insisting that they need a W9.

Bink

Depends. The W9 is what they would require if you are in the US, the W8 is for foreign companies to withhold taxes. Is your company a US company or Canadian? (I note the conference is in Canada, just checking that it's a Canadian company, not a US company that also operates in Canada).

I just went through this with one of our companies. Previously we were using a W8 because a certain line of business had to go through the UK company (a subsidiary - due to investor requirements and the fact that the particular business group in question didn't have a separate US entity) but since starting a US company for that subsidiary we now have to use W9s.

Zoe Bell

I'm in Canada and the company is in Canada, So W8 it is then , I believe?

Thank you. I've never dealt with this kind of stuff before, US companies and tax and stuff and most of the people I deal with seem oblivious that Canada isn't some kind of northern extension of the US
We even have different money, which causes no end of confusion.
Unsurprisingly for a Canadian business , offering an event in Canada, yes my prices are in Canadian dollars !!!

Steve_

Yes it is a W-8BEN probably or possibly a W-8ECI (but I doubt it from your description), read the instructions for the forms.

Also they should read IRS publication 515 from the sounds of it.

Zoe Bell

Despite them asking for a W9 , I sent them the W8 BEN form.

They haven't bleated yet so I'm assuming all is OK. As for them reading that document , I'm not sure it will address the fundamental problem that they fail to understand that I'm not in the USA. You'da thought that the Toronto part of the address might have given it away.

Bink

There's probably a box ticker somewhere in their office that's having a fit because there's probably only a check box for a W9 form and not W8-BEN!

Zoe Bell

yep , very probably.
The fact that I'm on an internet forum checking this , shows you how much support I'm receiving from my end as well. I daren't say more

Steve_

I had some old dear who kept phoning me up asking when her TV was going to be fixed, I think she was in Texarkana, area code 409. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she was calling the wrong number, area code 403 and kept endlessly phoning me back thinking I meant that it was some problem with the line, I was like: "Noooo.... you've got the wrong NUMBER...." She couldn't seem to get that the wrong area code could get a different country.

Zoe Bell

Lol , I get phone messages that start " hi I'm calling from xxx school board"

They fail to understand that I have no concept geographically I have no concept of where that might be and then get annoyed when I call at an inconvenient time because they are 3 time zones over !