n-17-46.pdf

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Revised Guidance Related to Obtaining and Reporting Taxpayer Identification Numbers
and Dates of Birth by Financial Institutions

Notice 2017-46

I. PURPOSE
This Notice provides procedures for certain foreign financial institutions (FFIs)
required to report U.S. taxpayer identification numbers (U.S. TINs) for certain accounts
under a Model 1 intergovernmental agreement (IGA). If such FFIs comply with the
procedures described in this Notice, then the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not
determine that there is significant non-compliance with the obligations under a Model 1
IGA solely as a result of a failure to report U.S. TINs associated with the FFI’s U.S.
reportable accounts maintained as of the determination date specified in the applicable
Model 1 IGA.
This Notice also announces that the Department of the Treasury (Treasury
Department) and the IRS intend to amend certain provisions of the temporary
regulations under chapter 3 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The amendments
would provide limitations on, and a phase-in of, the requirement for certain withholding
agents to obtain and report the taxpayer identification number issued by an account

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holder’s jurisdiction of tax residence (Foreign TIN) and, for an account holder that is an
individual, the account holder’s date of birth. The changes described in this Notice are
intended to facilitate an orderly implementation of the obligation to obtain and report
taxpayer identification numbers.
II. BACKGROUND
On March 18, 2010, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010, Pub.
L. No. 111-147, 124 Stat. 71 (2010) (HIRE Act), added chapter 4 of Subtitle A (chapter
4), comprised of sections 1471 through 1474, to the Code. Chapter 4 (commonly
known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA) addresses non-
compliance by U.S. taxpayers holding foreign financial accounts or assets. FATCA
requires certain FFIs to report to the IRS information about financial accounts held by
U.S. taxpayers or foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold certain ownership
interests. In order to facilitate the exchange of information on financial accounts held by
U.S. taxpayers, the Treasury Department collaborated with foreign governments to
develop two alternative model IGAs (Model 1 IGA and Model 2 IGA) that are intended to
provide an effective and efficient means for complying with FATCA while reducing the
burden FATCA compliance imposes on financial institutions. The Model 1 IGA provides
that a reporting Model 1 FFI will report certain information on U.S. reportable accounts
maintained by the FFI to the partner jurisdiction tax authority, which will automatically
exchange such information with the U.S. Competent Authority.

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On January 17, 2013, the Treasury Department and the IRS published final
regulations under chapter 4 (T.D. 9610, 78 F.R. 5873) (2013 final chapter 4
regulations). On March 6, 2014, the Treasury Department and the IRS published
temporary regulations under chapter 4 (T.D. 9657, 79 F.R. 12812) (2014 temporary
chapter 4 regulations). On March 6, 2014, the Treasury Department and the IRS also
published temporary regulations under chapters 3 and 61 and section 3406 (T.D. 9658,
79 F.R. 12726) (temporary coordination regulations) to coordinate the regulations under
those provisions with the 2013 final chapter 4 regulations and the 2014 temporary
chapter 4 regulations. On January 6, 2017, the Treasury Department and the IRS
published final regulations under chapter 3 (T.D. 9808, 82 F.R. 2046) (final chapter 3
regulations) and chapter 4 (T.D. 9809, 82 F.R. 2124) (final chapter 4 regulations), which
generally incorporated the 2014 temporary chapter 4 regulations and the temporary
coordination regulations. At the same time, the Treasury Department and the IRS
published temporary regulations under chapter 3 (temporary chapter 3 regulations) and
chapter 4 to supplement certain provisions of the final chapter 3 regulations and the
final chapter 4 regulations.
III. REQUIREMENT FOR REPORTING MODEL 1 FFIS TO REPORT U.S. TINS
A. Background
Each Model 1 IGA provides that a reporting Model 1 FFI shall be treated as
complying with, and not subject to withholding under, section 1471 of the Code if the
partner jurisdiction complies with its obligations under the IGA with respect to such
financial institution and such financial institution complies with its reporting and

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registration obligations in accordance with the IGA. Each Model 1 IGA also provides
that the United States shall not require a reporting Model 1 FFI to withhold tax under
section 1471 or 1472 of the Code with respect to an account held by a recalcitrant
account holder (as defined in section 1471(d)(6) of the Code) or to close such account if
the U.S. Competent Authority receives certain information specified in the Model 1 IGA
with respect to such account.
The information required to be reported by a reporting Model 1 FFI includes the U.S.
TIN of each specified U.S. person that is an account holder and, in the case of a non-
U.S. entity with one or more specified U.S. persons who are controlling persons, the
U.S. TIN of each controlling person (required U.S. TINs). Notwithstanding this reporting
requirement, before 2017, a reporting Model 1 FFI was not required to report a required
U.S. TIN for an account maintained as of the determination date specified in the
applicable Model 1 IGA (preexisting account) that is a U.S. reportable account if the
U.S. TIN was not in the reporting Model 1 FFI’s records. Similarly, a reporting Model 1
FFI was required to report the date of birth only if the date of birth was in the reporting
Model 1 FFI’s records. Partner jurisdictions have committed to establish rules for 2017
and subsequent years requiring reporting Model 1 FFIs to obtain and report the required
U.S. TINs for such accounts.
Each Model 1 IGA requires that the partner jurisdiction obtain and exchange the
information specified in the Model 1 IGA (including each required U.S. TIN) with respect
to each U.S. reportable account. The suspension of withholding under sections 1471

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and 1472 of the Code pursuant to each Model 1 IGA is conditioned on adequate
reporting and exchange of information. If a reporting Model 1 FFI fails to report required
U.S. TINs for U.S. reportable accounts, the U.S. Competent Authority may notify the
partner jurisdiction competent authority that there is significant non-compliance with
respect to the reporting Model 1 FFI, in accordance with the Model 1 IGA. If the
reporting Model 1 FFI remains noncompliant for 18 months after such notification, under
the relevant Model 1 IGA, the United States may treat the reporting Model 1 FFI as a
nonparticipating financial institution that is subject to withholding under section 1471 of
the Code.
B. U.S. TIN Reporting by Reporting Model 1 FFIs
The Treasury Department and the IRS understand that some reporting Model 1 FFIs
need additional time to implement practices and procedures to obtain and report
required U.S. TINs for preexisting accounts that are U.S. reportable accounts.
Accordingly, with respect to reporting on preexisting accounts that are U.S. reportable
accounts, for calendar years 2017, 2018, and 2019, the U.S. Competent Authority will
not determine that there is significant non-compliance with the obligations under an
applicable Model 1 IGA with respect to a reporting Model 1 FFI solely because of a
failure to obtain and report each required U.S. TIN, provided that the reporting Model 1
FFI: (1) obtains and reports the date of birth of each account holder and controlling
person whose U.S. TIN is not reported; (2) requests annually from each account holder
any missing required U.S. TIN; and (3) before reporting information that relates to
calendar year 2017 to the partner jurisdiction, searches electronically searchable data

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maintained by the reporting Model 1 FFI for any missing required U.S. TINs. The IRS
expects to provide further instructions regarding appropriate reporting for the TIN data
element for preexisting accounts that are U.S. reportable accounts with missing
required U.S. TINs.
Reporting Model 1 FFIs should implement practices and procedures promptly to
ensure that financial accounts are documented in accordance with the applicable Model
1 IGA and that U.S. reportable accounts are adequately and timely reported in future
years. Nothing in this Notice affects a reporting Model 1 FFI’s obligations under chapter
3 or 61 with respect to a reportable amount or reportable payment.
IV. REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN AND REPORT FOREIGN TINS AND DATES OF
BIRTH

A. Background
Before the temporary chapter 3 regulations were published, the instructions for
Forms W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E and the Instructions for the Requester of Forms W-
8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP, and W-8IMY outlined circumstances under which
the person providing the form was required to provide a Foreign TIN and, for an
individual, a date of birth. The instructions for Form 1042-S, “Foreign Person’s U.S.
Source Income Subject to Withholding,” for calendar years 2014, 2015, and 2016
described circumstances under which certain withholding agents were required to report
these additional items of information on Form 1042-S.
The temporary chapter 3 regulations provide additional changes to the temporary
coordination regulations that modified the due diligence and reporting obligations of

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withholding agents. In particular, the temporary chapter 3 regulations generally
incorporate the requirement from the aforementioned form instructions for certain
withholding agents to obtain and report the Foreign TINs of their account holders and, in
the case of an individual account holder, a date of birth. These revisions were made to
ensure, in part, that the IRS would have adequate information about foreign account
holders to facilitate the exchange of foreign account holder information pursuant to an
agreement authorizing or requiring the exchange of such information. Section 1.1441-
1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) provides that, beginning January 1, 2017, a beneficial owner withholding
certificate provided to document an account maintained at a U.S. branch or office of a
withholding agent that is a financial institution is required to contain the account holder’s
Foreign TIN and, in the case of an individual account holder, the account holder’s date
of birth in order for the withholding agent to treat the withholding certificate as valid. For
withholding certificates associated with payments made on or after January 1, 2018, an
account holder that does not provide a Foreign TIN must provide a reasonable
explanation for its absence in order for the withholding certificate not to be considered
invalid under §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B). The temporary chapter 3 regulations also provide
that if the withholding certificate does not contain the account holder’s date of birth and
the withholding agent has the date of birth in its files, the withholding certificate will not
be considered invalid.
For calendar year 2017, the instructions for Form 1042-S provide that a withholding
agent that is a U.S. office or branch of a financial institution is required to report on

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Form 1042-S a recipient’s Foreign TIN when the recipient has furnished documentation
that provides a Foreign TIN. The instructions provide that, beginning for the 2017
calendar year, the withholding agent is also required to report on Form 1042-S an
individual recipient’s date of birth when the recipient has furnished documentation that
provides a date of birth or the recipient’s date of birth is identified in any of the
withholding agent’s files.
B. Revised Scope and Phased-In Timeline of Requirements for Certain Withholding
Agents to Obtain and Report the Foreign TIN and Date of Birth of Account
Holders
After the publication of the temporary chapter 3 regulations, the Treasury
Department and the IRS received comments from withholding agents regarding the
difficulty in obtaining and reporting Foreign TINs and dates of birth from account holders
in the time provided. In response to these comments, the Treasury Department and the
IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3 regulations to narrow the circumstances
in which a Foreign TIN and date of birth are required, as described in sections IV.B.1
and IV.B.2 of this Notice; to provide exceptions from the Foreign TIN requirement for
certain account holders, as described in section IV.B.3 of this Notice; and to provide a
phase-in of the rules for obtaining a Foreign TIN, as described in section IV.B.4 of this
Notice. In addition, the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the
temporary chapter 3 regulations to provide relief from obtaining a date of birth with
respect to certain withholding certificates signed before January 1, 2018, as described
in section IV.B.5 of this Notice.

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For purposes of this section IV, the term “withholding certificate” means Forms W-
8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP and, with respect to a qualified intermediary
acting as a qualified derivatives dealer (QDD) claiming treaty benefits for dividends,
Form W-8IMY. The term “withholding agent” when used in this section IV refers to a
withholding agent that is a U.S. branch or office of a financial institution (as defined in
section IV.B.1 of this Notice).
1. Accounts and Financial Institutions to Which §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) Applies

The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) to
clarify that the term “account holder” has the meaning described in §1.1471-5(a)(3) and
that the term “account” means a financial account, as defined in §1.1471-5(b)
(substituting “U.S. office or branch of a financial institution” for “FFI”). In addition, the
Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) to clarify that
the term “financial institution” means an entity that is a depository institution, custodial
institution, investment entity, or a specified insurance company, each as defined in
§1.1471-5(e).
2. Payments to Which §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) Applies
Section 1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) provides that a Foreign TIN (or a reasonable
explanation for why the account holder has not been issued a Foreign TIN) and a date
of birth (for an individual) are required for withholding certificates associated with
“payments,” which includes any payments under sections 1441 through 1446, chapter
4, and chapter 61 (due to references in those sections and chapters to beneficial owner

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withholding certificates used to establish foreign status). The Treasury Department and
the IRS believe that it is not necessary for a withholding agent to obtain a Foreign TIN
(or a reasonable explanation for why the account holder has not been issued a Foreign
TIN) or (for an individual) a date of birth on a withholding certificate that the withholding
agent obtains solely to avoid Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding or in other
cases where a payment associated with a withholding certificate is not otherwise
subject to reporting on Form 1042-S. Therefore, the Treasury Department and the IRS
intend to amend §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) to limit its scope for this purpose such that a
withholding certificate is required to be treated as invalid under §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B)
only for payments of U.S. source income reportable on Form 1042-S (before the
application of §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B)). Due to this limitation, a withholding agent will
not, for example, be required to withhold under section 3406 on gross proceeds paid to
an individual account holder as a result of the application of the section 1441
presumption rules when the account holder provides a withholding certificate that is
valid but for the absence of a Foreign TIN and the account holder’s date of birth.
3. Exceptions from Foreign TIN Requirement for Certain Accounts
i. Accounts Held by Residents in Jurisdictions With Which the United States
Does Not Have an Agreement Relating to the Exchange of Tax
Information in Force
The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3
regulations to provide that a withholding agent is not required to obtain a Foreign TIN
(or a reasonable explanation for why an account holder has not been issued a Foreign
TIN) for an account held by a resident in a jurisdiction that does not have in effect with

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the United States an income tax or other convention or bilateral agreement relating to
the exchange of tax information within the meaning of section 6103(k)(4) of the Code
pursuant to which the United States agrees to provide, as well as receive, tax
information. This limitation is consistent with the limitation on the information reporting
requirement in §1.6049-8(a) on U.S. source deposit interest paid to nonresident alien
individuals. A list of jurisdictions that a withholding agent is required to reference for
purposes of the limitation on reporting under §§1.6049-8(a) and 1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B)
(as revised in accordance with this Notice) is published in section 3 of Revenue
Procedure 2014-64, 2014-53 I.R.B. 1022, as supplemented by Revenue Procedure
2016-56, 2016-52 I.R.B. 920, and which may be further updated in future published
guidance. If the Treasury Department and the IRS further supplement the list of
jurisdictions in section 3 of Revenue Procedure 2014-64, subject to the limitations
described in this Notice, a withholding agent must obtain the Foreign TIN (or a
reasonable explanation for why an account holder has not been issued a Foreign TIN)
of each account holder resident in any such jurisdiction before the time for filing Form
1042-S (with any applicable extension) for the calendar year following the calendar year
in which the jurisdiction is added to the list.
ii. Accounts Held by Residents in Jurisdictions That Do Not Issue Foreign
TINs
The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) to
provide that a withholding agent is not required to obtain a Foreign TIN (or a reasonable
explanation for why an account holder has not been issued a Foreign TIN) for an

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account held by a resident of a jurisdiction that has been identified by the IRS on a list
of jurisdictions that do not issue Foreign TINs to their residents. A list of such
jurisdictions (when made available) may be viewed at www.irs.gov/FATCA
. As of the
date of this Notice, the following jurisdictions have been identified as ones that do not
issue Foreign TINs to residents and that will be included on the list:
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Taxpayers may rely on the jurisdictions identified above for purposes of this Notice.
The IRS intends to update this list to add jurisdictions that do not issue Foreign TINs
(after consultation with the competent authority of any such additional jurisdiction),
including in response to taxpayer comments that identify additional jurisdictions that do
not issue Foreign TINs. The list maintained by the IRS of jurisdictions that do not issue
Foreign TINs to residents will also be updated if a jurisdiction included on the list begins
to issue Foreign TINs to its residents.
iii. Accounts Held by a Government, International Organization, Foreign
Central Bank of Issue, or Resident of a U.S. Territory
The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend §1.1441-1T(e)(2)(ii)(B) to
provide that a withholding agent is not required to obtain an account holder’s Foreign
TIN (or a reasonable explanation for why the account holder has not been issued a
Foreign TIN) if the withholding agent has obtained an otherwise valid withholding
certificate on which it can rely under the section 1441 regulations to treat the account

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holder as a government, an international organization, a foreign central bank of issue, or
a resident of a U.S. territory.
4. Phase-In of Requirement to Obtain a Foreign TIN Under §1.1441-
1T(e)(2)(ii)(B)
The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3
regulations to provide additional time for a withholding agent to comply with the
requirement to obtain a Foreign TIN. As described in more detail below, this section
IV.B.4 describes how the requirement to obtain a Foreign TIN under the temporary
chapter 3 regulations will be phased in over a period ending on December 31, 2019.
Section IV.B.4.i of this Notice provides rules that will apply to withholding certificates
signed on or after January 1, 2018, including rules for determining whether a
withholding agent may rely on a Foreign TIN provided on a withholding certificate.
Sections IV.B.4.ii, iii, and iv of this Notice generally provide rules for determining the
validity of a withholding certificate without a Foreign TIN (or a reasonable explanation
for why the account holder was not issued a Foreign TIN) signed before January 1,
2018, during the phase-in period. Section IV.B.4.v of this Notice provides an alternative
procedure for obtaining a Foreign TIN (or a reasonable explanation for why the account
holder was not issued a Foreign TIN) for a withholding certificate signed before January
1, 2018. If a withholding agent obtains the account holder’s Foreign TIN (or a
reasonable explanation for why the account holder was not issued a Foreign TIN) in
accordance with the alternative procedure (rather than obtaining a new withholding
certificate), an otherwise valid withholding certificate will remain valid after the end of

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the phase-in period until the earlier of when its validity period ends or it otherwise
becomes invalid.
i. Withholding Certificates Signed On or After January 1, 2018
The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3
regulations to provide that a withholding certificate signed on or after January 1, 2018,
by an account holder (other than an account holder excepted under section IV.B.3 of
this Notice) to document an account maintained at a U.S. branch or office of a
withholding agent must contain a Foreign TIN (or a reasonable explanation for why the
account holder was not issued a Foreign TIN).
The Treasury Department and the IRS also intend to amend the temporary chapter 3
regulations to provide that a withholding agent may rely on the account holder’s Foreign
TIN unless the withholding agent has actual knowledge or reason to know (as described
in §1.1441-7(b)(2)) that the Foreign TIN is incorrect. Therefore, a withholding agent will
not be required to validate the format or other specifications of the Foreign TIN against
the applicable jurisdiction’s TIN system. For purposes of §1.1441-1(e)(4)(ii)(D)
(prescribing the requirements for a change in circumstances), a withholding agent’s
reason to know that a Foreign TIN is incorrect will include a notification from the account
holder of a new residence address outside the jurisdiction provided on the withholding
certificate.
The temporary chapter 3 regulations provide that if an account holder does not have
a Foreign TIN, the account holder is required to provide a reasonable explanation for its
absence (for example, that the jurisdiction of residence does not issue TINs). This

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requirement will be clarified in the regulations to specify that the reasonable explanation
must address why the account holder was not issued a Foreign TIN to the extent
provided in the instructions for, as applicable, Forms W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-
8EXP, and, for a QDD claiming treaty benefits for dividends, Form W-8IMY. Those
instructions have each been amended (with revision dates of June or July 2017) to
provide that a reasonable explanation for why an account holder was not issued a
Foreign TIN is a statement that the account holder is not legally required to obtain a
Foreign TIN. If an account holder provides an explanation other than the one described
in those instructions, the withholding agent must determine whether the explanation is
reasonable. A withholding agent will be permitted to rely on a reasonable explanation
unless it has actual knowledge that the account holder has a Foreign TIN.
In addition, if a withholding agent maintains an account on December 31, 2017, that
is documented with a valid withholding certificate as of that date, the withholding agent’s
reason to know that a Foreign TIN is incorrect, or actual knowledge that an account
holder has a Foreign TIN despite providing an explanation, is limited to electronically
searchable information (as defined in §1.1471-1(b)(38)) that is in the withholding agent’s
files.
ii. Withholding Certificates for Payments Made Before January 1, 2018
The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3
regulations to provide that an otherwise valid withholding certificate will not be treated
as invalid for payments made to the account holder before January 1, 2018, solely

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because the withholding certificate does not include the account holder’s Foreign TIN
(or a reasonable explanation for why the account holder was not issued a Foreign TIN).
iii. Withholding Certificates Signed Before January 1, 2018, That Have a
Three-Year Validity Period
The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3
regulations to provide that an otherwise valid withholding certificate signed before
January 1, 2018, that has a three-year validity period under §§1.1441-1(e)(4)(ii)(A) and
1.1471-3(c)(6)(ii)(A) will not be treated as invalid for payments made on or after January
1, 2018, solely because the withholding certificate does not include the account holder’s
Foreign TIN (or a reasonable explanation for why the account holder was not issued a
Foreign TIN), until the time provided in this section IV.B.4.iii. Such a withholding
certificate will be treated as invalid for purposes of this section IV.B.4.iii for payments
made after the earlier of (1) December 31, 2019; (2) the expiration date of the validity
period of the withholding certificate; or (3) if applicable, the date when a change in
circumstances requiring a revised withholding certificate occurs. However, for
payments made after December 31, 2019, a withholding agent may rely on the
alternative procedure described in section IV.B.4.v of this Notice to obtain a Foreign TIN
(or reasonable explanation).
iv. Withholding Certificates Signed Before January 1, 2018, That Have an
Indefinite Validity Period
The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3
regulations to provide that an otherwise valid withholding certificate signed before
January 1, 2018, that is indefinitely valid under §§1.1441-1(e)(4)(ii)(B) and 1.1471-

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3(c)(6)(ii)(B) will not be treated as invalid for payments made on or after January 1,
2018, solely because the withholding certificate does not include the account holder’s
Foreign TIN (or a reasonable explanation for why the account holder was not issued a
Foreign TIN), until the time provided in this section IV.B.4.iv. Such a withholding
certificate will be treated as invalid for purposes of this section IV.B.4.iv for payments
made after the earlier of (1) December 31, 2019, or (2) if applicable, the date when a
change in circumstances requiring a revised withholding certificate occurs. However,
for payments made after December 31, 2019, a withholding agent may rely on the
alternative procedure described in section IV.B.4.v of this Notice to obtain a Foreign TIN
(or reasonable explanation).
v. Alternative Procedure for Obtaining and Associating Foreign TINs with
Withholding Certificates Signed Before January 1, 2018

An otherwise valid withholding certificate that does not include the account holder’s
Foreign TIN (or a reasonable explanation for why the account holder was not issued a
Foreign TIN) signed before January 1, 2018, will continue to remain valid for payments
made after December 31, 2019, if the withholding agent (1) obtains from the account
holder its Foreign TIN (or a reasonable explanation for why the account holder was not
issued a Foreign TIN) on a written statement (including a written statement transmitted
by email) that the withholding agent associates with the account holder’s withholding
certificate; or (2) otherwise has the account holder’s Foreign TIN in the withholding
agent’s files and the withholding agent associates the account holder’s Foreign TIN with
the account holder’s withholding certificate. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence,

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an otherwise valid withholding certificate signed before January 1, 2018, that does not
include the account holder’s Foreign TIN (or reasonable explanation) ceases to be valid
for payments made after the earlier of the expiration date of the validity period of such
withholding certificate (in the case of a withholding certificate with a three-year validity
period) or the date when a withholding agent determines that a revised withholding
certificate is otherwise required (if applicable), and the withholding agent must obtain on
a new withholding certificate the account holder’s Foreign TIN (or reasonable
explanation). A withholding agent’s reliance on a Foreign TIN (or a reasonable
explanation for why the account holder was not issued a Foreign TIN) obtained
pursuant to the alternative procedure is subject to the standards of knowledge
described in section IV.B.4.i of this Notice for a withholding certificate.
5. Requirement to Obtain Date of Birth
The temporary chapter 3 regulations provide that an otherwise valid withholding
certificate that does not contain the account holder’s date of birth will not be considered
invalid if the withholding agent has the account holder’s date of birth in its files. The
Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3 regulations
to provide an exception to this requirement such that an otherwise valid withholding
certificate signed before January 1, 2018, will not be treated as invalid for payments
made before January 1, 2019, to an account holder that is an individual, solely because
the withholding certificate does not include the account holder’s date of birth and the
date of birth is not in the withholding agent’s files. This allowance is provided to give

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withholding agents additional time to comply with the date of birth requirement for
withholding certificates signed before January 1, 2018. In addition, the Treasury
Department and the IRS intend to amend the temporary chapter 3 regulations to clarify
that a withholding agent will be considered to have the account holder’s date of birth in
its files if it obtains the date of birth on a written statement (including a written statement
transmitted by email) from the account holder.
C. Form 1042-S Reporting
The IRS intends to revise the instructions for Form 1042-S to provide that, beginning
with reporting for calendar year 2018, a withholding agent must report on each Form
1042-S required to be filed with respect to a financial account maintained at a U.S.
branch or office of the withholding agent the account holder’s Foreign TIN in any of the
following cases: (1) the account holder has furnished to the withholding agent a
withholding certificate that includes its Foreign TIN; (2) the withholding agent has
obtained the Foreign TIN under the alternative procedure described in section IV.B.4.v
of this Notice; or (3) the withholding agent has identified the account holder’s Foreign
TIN in any of the withholding agent’s electronically searchable information (as defined in
§1.1471-1(b)(38)).
The instructions for Form 1042-S for calendar year 2017 will be revised with respect
to withholding certificates furnished on or after January 1, 2017, to require the reporting
of an individual account holder’s date of birth if the date of birth is on the withholding
certificate or is available in the withholding agent’s electronically searchable information

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(as defined in §1.1471-1(b)(38)). Furthermore, beginning with reporting for calendar
year 2018, the instructions for Form 1042-S will require the reporting of an individual
account holder’s date of birth if the date of birth is on the withholding certificate or is
identified in any of the withholding agent’s files.
Penalties for failure to comply with reporting obligations may apply to a failure to
report an account holder’s Foreign TIN or an individual account holder’s date of birth on
Form 1042-S to the extent the instructions for Form 1042-S require such information to
be reported.
V. TAXPAYER RELIANCE
Before the issuance of the amendments to the temporary chapter 3 regulations
described in section IV of this Notice, taxpayers may rely on the provisions of this Notice
regarding the content of the amendments.
VI. DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this Notice is Kamela Nelan of the Office of Associate Chief
Counsel (International). For further information regarding this Notice, contact Ms. Nelan
at (202) 317-6942 (not a toll-free call).