U.S. Residency Certification (Form 6166)







U.S. Residency Certification Overview - IRS Form 6166



What is U.S. Residency Certification (Form 6166)?



Form 6166 is a letter printed on U.S. Department of Treasury stationery certifying that the individuals or entities listed are residents of the United States for purposes of the income tax laws of the United States.



Do I need US Residency Certification (Form 6166)?



Form 6166 is used to claim income tax treaty benefits and certain other tax benefits in foreign countries.


Many U.S. treaty partners require the IRS to certify that the person claiming treaty benefits is a resident of the United States for federal tax purposes. The IRS provides this residency certification on Form 6166, a letter of U.S. residency certification.


You should refer to the instructions for Form 8802 to help you determine if you need and are eligible to have the IRS to issue form 6166 for your entity.





Obtaining US Residency Certification from the IRS



How do I obtain Form 6166 (U.S. Residency Certification) from the IRS?



    You will need to apply directly with the IRS for Residency Certification.


    Here is information provided by the IRS about this process:


The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) procedure for requesting a certificate of residency (Form 6166) from the Philadelphia Accounts Management Center is the submission of Form 8802, Application for United States Residency Certification (PDF): Use of the Form 8802 is mandatory.


Some additional information will also be required in order to obtain certification under the new procedures. This information is generally set forth in the Instructions to Form 8802 (PDF). As the IRS gains experience with processing applications using Form 8802, it may update the Form and Instructions accordingly.





Cost to obtain IRS form 6166



Is there a cost to obtain Form 6166?



A user fee will be charged by the IRS to process all Forms 8802. The minimum user fee is $85.00.





How to Request U.S. Residency Certification from the IRS



Can I request current year certification from the IRS?



Form 8802 applications requesting certification for the current year require a signature under penalties of perjury. By signing, applicants are attesting to their current residency status. On occasion, applicants have submitted additional information pursuant to Line 11 of the Form 8802 on a “standalone” basis, instead of attaching this information to a signed Form 8802. In this situation, the applicant must sign the standalone submission under penalties of perjury, applying the rules in the Form 8802 instructions with respect to who must sign. When the prior year return has not been filed and isn’t yet required, the penalty of perjury statement must address the applicant’s residency status in the prior year, i.e. Taxpayer Name, (TIN) was a U.S. resident for 2008 and will continue to be throughout the current tax year.”


This statement is required of all taxpayers in this situation. In some instances, the taxpayer will not have been a resident for the prior year and therefore will only attest to residency status in the current year.


Various statements are required under penalty of perjury when a Form 8802 is for the current year. Refer to the Instructions for Form 8802.


Please Note: The taxpayer must sign form 8802 unless the taxpayer provides the third party signatory (i.e., custodian or broker) with a duly completed IRS Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. Delaware Intercorp, Inc. recommends the applicant consult with a tax adviser as we cannot act as the third party signatory.







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