You send your first invoice to a US customer, and their accounts payable team replies asking for a “W-8”. Until they have it, they will either hold the payment or deduct 30% of it. Here is what the form does, and how a Singapore company normally deals with it.
Why the customer asks
A US business paying a foreign company must withhold 30% of certain US-source payments unless it holds documentation showing withholding does not apply. Form W-8BEN-E is that documentation for a foreign company. You give it to your customer. It is not filed with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It generally stays valid until the end of the third calendar year after you sign it, unless your circumstances change.
Singapore has no income tax treaty with the US
Many countries’ companies use the W-8BEN-E to claim a reduced treaty rate. Singapore companies cannot, because Singapore and the United States have no comprehensive income tax treaty. So the question for a Singapore company is whether the payment is subject to US withholding in the first place.
Services performed outside the US
For services, US tax law looks at where the work is physically done. Fees for services performed entirely outside the United States are foreign-source income, and the 30% withholding does not apply to them. The W-8BEN-E records that you are a foreign company, which is what your customer’s finance team needs on file. Some customers also ask for a short letter from your management confirming that no part of the work was performed in the US.
How a Singapore operating company usually completes it
- Part I, identification: the company’s legal name, Singapore as country of incorporation, and its address.
- Entity type: corporation.
- FATCA status: most trading companies are an “Active NFFE”, meaning a non-financial foreign entity with less than half its income and assets being passive. This is certified in Part XXV. Holding companies, funds and financial businesses fall into other categories and need care.
- Part III, treaty benefits: left blank, since there is no treaty to claim.
- Tax number: a US taxpayer number is generally not needed. The company’s UEN is commonly given as its foreign tax identifying number.
- Signature: by a director or officer with authority to sign.
Individuals use Form W-8BEN, not the W-8BEN-E. A Singapore company should never complete a W-9, which is for US persons.
Where withholding can still apply
- Work done in the US. If your people travel to the US to deliver part of the service, that part is US-source. Track days and split the invoice.
- Royalties and licence fees. Payments for the use of software or other intellectual property in the US are US-source royalties. With no treaty to reduce the rate, they can suffer the full 30%.
- Software as a service. Whether a subscription is a service or a licence depends on the facts and on how the contract is written. Word your contracts and invoices to match what you actually provide.
- A US presence. Staff, an office or a dependent agent in the US can mean the company is doing business there, which is a different form and a different tax position.
If 30% has already been withheld
Getting tax back from the IRS means filing a US return, and it is slow. Singapore’s foreign tax credit may give some relief against Singapore tax on the same income, but only where the income is treated as foreign-sourced here, and only up to the Singapore tax on it. Prevention is far cheaper: send the form with your first invoice, not after the first short payment.
Other countries are different
For customers in countries that do have a treaty with Singapore, the tools are a Certificate of Residence from IRAS and a treaty claim. See why your customers are withholding tax they don’t need to.
Selling to customers overseas?
Futurebooks helps Singapore companies get paid in full across borders: W-8BEN-E forms and supporting letters for US customers, Certificates of Residence and treaty paperwork elsewhere, and the bookkeeping and tax filings behind them. Send us the request your customer sent you.
This article is general information from a Singapore perspective. It is not US tax advice, and the right answers on the form depend on your company’s facts. Based on IRS and IRAS guidance as at November 2026.