Instructions on How to Access PTP Products are available below in this document.

What you need to know:

Amount of Withholding: 10% of sale or distribution proceeds.  This means 10% of the amount of funds that would settle resulting from any transaction or distribution, not just 10% on any calculated profit.

Example of PTP withholding:

Buy 200 shares @ 50. 
Transaction value = $10,000
Sell 200 shares @ 51. 
Transaction value = $10,200
Profit = $200. 
Withholding = $1020 USD

Assuming no tax reclaim requests, the loss in value to the investor would be $820

Affected Instruments: Please see the list at the end of this article.  The list is maintained on a best efforts basis and there may be some timing issues as information is refreshed.  Listed deliverable securities are in scope of the new regulation. Options and other derivative instruments with a PTP as the underlying security are not subject to withholding. However, if the option or derivative is converted into a PTP interest, a subsequent sale of such PTP security would be subject to withholding.

Special Exemptions: The IRS regulation provides issuers the ability to get an exemption from the PTP withholding requirement.  The exemption is valid for 92 days, and issuers are required to re-certify with the IRS to extend the duration of the exemption. IBKR will try, on a best-efforts basis, to publish which of the affected instruments have an operating exemption, but investors should ensure they are choosing products whose withholding conditions they fully understand.  The issuer document that provides for a withholding exemption is generally referred to as a "Qualified Notice"

What Investors are affected: All investors who are not considered ‘resident’ for U.S. tax purposes, i.e. investors who are not subject to U.S. taxation and tax reporting (and therefore doesn't file a W-9 IRS tax form).

Reporting: Withholding will be reported on the year-end Form 1042-S, Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding. 

How to Access PTP Products as a Non-US Taxpayer:  Please login to Client Portal and select the User menu (head and shoulders icon in the top right corner) followed by Settings. Then under Account Settings find the Trading section and click on the “PTP Trading Opt In/Out” link. The webpage allows you to request the ability to trade PTP securities. Once the request is submitted, it may take up to one hour for the ability to be activated.

Note that clients who no longer desire to trade PTP securities may request to deactivate the PTP trading ability via the same “PTP Trading Opt In/Out” link.

Additional Resources: For those interested in understanding additional information about the new regulation, please see the IRS website for IRC Sec. 1446(f): http://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/partnership-withholding

PTP Instruments

This list identifies PTP securities which may be subject to withholding under the IRS Regulation referenced above. The products are presented in 2 groups: those with a "Qualified Notice” exemption, and those "without Qualified Notice".  The lists are shown on a best-efforts basis for convenience only.  IBKR does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information, and investors should independently verify that products in which they are invested in, or intend to invest, have the necessary exemptions to avoid punitive withholding outcomes.  Duration of the exemptions should also be monitored by position holders in the instruments.

PTP Securities with known Qualified Notice

PTP Securities without Qualified Notices

Die US-Steuerbehörde Internal Revenue Service betrachtet Personen mit bestimmten US-Verbindungen im Allgemeinen als in den USA ansässige Steuerzahler, die das IRS-Formular W-9 ausfüllen und IB eine US-Steuerzahler-ID (z. B. Sozialversicherungsnummer) zur Verfügung stellen müssen.

Ein üblicher Indikator für eine US-Verbindung für Einzelpersonen ist das Vorhandensein einer US-Wohn- oder Postanschrift. In diesen Fällen wird davon ausgegangen, dass die Person ein US-Steuerzahler ist und das Formular W-9 einreichen muss, es sei denn, sie kann nachweisen, dass die Adresse unter eine der zulässigen Erklärungen für eine US-Verbindung fällt.  Diese beinhalten:

(A)   Sie erfüllen nicht den „substantial presence test“ für die steuerliche Ansässigkeit in den USA, wie er in der US-amerikanischen Treasury Regulation 301.7701(b)-1(c) zu finden und die Adresse in den USA ist 

Formular 1042-S erfasst Einkünfte aus US-amerikanischen Quellen, die von nicht US-amerikanischen Personen erwirtschaftet werden, die die US-Quellensteuer entrichten müssen. Einkünfte dieser Art umfassen Zinserträge, Dividenden, Ersatzzahlungen anstelle von Dividenden und eingenommene (an und für Kontoverwalter gezahlte) Gebühren in Ihrem Konto für das Steuerjahr.  Unter Umständen erhalten Sie mehrere 1042-S-Formulare zur Meldung verschiedener Arten von Einkommen. 

Diese Informationen werden ebenfalls an den IRS gemeldet. Jeder Einkommenstyp wird unter Verwendung eines Codes in Feld 1 in einem getrennten Formular ausgewiesen. Gängige Codes:

Circular 230 Hinweis: Diese Angaben werden ausschließlich zu Informationszwecken bereitgestellt. Sie stellen keine Steuerberatung dar, die verlässlich zur Vermeidung von Strafen/Bußen gemäß nationalen, bundesstaatlichen, örtlichen oder anderen Steuergesetzen oder Vorschriften verwendet werden kann, und dienen nicht zur Lösung von Steuerproblemen zu Ihren Gunsten.

Chicago has a personal property tax which applies to a non-possessory computer lease by a Chicago resident. The Chicago tax authorities have ruled that tax is to be applied in cases where a customer pays for electronic research/use of an interactive site. The passive receipt or streaming of information is not subject to the tax.

Clients whose permanent residential address or principal business address is Chicago will have this tax passed through to their accounts.

The tax rate, as of October 2017, is 9%. The tax will be charged on the research and news feeds a client is subscribed to. Should a research and news feed be eligible to a waiver based upon commissions generated, the tax will not be applied.

As of October 2017, research and news subscriptions which would be subject to the tax would include

Base IBIS Research Platform and the IBIS Research Essentials Subscription Bundle
Cusip
Dow Jones News Service
Dow Jones Real Time News
US Press Release Feed
Reuters Global Newswire
Reuters StreetEvents Calendars
Reuters Fundamentals
Reuters Basic Newfeed
Morningstar Equity, ETF and Credit Reports
Wall Street Horizons
Zacks Equity Research Reports

The above list is provided on a best efforts basis and is subject to change. Clients will be responsible for any pass through tax regardless of any discrepancy from the list provided above.