Tax Treaty Benefits
Overview:
Income payments (dividends and payment in lieu) from U.S. sources into your IB account may have U.S. tax withheld. Generally, a 30% rate is applied to non-U.S. accounts. Exemption from the withholding or a lower rate may apply if your home country has a tax treaty with the U.S. Complete the applicable Form W-8 to find out your status.
Background:
Tax Treaties*
U.S. tax treaties with some countries have different benefits. Legal tax residents of the following countries may be eligible for the treaty benefits. Below is a list of the tax treaty countries. Benefits vary by country.
| Australia | Czech Republic | India | Lithuania | Sweden |
| Austria | Denmark | Indonesia | Poland | Switzerland |
| Bangladesh | Egypt | Ireland | Portugal | Thailand |
| Barbados | Estonia | Israel | Romania | Trinidad & Tobago |
| Belgium | Finland | Italy | Russia | Tunisia |
| Bulgaria | France | Jamaica | Slovak Republic | Turkey |
| Canada | Germany | Japan | Slovenia | Ukraine |
| China, People's Rep. Of | Greece | Kazakhstan | South Africa | United Kingdom |
| Commonwealth of Ind. States | Hungary | Korea, Rep. of | Spain | Venezuela |
| Cyprus | Iceland | Latvia | Sri Lanka |
*Country list as of April 2009
Refer to IRS Publication 901 for details on withholding rates for your tax residence country and your eligible benefits.
Which Tax Form Should I Select?
Overview:
3 simple questions can help you choose a tax certification form. Read the questions and select the form. For more detailed help, see Tax Information & Reporting.
Question # 1: Are you a U.S. Person or a U.S. Entity?
| • U.S. Citizen | • U.S. Business or Organization |
| • U.S. Green Card Holder | • U.S. Domestic Trust |
| • U.S. Legal Resident | |
If the answer is YES, complete Form W-9
If the answer is NO, go to # 2.
Question # 2: Do you have a U.S. Visa?
| • H-1B Visa Holder | • TN Visa Holder |
| • O-1 Visa Holder | |
If the answer is YES, find your status by the "substantial presence test." See More U.S. Legal Resident Info
If the answer is NO, go to # 3.
Question # 3: Are you a Legal Resident or Entity of another country?
*Question does Not apply to U.S. Citizens/Entities or Green Card Holders
| • Permanent Home Outside of U.S | • Entity Formed Outside of U.S. |
| •Business or Organization formed outside of U.S. | |
If the answer is YES, complete Form W-8 (U.S. Citizens, Green Card Holders, and Entities still complete the W-9.)
NOT SURE because you work, live, or study in the U.S. then, see More U.S. Legal Resident Info
Disclaimer: IB does not provide tax advice. These statements are provided for information purposes only, are not intended to constitute tax advice which may be relied upon to avoid penalties under any international, federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, and do not resolve any tax issues in your favor. We recommend that you consult a qualified tax adviser or refer to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Certify Your Tax Status
Overview:
Filling out a tax certification form is required to open an IB account. The forms confirm your tax status in relation to the United States. Information provided by you may lower or exempt the U.S. tax withholding on your account.
Background:
This article will help you to:
►Choose the correct certification form ►Find your tax treaty benefits
►Fill out and submit your form online ►Answer tax certification questions
Which Form Do You Pick? |
Tax Treaty Benefits |
|
Management of account activity differs for each account type. IB is a U.S. broker and must follow U.S. guidelines. 3 simple questions help you choose the right form |
Some countries have a tax treaty with the U.S. Find out if you benefit from a lower tax-withholding rate. Tax Treaty Benefit Info |
Filling Out The Form |
Tax Certification – FAQ’s |
| The certification form is direct. Supply basic account information on the true owner of the assets or entity. Select W-9 Instructions or W-8 Instructions for help. | Seek professional advice for tax questions. These common questions and answers may help you make an informed decision. Tax Certification - Frequently Asked Questions |
Disclaimer: IB does not provide tax advice. These statements are provided for information purposes only, are not intended to constitute tax advice which may be relied upon to avoid penalties under any international, federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, and do not resolve any tax issues in your favor. We recommend that you consult a qualified tax advisor or refer to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
How and When to Use a Direct Rollover
Overview:
This information is for general educational purposes only. Individuals should consult with their financial adviser or legal counsel to determine how rollover regulations affect their unique situations.
Generally, an investor changing jobs or leaving the workforce may utilize either a Direct Rollover election to continue their retirement savings outside of their employer-sponsored retirement plan. Assets distributed directly to your IRA from the retirement plan may qualify as a Direct Rollover.
What is a Direct Rollover?
The Direct Rollover is a tax-free distribution to you of cash or other assets from one retirement plan that you contribute to another retirement plan, including an IRA. The contribution to the IRA is called a rollover contribution. The Direct Rollover method transfers the assets directly from the retirement plan (and not to the IRA owner) into the investor's IRA, avoiding the 20% mandatory IRS withholding. This option to transfer retirement assets has no age limitations.
Eligible retirement plans include:
- Employer's qualified pension, profit -sharing, or stock bonus plan
- Annuity plan
- Tax sheltered annuity plan (section 403(b) plan)
- Governmental deferred compensation plan (section 457 plan)
Who do you contact first?
Contact your retirement plan administrator or the human resources office for eligibility and requirements. The plan administrator is required to provide a reasonable direct method of asset transfer. Completion of an IRA Rollover Form provided by the administrator may be required, in some cases. In other cases, the plan accepts an IRA Rollover Form supplied by your IRA's broker. Therefore, it is important to check with the plan administrator.
Initiating your Direct Rollover through IB
For those transfers that require a broker-supplied IRA Rollover Form, Interactive Brokers provides a convenient IRA Rollover Form. Interactive Brokers will forward the request to the plan administrator or broker for processing. Funds may be transferred by either wire transfer or check directly to Interactive Brokers.
Before accepting an IRA rollover transaction into an IRA, we require that you review your eligibility for the rollover and certify your understanding of the rollover rules and conditions. The IRA Rollover Form includes the Rollover Form and an IRA Rollover Certification Form.
The Fund Transfers page within the Account Management lets you notify IB of an IRA Rollover deposit of funds into your account. Select the Funding tab in the header link and choose Deposit Funds in the Transaction list. In the Method list, select Direct Rollover. Complete, sign, and return both forms to the Interactive Brokers address on the form.
Contact Customer Service with any additional questions.
In compliance with Treasury Department Circular 230, unless stated to the contrary, any information contained in this article was not intended or written to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer.
How do I add a second user to my Friends and Family master account?
While technically, Friends and Family accounts can have more than one user, there cannot be more than one trader. The second user can access all other functions.
The second user on a Friends and Family master account is designed to accommodate an API connection.
Will the consolidated statement reflect the tax basis choices of client accounts?
Overview:
Clients have the ability to select one of three tax basis methods, First in First Out (FIFO), Last in First Out (LIFO) and Max Losses. The method selected will affect the P&L values which are posted on the statements.
In an advisor structure, where the advisor has the ability to create a consolidated statement, those P&L values posted will properly reflect the tax basis choice as these calculations are done independent of how a statement may be viewed.
Does IB offer managed accounts?
IB, itself, does not provide advisory services to customers, but we do clear for a rather large number of Financial Advisors who do carry and clear their customer accounts with IB. As we are not in a position to provide personal recommendations as to Financial Advisors, you would need to research for an advisor on your own and if they are not already affiliated with IB, request that they open an account on your behalf with IB.
You may also wish to review the website of a US industry regulator such as FINRA (www.finra.org) which provides information regarding selecting investment professionals along with a tool referred to as FINRA BrokerCheck which allows investors to check the professional background of individual brokers.
Can advisors and other family accounts use WebTrader or MobileTrader?
Overview:
Beginning approximately March 5, 2009, financial advisors and proprietary trading group accounts (otherwise known as STL - Separate Trading Limit) have the ability to access both the WebTrader and MobileTrader platforms.
Note:
Only single account allocations are supported at this time. Orders cannot be entered using allocation groups or profiles.
Can advisors trade Mutual Funds?
Overview:
Mutual Funds
Advisors have the ability to trade mutual funds on behalf of their clients by using either an allocation order or by direct allocating.
What does the 'Pending Advisor' status mean next to my withdrawal request?
Overview:
In the Transaction History section of Client Portal, client accounts who are logged in and have requested a withdrawal, may see the status as 'Pending Advisor'.
Information:
In the advisor structure, client accounts can request withdrawals by logging in to Client Portal just as any individual account would. Once a withdrawal request is made by a client account, the advisor must consent to the request. If the Advisor does not consent to the request, the withdrawal will still be processed, but there will up to be a three business day delay.
Advisor Steps to Confirm:
Once a withdrawal request has been submitted by a client account, the advisor will receive an email notification, stating that a client has requested a withdrawal. In order to consent, the advisor must log in to Advisor Portal and navigate to Manage Clients then Dashboard and the Pending Items tab. The advisor would then click the 'Consent' button in order to expedite the processing of the pending withdrawal.
Note about hold periods:
In order to ensure the timely processing of client initiated withdrawal requests, the hold period for withdrawals where the amount of the request is greater than 80% of the amount available for withdrawal, will be held until consented to by the advisor or 3 calendar days, whichever comes first. For amounts representing less than 80% will be held until consented to by the advisor or the next business day.
These holds are in place to ensure that your advisor is aware of your withdrawal request and is afforded time to make funds available if necessary.
