Fillable IRS form · Rev. October 2021
Form W-8BEN, pre-filled for every foreign payee
Funds, platforms and agencies collect a W-8BEN from every foreign individual they pay. Pre-fill each one from your investor or payee list, and they check, complete and sign it.
Free plan, no signup needed to try.
A US fund, a royalty platform or an agency paying freelancers abroad needs a W-8BEN on file for every foreign individual it pays, and has to collect a new one when the old one expires. Most of what the form asks is already in the investor or payee list: name, country, address, foreign tax number, date of birth.
This template connects those boxes to a spreadsheet and fills the printed name of the signer from the same name column. Each person gets a W-8BEN with their own details, checks them, completes the treaty claim if one applies, and signs.
What is in the fillable PDF
- The W-8BEN form page, current revision
- Part I (identification) connected to 9 columns, with three example investors
- Part II (treaty claim) with readable names: treaty country connected, rate lines ready to connect
- The printed name of the signer filled from the name column
- Signature and date left empty for the beneficial owner
- Accented names and addresses print as they are, such as Lindenstraße
The columns your list needs
One row per person. These are the columns the form is connected to, with the first example row the template opens with.
- Name
- Anna Schneider
- Country of citizenship
- Germany
- Permanent residence address
- Lindenstraße 12
- City or town, state, postal code
- 10969 Berlin
- Country
- Germany
- Foreign TIN
- 47 036 892 816
- Reference number
- CP-1043
- Date of birth
- 04-17-1979
- Treaty country
- Germany
Name also fills the printed name of the signer. Mailing address, US TIN, the treaty rate lines and the capacity checkbox are on the form with readable names and can be connected when you have the data.
Before you send them
- 1.Pre-fill only what you hold. The beneficial owner certifies the form, so they check and sign it.
- 2.Use W-8BEN for individuals only; entities use W-8BEN-E.
- 3.Write the date of birth as MM-DD-YYYY, as the form asks.
- 4.Note when each form was signed: a W-8BEN generally stays valid until the end of the third calendar year after signing.
Who sends the Form W-8BEN with MailMergic
Investment funds
A W-8BEN for every foreign investor at onboarding and again when the forms expire, from the investor register.
Royalty and creator platforms
Pre-filled forms for every foreign author, artist or creator before their first payout.
Agencies paying freelancers abroad
One form per foreign freelancer, sent with the contract.
Fill it for everyone on your list at once
One form, one spreadsheet, one finished copy per row.
Open the form
It opens in MailMergic with every box connected and three example rows, so you see a finished form first.
Upload your list
One row per person with the columns below. Excel, CSV, and Google Sheets all work, and different column names get matched once.
Generate and deliver
One PDF per row, named after the person, with its own password if you like. Print them, or email each one to the people who agreed to it.
W-8BEN template FAQ
Who signs the pre-filled W-8BEN?
W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E?
How long is a W-8BEN valid?
Does the W-8BEN go to the IRS?
Can every PDF have its own password?
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Form 1099-MISC
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Form 1095-C
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These templates are general information, not tax or legal advice. The forms are the IRS’s own, with readable field names added; check each one against the current revision and instructions on irs.gov before you use it. MailMergic fills and delivers documents. It does not file anything with the IRS. Facts last reviewed October 2026.