User Fee Increases for some U.S. Residency Certification Requests

The user fee for processing residency certification made on Form 8802 (“Application for United States Residency Certification”) is increasing from $85 to $185 for nonindividual taxpayers. This is effective for forms postmarked on or after December 1, 2018.

The announcement was made in IRS Revenue Procedure 2018-50.

Claiming benefits and exemptions

Form 8802 is used to request Form 6166, a letter that the applicant may use as proof of the applicant’s status as a U.S. resident to claim benefits under an income tax treaty or an exemption from a value added tax (VAT) imposed by a foreign country.

Partnerships, S corporations and grantor trusts (entities which are fiscally transparent for U.S. federal tax purposes) can request certification based on the status of their partners, shareholders, owners or beneficiaries. Custodians must submit a separate Form 8802 on behalf of each account holder.

Form 8802 will be treated as postmarked before December 1, 2018, if it is delivered via a private delivery service designated by the IRS to the address specified in the instructions to Form 8802 for private delivery and the private delivery service company accepts Form 8802 for delivery before December 1, 2018.

Previous fees didn’t regard applicant’s status

Applications filed after March 31, 2012, have been charged a user fee of $85, without regard to whether the applicant is an individual or nonindividual applicant.

© 2018