If you qualify to give your bank W-8BEN and are tax resident in India, put your real Indian residence on line 3 and your U.S. mailing address on line 4—but your planned return means you cannot yet assume W-8BEN is the right 2026 form.

Substantial presence test

To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States (U.S.) on at least: 31 days during the current year, and 183 days during the 3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately before that, counting: All the days you were present in the current year, and 1/3 of the days you were present in the first year before the current year, and 1/6 of the days you were present in the second year before the current year.

I.A, The substantial presence test

However, the rules allowing an “exempt individual” to exclude U.S. days of presence do not apply to H-1B aliens.

Line 3

Your permanent residence address is the address in the country where you claim to be a resident for purposes of that country’s income tax.

Line 3

If you do not have a tax residence in any country, your permanent residence is where you normally reside.

Line 3

Do not show the address of a financial institution, a post office box, or an address used solely for mailing purposes.

Line 4

Enter your mailing address only if it is different from the address you show on line 3.

Introduction

It is assessed separately for each financial year and affects the scope of income taxable in India.

6(2)

(2) An individual shall be resident in India in a tax year, if he—

Reason to know; direct account holders

You have reason to know that a Form W-8 is unreliable or incorrect if you have classified the account holder claiming foreign status as a U.S. person in your account information, the Form W-8 has a current permanent residence address or a current mailing address in the United States, you have a current residence or current mailing address in the United States as part of the account information, the direct account holder notifies you of a new residence or mailing address in the United States, or, only to the extent described in Regulations section 1.1441-7(b)(5), you have a U.S. telephone number as the sole telephone number for the account holder.

Reason to know; direct account holders

You have in your possession or obtain documentary evidence establishing foreign status (as described in Regulations section 1.1471-3(c)(5)(i)) that does not contain a U.S. address, and the individual provides you with a reasonable explanation, in writing, supporting his or her claim of foreign status;

Who Must Provide Form W-8BEN

You are a U.S. citizen (even if you reside outside the United States) or other U.S. person (including a resident alien individual). Instead, use Form W-9 to document your status as a U.S. person.

Form heading

Give this form to the withholding agent or payer. Do not send to the IRS.

Change in circumstances

If a change in circumstances makes any information on the Form W-8BEN you have submitted incorrect, you must notify the withholding agent, payer, or FFI with which you hold an account within 30 days of the change in circumstances and you must file a new Form W-8BEN or other appropriate form.

Closer connection exception

Maintained a tax home in that foreign country during the entire year (see Chapter 28 of Publication 17 for a discussion of the tax home concept), and

Requirement to file Form 8840

You must file Form 8840, Closer Connection Exception Statement for Aliens, to claim the Closer Connection Exception.

Article 4(2)(a)

a) he shall be deemed to be a resident of the state in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the state with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests);

Dual resident taxpayers

H1-B aliens who claim treatment as residents of another country under the “tie-breaker rules” of a U.S. income tax treaty are treated as nonresident aliens for purposes of calculating their U.S. income tax liability and must file Form 8833, Treaty-Based Return Position Disclosure Under Section 6114 or 7701(b). However, for purposes other than calculating their income tax liability (including for purposes of certain information reporting), H-1B aliens are treated as resident aliens under the Internal Revenue Code.

301.7701(b)-7(a)(1)

If the alien individual determines that he or she is a resident of the foreign country for treaty purposes, and the alien individual claims a treaty benefit (as a nonresident of the United States) so as to reduce the individual's United States income tax liability with respect to any item of income covered by an applicable tax convention during a taxable year in which the individual was considered a dual resident taxpayer, then that individual shall be treated as a nonresident alien of the United States for purposes of computing that individual's United States income tax liability under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder (including the withholding provisions of section 1441 and the regulations under that section in cases in which the dual resident taxpayer is the recipient of income subject to withholding) with respect to that portion of the taxable year the individual was considered a dual resident taxpayer.