1. What is IRS Form 6166?
Many U.S. treaty partners require the IRS to certify that the person claiming treaty benefits is a resident of the United States for federal tax purposes. The IRS provides this residency certification on Form 6166, a letter of U.S. residency certification.
Form 6166 is a letter printed on U.S. Department of Treasury stationery certifying that the individuals or entities listed are residents of the United States for purposes of the income tax laws of the United States. You may use this form to claim income tax treaty benefits and certain other tax benefits in foreign countries.
2. Who is eligible for Form 6166?
In general, under an income tax treaty, an individual or entity is a resident of the United States if the individual or entity is subject to U.S. tax by reason of residence, citizenship, place of incorporation, or other similar criteria. U.S. residents are subject to tax in the United States on their worldwide income. An entity may be considered subject to tax on its worldwide income even if it is statutorily exempt from tax, such as a pension fund or charity. Similarly, individuals are considered subject to tax even if their income is less than the amount that would require that they file an income tax return.
In general, the IRS will issue Form 6166 only when it can verify that, for the year for which certification is requested one of the following applies.
You filed an appropriate income tax return (for example, Form 1120 for a domestic corporation).
In the case of a certification year for which a return is not yet due, you filed a return for the most recent year for which a return was due.
You are not required to file an income tax return for the tax period on which certification will be based and other documentation is provided.
3. How to apply for IRS Form 6166?
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) procedure for requesting a certificate of residency (Form 6166) from the Philadelphia Accounts Management Center is the submission of Form 8802, Application for United States Residency Certification. Use of the Form 8802 is mandatory.
Please refer to the instructions for Form 8802 to complete the form properly.
Some additional information will also be required in order to obtain certification under the new procedures. This information is generally set forth in the Instructions to Form 8802.
4. When to file?
You should mail your application, including full payment of the user fee, at least 45 days before the date you need to submit Form 6166. Typically, it takes 4-6 weeks to receive your Certification of U.S. Tax Residence.
The IRS will contact you after 30 days if there is a delay in processing your application. You can call 267-941-1000 (not a toll-free number) and select the U.S. residency option if you have questions regarding your application.
Note: About early submission for a current year certification.
The IRS cannot accept an early submission for a current year Form 6166 that has a postmark date before December 1 of the prior year. Requests received with a postmark date earlier than December 1 will be returned to the sender. For example, a Form 6166 request for 2021:
Received with a postmark date before December 1, 2020, cannot be processed;
Received with a postmark date on or after December 1, 2020, can be processed with the appropriate documentation.
5. What's the filing fee and payment method?
Filing Fee
There is an IRS fee called "user fee" the applicant should pay. Form 8802 application(s) will not be processed until the nonrefundable user fee is paid. The user fee is for the number of applications submitted, not the number of certifications requested.
Requests by individual applicants.
The user fee for a request by an individual applicant is $85 per Form 8802, regardless of the number of countries for which certification is requested or the number of tax year(s) to which the certification applies.
Requests by applicants other than individuals.
The user fee for an application by each nonindividual applicant is $185 per Form 8802.
Payment Method
Payment by check or money order
The user fee can be paid by check, money order, or electronic payment. A check or money order in U.S. dollars, payable to the United States Treasury, in the appropriate amount. Do not submit foreign checks. Do not send cash.
Electronic Payment
You can access the electronic payment page at the Pay.gov website. Go to Pay.gov, and enter "IRS Certs" in the search box. At the "IRS Certs" topic, click the "Continue" button. Follow the on-screen prompts, and enter the required information when requested.
The electronic confirmation number needs to be entered on page 1 of Form 8802.
6. Where to file?
The method by which you can submit Form 8802 to the IRS depends upon how you choose to pay the user fee.
Payment by Check or Money Order
If you are paying the user fee by check or money order, send the payment, Form 8802, and all required attachments to:
Internal Revenue Service
US Residency Certification
Philadelphia, PA 19255-0625
Or, by private delivery service to:
Internal Revenue Service
2970 Market Street
BLN# 3-E08.123
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5016
Electronic Payment
After you have received your electronic payment confirmation number, and entered it on page 1 of Form 8802, you can submit Form 8802 and all required attachments by mail, private delivery service, or fax (see below for limitations on the use of faxed transmissions).
If you are paying the user fee by e-payment, send Form 8802 and all required attachments to:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Philadelphia, PA 19255-0625
Or, by private delivery service to:
Internal Revenue Service
2970 Market Street
BLN# 3-E08.123
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5016
Fax
You can fax up to 10 Forms 8802 (including all required attachments) for a maximum of 100 pages to the fax numbers below. You must use a fax cover sheet stating the number of pages included in the transmission.
The following fax numbers are available.
877-824-9110 (within the United States only, toll free).
304-707-9792 (inside or outside the United States, not toll free).
7. How to apostille (or authenticate) the IRS Form 6166?
Once the IRS has mailed you Form 6166, you must get it apostilled or authenticated for it to be valid in a foreign country. The destination country of your document will decide which certificate you should obtain.
An Apostille is for documents to be used in countries that participated in the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty. Once complete, no more steps are needed.
Authentication certificates are for documents to be used in countries that do not participate in the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty. The documents undergo an additional step for obtaining an authentication certificate from the country's embassy in DC.
If the destination country is a member country/region (such as Germany, Spain, France, etc.):
Get an Apostille from the US Department of State. No further certification is needed.
If the destination country is NOT a member country/region:
Get an Authentication from the U.S. Department of State.
Get a Legalization from the Embassy.
Simply place the order based on your situation and mail us the original copy you received from the IRS. We will contact the right people and department at the U.S. Department of State to apostille your Form 6166 or authenticate it at the U.S. Department of State and then get it legalized at your destination country's embassy.
The apostille and authentication process can be complicated. If you don't want to spend a lot of time and energy getting into it, your best bet is to let a professional do it for you. Once we receive your order and document, it'll be processed as soon as possible.
Besides IRS Form 6166, we also provide apostille, authentication, and embassy legalization services for other personal documents and corporate documents issued in 50 states and DC.
American Notary Service Center Inc. provides fair, fast, confidential, and professional document notarization and certification services for our clients. We also provide various assistance services to small businesses led by socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Our service helps small businesses obtain federal government contracts, gain a foothold in the market, and boost their sales. For more information, please visit our website at www.usnotarycenter.com, and contact us by calling 202-599-0777 or by email at info@usnotarycenter.com.