Reg. § 1.5000C-2 Withholding on specified Federal procurement payments.
(a) In general Except as otherwise provided in this section, every acquiring agency making a specified Federal procurement payment on which tax is imposed under section and through must deduct and withhold an amount equal to 2 percent of the payment. For rules relating to the liability of a foreign contracting party with respect to specified Federal procurement payments not fully withheld upon at source, see . An acquiring agency may rely upon any information furnished by a contracting party under this section unless the acquiring agency has reason to know that the information is incorrect or unreliable. An acquiring agency has reason to know that the information is incorrect or unreliable if it has knowledge of relevant facts or statements contained in the submitted information such that a reasonably prudent person in the position of the acquiring agency would know that the information provided is incorrect or unreliable.
(b) Steps in determining the obligation to withhold under section 5000C An acquiring agency generally determines its obligation to withhold under section according to the steps described in this . See, however, of this section for situations in which withholding may be increased in the case of underwithholding, or may be decreased in the case of overwithholding.
(1) Determine whether the payment is pursuant to a contract for goods or services The acquiring agency determines whether it is making a payment pursuant to a contract for goods or services. To the extent that the acquiring agency is making a payment for any other purpose, it does not have an obligation to withhold under section on the payment.
(2) Determine whether the payment is made pursuant to a contract with a U.S. person The acquiring agency determines whether the payment is made pursuant to a contract with a person considered to be a United States person (U.S. person) in accordance with of this section. If the other contracting party is a U.S. person, the acquiring agency does not have an obligation to withhold under section on the payment.
(3) Determine whether the payment is for purchases under the simplified acquisition procedures The acquiring agency determines whether the payment is for purchases under the simplified acquisitions procedures that do not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold as described in 48 CFR 2.101. If it is, the acquiring agency does not have an obligation to withhold under section on the payment.
(4) Determine whether the payment is for emergency acquisitions The acquiring agency determines whether the payment is made for certain emergency acquisitions within the meaning of . If it is, the acquiring agency does not have an obligation to withhold under section on the payment.
(5) Determine whether the payment is for personal services under the simplified acquisition threshold The acquiring agency determines whether payments for services under contracts with a single individual do not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold as described in 48 CFR 2.101 on an annual basis for all years of the contract. If that is the case, the acquiring agency does not have an obligation to withhold under section on the payment.
(6) Determine whether the payment is pursuant to a foreign humanitarian assistance contract The acquiring agency determines whether the payment is made pursuant to a foreign humanitarian assistance contract described in . If it is, the acquiring agency does not have an obligation to withhold under section on the payment.
(7) Determine whether the foreign contracting party is entitled to relief pursuant to an international agreement If the foreign contracting party submits a Section Certificate in accordance with of this section representing that the foreign contracting party is entitled to relief from the tax imposed under section pursuant to an international agreement with the United States (such as relief pursuant to the nondiscrimination provision of a qualified income tax treaty), the acquiring agency does not have an obligation to withhold under section on the payment.
(8) Determine whether the contract is for goods manufactured or produced or services provided in the United States or in a foreign country that is a party to an international procurement agreement If the foreign contracting party submits a Section Certificate in accordance with of this section that represents that the contract is for goods manufactured or produced or services provided in the United States, or in a foreign country that is a party to an international procurement agreement, the acquiring agency does not have an obligation to withhold. If the Section Certificate provides that payments under the contract are only partially exempt from withholding under section , the acquiring agency must withhold to the extent described in of this section.
(9) Compute amounts to withhold If, after evaluating each step described in this , the acquiring agency determines that it has an obligation to withhold, the acquiring agency computes the amount of withholding by multiplying the amount of the payment by 2 percent, unless the foreign contracting party has provided a Section Certificate or the payment is only in part for goods or services. In cases in which the Section Certificate demonstrates that the exemption in Step 8 applies, the acquiring agency generally computes the amount of withholding by multiplying the amount of the payment by the contract ratio provided on the most recent Section Certificate, the product of which is multiplied by 2 percent. However, in cases in which the exemption in Step 8 applies and the requirements of of this section are met, the acquiring agency computes the amount of withholding based on the payment for the specifically identified items, which may be identified by the contract line item number, or CLIN. In the case in which the payment is only in part for goods or services, the acquiring agency reduces the amount of the payment subject to the tax to the extent it is for something other than goods or services. The acquiring agency withholds the computed amount from the payment.
(10) Deposit and report amounts withheld The acquiring agency deposits and reports the amounts determined in the prior step in accordance with .
(c) Determining whether the contracting party is a U.S. person
(1) In general An acquiring agency must rely on the provisions of this to determine the status of the contracting party as a U.S. person for purposes of withholding under section .
(2) Determination based on Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) An acquiring agency must treat a contracting party as a U.S. person if the U.S. government information system (such as the System for Award Management (SAM)) indicates that the contracting party is a corporation (for example, because the name listed in SAM contains the term “Corporation,” “Inc.,” or “Corp.”) and that it has a TIN that begins with two digits other than “98” (a limited liability company or LLC is not treated as a corporation for purposes of this ). Further, an acquiring agency must treat a contracting party as a U.S. person if the acquiring agency has access to a U.S. government information system that indicates that the contracting party is an individual with a TIN that begins with a digit other than “9”.
(3) Determination based on the Form W-9 An acquiring agency must treat a contracting party as a U.S. person if the person has submitted to it a valid Form W-9, “Request for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Certificate” (or valid substitute form described in ), signed under penalties of perjury.
(4) Contracting party treated as a foreign contracting party If an acquiring agency cannot determine that a contracting party is a U.S. person based on application of or of this section, then the contracting party is treated as a foreign contracting party for purposes of this section.
(d) Withholding when a foreign contracting party submits a Section 5000C Certificate
(1) In general Unless the acquiring agency has reason to know that the information is incorrect or unreliable, the acquiring agency may rely on a claim that a foreign contracting party is entitled to an exemption (in whole or in part) from withholding on payments pursuant to a contract if the foreign contracting party provides a Section Certificate to the acquiring agency as prescribed in this . When a Section Certificate is furnished, the acquiring agency does not withhold, or must reduce the amount of withholding, on payments made to a foreign person if the certificate establishes that the foreign person is wholly or partially exempt from withholding. An acquiring agency may establish a system for a foreign contracting party to electronically furnish a Section Certificate.
(2) Exemption for a foreign contracting party entitled to the benefit of relief pursuant to certain international agreements An acquiring agency does not withhold on payments pursuant to a contract with a foreign contracting party when the payment is entitled to relief from the tax imposed under section pursuant to an international agreement, including relief pursuant to a nondiscrimination provision of a qualified income tax treaty, because the foreign contracting party is entitled to the benefit of that agreement and the foreign contracting party has submitted a Section Certificate that includes all of the information described in and of this section.
(3) Exemption when goods are manufactured or produced or services provided in the United States, or in a foreign country that is a party to an international procurement agreement An acquiring agency does not withhold on payments pursuant to a contract with a foreign contracting party to the extent that the payments are for goods manufactured or produced or services provided in the United States or in a foreign country that is a party to an international procurement agreement with the United States, provided that the foreign contracting party has submitted a Section Certificate that includes all of the information described in and of this section. If the Section Certificate provides that the payment is only partially exempt from withholding under section , the acquiring agency must withhold to the extent that the payment is not exempt.
(4) Information required for Section 5000C Certificate
(i) In general The Section Certificate must be signed under penalties of perjury by the foreign contracting party and contain—
(A) The name of the foreign contracting party, country of organization (if applicable), and permanent residence address of the foreign contracting party;
(B) The mailing address of the foreign contracting party (if different than the permanent residence address);
(C) The TIN assigned to the foreign contracting party (if any);
(D) The identifying or reference number on the contract (if known);
(E) The name and address of the acquiring agency;
(F) A statement that the person signing the Section Certificate is the foreign contracting party listed in of this section (or is authorized to sign on behalf of the foreign contracting party);
(G) A statement that the foreign contracting party is not acting as an agent or nominee for another foreign person with respect to the goods manufactured or produced or services provided under the contract;
(H) A statement that the foreign contracting party agrees to pay an amount equal to any tax (including any applicable penalties and interest) due under section that the acquiring agency does not withhold under section ;
(I) A statement that the foreign contracting party acknowledges and understands the rules in relating to procedural obligations related to section ; and
(J) A statement that the foreign contracting party has not engaged in a transaction (or series of transactions) with a principal purpose of avoiding the tax imposed under section as defined in .
(ii) Additional information required for claiming an exemption based on certain international agreements with the United States In addition to the information required by of this section, a foreign contracting party claiming an exemption from withholding in reliance on a provision of an international agreement with the United States, including a qualified income tax treaty, must provide—
(A) The name of the international agreement under which the foreign contracting party is claiming benefits;
(B) The specific provision of the international agreement relied upon (for example, the nondiscrimination article of a qualified income tax treaty); and
(C) The basis on which it is entitled to the benefits of that provision (for example, because the foreign contracting party is a corporation organized in a foreign country that has in force a qualified income tax treaty with the United States that covers all nationals, regardless of their residence).
(iii) Additional required information for claiming exemption based on country where goods are manufactured or services provided
(A) In general In addition to the information required by of this section, a foreign contracting party claiming an exemption from withholding (in whole or in part) because payments will be pursuant to a contract for goods manufactured or produced or services provided in the United States, or a foreign country that is party to an international procurement agreement, must describe on the Section Certificate the relevant goods or services and the country (or countries) in which they are manufactured or produced, or are provided, and must include the name of the international procurement agreement or agreements (if relevant).
(B) Information on allocation to exempt and nonexempt amounts
(1) In general In situations in which a foreign contracting party claims the exemption in of this section with respect to only a portion of the payments received under the contract, the Section Certificate must include an explanation of the method used by the foreign contracting party to allocate the total contract price among the countries, as described in , if applicable. In general, the Section Certificate also must include the total contract price and the nonexempt amount; however, when necessary, an estimate of the total contract price or the nonexempt amount may be used. For example, total contract price may be estimated when a Section Certificate is being completed with respect to payments to be made pursuant to a cost-reimbursement contract that is paid on the basis of actual incurred costs and the total amount of such costs is not known at the time the certificate is provided.
(2) Specific identification of exempt items If agreed to by the acquiring agency, the Section Certificate may identify specific exempt and nonexempt amounts. For example, specific contract line items (such as a contract line item number or CLIN) identified in the contract may be listed on the Section Certificate as exempt and nonexempt amounts (in whole or in part), as applicable. When this paragraph applies, and whether or not the contract identifies exempt and nonexempt amounts, a foreign contracting party must provide the information required by and of this section, on the Section Certificate to explain why the contract line items are eligible for an exemption; however, the foreign contracting party is not required to include information about the total contract price under this paragraph. In these circumstances, only one Section Certificate is required to be provided identifying the exempt and nonexempt contract line items that relate to the contract (for example, a spreadsheet may be attached to the Section Certificate that identifies the contract line items with an explanation for the treatment as exempt or nonexempt).
(5) Validity period of Section 5000C Certificate Except as otherwise provided in of this section, the Section Certificate is valid for the term of the contract.
(6) Change in circumstances A foreign contracting party must submit a revised Section Certificate within 30 days of a change in circumstances that causes the information in a Section Certificate held by the acquiring agency to be incorrect with respect to the acquiring agency's determination of whether to withhold or the amount of withholding under Section . An acquiring agency must request a new Section Certificate from a contracting party in circumstances in which it knows (or has reason to know) that a previously submitted Section Certificate becomes incorrect or unreliable. An acquiring agency may request an updated Section Certificate at any time, including when other documentation is required under the contract, such as the annual representations and certifications required in 48 CFR 4.1201. See , Example 6, for an illustration of this .
(7) Form W-14 A foreign contracting party may choose to use Form W-14, “Certificate of Foreign Contracting Party Receiving Federal Procurement Payments” (or other form that the IRS may prescribe), as its Section Certificate, provided that it includes all the necessary information required by this .
(8) Time for submitting Section 5000C Certificate A contracting party must submit the Section Certificate (such as Form W-14 or Form W-9) as early as practicable (for example, when the offer for the contract is submitted to the U.S. government). In all cases, however, the Section Certificate must be submitted to the acquiring agency no later than the date of execution of the contract.
(e) Offset for underwithholding or overwithholding
(1) In general If the foreign contracting party discovers that amounts withheld on prior payments either were insufficient or in excess of the amount required to satisfy its tax liability under section , the foreign contracting party may request the acquiring agency to increase or decrease the amount of withholding on future payments for which withholding is required under section . The request must be in writing, signed under penalties of perjury, contain the amount by which the foreign contracting party requests to increase or decrease future amounts withheld under section , and explain the reason for the request. The request may be submitted in conjunction with an original or updated Section Certificate.
(2) Underwithholding Upon receipt of a request described in of this section, acquiring agencies may increase the amount of withholding under this paragraph to correct underwithholding only if the payment for which the increase is applied is otherwise subject to withholding under section and made before the date that Form 1042, “Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons,” is required to be filed (not including extensions) with respect to the payment for which the underwithholding occurred. Amounts withheld under this paragraph must be deposited and reported in the time and manner as prescribed by . See for procedures for a foreign contracting party that must pay tax due when its tax liability under section was not fully satisfied by withholding by an acquiring agency.
(3) Overwithholding Upon receipt of a request described in of this section, acquiring agencies may decrease the amount of withholding on subsequent payments made to the foreign contracting party that are otherwise subject to withholding under section provided that the payment for which the decrease is applied is made on or before the date on which Form 1042, “Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons,” is required to be filed (not including extensions) with respect to the payment for which the overwithholding occurred. See for procedures for foreign contracting parties to file a claim for refund for the overwithheld amount under section .
[T.D. 9782, 81 FR 55138, Aug. 18, 2016]