# 2026-16405: IRS seeks comments on foreign withholding paperwork burden

2026-16405, Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request on the Burden Related to Foreign Status and U.S. Withholding Certifications, is a Federal Register notice from Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service published 2026-08-12, effective Written comments should be received on or before October 13, 2026 to be assured of consideration.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16405
- As of: 2026-08-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-16405
- Title: Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request on the Burden Related to Foreign Status and U.S. Withholding Certifications
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Treasury Department; Internal Revenue Service
- Citation: 91 FR 52110
- Published: 2026-08-12
- Effective: Written comments should be received on or before October 13, 2026 to be assured of consideration.
- Comments close: 2026-10-13
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-08-19

## In one line

IRS seeks comments on foreign withholding paperwork burden

## Summary

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the IRS is inviting comments on the information collection request outlined in this notice.

## Effects PRIA read

- Foreign payees must use W-8 forms: mixed, medium. Foreign individuals, entities, intermediaries, governments, and certain tax‑exempt organizations must use the Forms W-8 series (W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP, W-8IMY) to certify foreign status for U.S. withholding and reporting. Withholding agents use these certifications to determine correct wi…
- Large paperwork burden for W-8 certifications: cost, high. The IRS estimates this collection affects 3,390,700 respondents, with an average time of 9 hours and 1 minute per respondent, for a total estimated annual burden of 30,562,942 hours. The notice requests public comments by October 13, 2026.

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## Sources
- [2026-16405 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/12/2026-16405/agency-information-collection-activities-comment-request-on-the-burden-related-to-foreign-status-and)
- [2026-16405 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-12/pdf/2026-16405.pdf)

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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16405 (as of 2026-08-19).