Form Inspector

Payees line up at your window and you hand each one its certificate, from W-8BEN to W-8IMY to a plain W-9. Then filled forms slide into your tray and you stamp them approved or rejected for the exact defect, while the line keeps growing.

You will learn which W-8 each payee signs, the 3-year rule, U.S. indicia, the TIN rules and what a treaty claim needsPrivacy runs in your browser; scores stay on your device

How to play

Press Open the desk. A shift has three rounds and 17 cases. The patience bar empties while you think; faster right answers score more, and every 3 right in a row raise your combo, up to x4.
Round 1, the counter: a payee walks up and says who it is. Hand over the certificate it owes you: W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8IMY, W-8EXP, W-8ECI or W-9. Click or tap a form, or press 1 to 6.
Round 2, the tray: filled forms slide in. Today in the game is November 8, 2026. Approve a good form, or stamp it Expired, Unsigned or Wrong form.
Round 3, rush hour: three more stamps arrive (U.S. indicia, TIN missing, Treaty flaw), the yellow vendor file note matters, and two extra forms join the line halfway through.
Each form has at most one defect. A wrong answer or a timeout shows the rule; press Next or Enter to go on.

The real rules behind the game

Form Inspector drills the two questions a payer answers before paying anyone outside the United States: which certificate does this payee owe, and can I rely on the one I got? The answers follow the W-8 form selector, the W-8 validity calculator and the form pages on this site, which follow the IRS instructions for the W-8 series, Publication 515, Treas. Reg. 1.1441-1 and the examiner's manual, IRM 4.10.21.

Which form

Any U.S. person signs a Form W-9, including a U.S. citizen living abroad and a U.S. corporation with a foreign parent. A foreign individual who is the beneficial owner signs the W-8BEN; a foreign entity signs the W-8BEN-E. Intermediaries and flow-through partnerships give the W-8IMY, and the owners behind them document themselves. Foreign governments, international organizations, central banks of issue, tax-exempt organizations claiming section 501(c) status and private foundations claiming the 4% rate use the W-8EXP; most foreign charities without a 501(c) determination sign a W-8BEN-E. Income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business goes on the W-8ECI, but never an individual's pay for personal services, which takes Form 8233 for a treaty exemption. A disregarded entity does not sign its own W-8; its owner does.

How long a form lasts

A W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-8ECI is valid from the date signed through December 31 of the third year after, unless circumstances change: a form signed in 2023 is good through December 31, 2026, and one signed in 2022 expired on December 31, 2025. A W-8IMY is valid indefinitely, although the certificates under it are not. A W-8EXP from a government, international organization or central bank is valid indefinitely; for a tax-exempt organization that depends on annual 1042-S reporting.

What makes a form unreliable

The form must be signed and dated by the payee or an authorized agent; a payer cannot sign for its payee. U.S. indicia in the form or in your own records, such as a U.S. mailing address, phone number, birthplace or driver's license, or a hold mail instruction, mean you cannot rely on it until documentary evidence and a reasonable written explanation cure it. A W-8ECI always needs a U.S. TIN, and "applied for" is not one. A treaty claim generally needs a U.S. TIN or a foreign TIN, and an account at a U.S. office of a financial institution needs a foreign TIN or a reasonable explanation for its absence, such as a statement that the payee is not legally required to have one.

Treaty claims

A claim fails on its face when there is no income tax treaty in force with the country (Singapore and Hong Kong have none; Croatia's is not in force; Hungary's was terminated), when the treaty country does not match the permanent residence address, when an entity leaves the limitation on benefits box blank under a treaty that has one (older treaties such as Poland's have none), or when a special rate is claimed without the article and paragraph. The treaty rates in the game come from this site's treaty rate tables; the checks are in accepting a treaty claim.

What the game simplifies

Each form has at most one defect, and no form comes with documentary evidence unless the vendor file says so (with documentary evidence, foreign status on a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E can stay valid indefinitely while the treaty claim still expires). The game does not cover chapter 4 statuses, GIIN checks, withholding statements in detail, Form 8233 as an answer, or late W-8 cures. The foreign vendor exam guide walks through the full checklist examiners use.

Sources

More knowledge games

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