Line 4: chapter 3 status and its 1042-S code
Line 4 is the entity's classification under U.S. tax rules, which is not always what its home country calls it. A foreign company that elected on Form 8832 to be disregarded checks "Disregarded entity" even if it is a limited company at home. The code goes in box 13j of the 2026 Form 1042-S.
| Line 4 box | Box 13j code |
|---|---|
| Corporation | 15 |
| Partnership | 08 (38 if publicly traded) |
| Simple trust | 10 |
| Complex trust | 10 |
| Grantor trust | 10 |
| Estate | 17 |
| Tax-exempt organization | 20 |
| Private foundation | 18 |
| Foreign Government - Integral Part | 36 |
| Foreign Government - Controlled Entity | 37 |
| Central Bank of Issue | 24 |
| International organization | 19 |
| Disregarded entity | the owner's code (26 if a hybrid entity making a treaty claim) |
A partnership, simple trust, grantor trust or disregarded entity also answers the line 4 hybrid question: "Yes" only if it is claiming treaty benefits in its own right as a hybrid entity, which then requires Part III.
Line 5: chapter 4 status, the Part it requires, and its 1042-S code
Line 5 decides whether 30% FATCA withholding applies to a withholdable payment. Each status sends the entity to one Part of the form. The code goes in box 13k.
| Line 5 box | Part to complete | Box 13k code |
|---|---|---|
| Active NFFE | XXV | 22 |
| Passive NFFE, no substantial U.S. owners | XXVI | 20 |
| Passive NFFE, substantial U.S. owners listed | XXVI and XXIX | 19 |
| Publicly traded NFFE or NFFE affiliate of a publicly traded corporation | XXIII | 21 |
| Excepted nonfinancial group entity | XVIII | 26 |
| Excepted nonfinancial start-up company | XIX | 26 |
| Excepted nonfinancial entity in liquidation or bankruptcy | XX | 26 |
| 501(c) organization | XXI | 24 |
| Nonprofit organization | XXII | 26 |
| Excepted territory NFFE | XXIV | 25 |
| Direct reporting NFFE | none (GIIN on line 9a) | 32 |
| Sponsored direct reporting NFFE | XXVIII | 35 |
| Participating FFI | none (GIIN on line 9a) | 05 |
| Reporting Model 1 FFI | none (GIIN on line 9a) | 07 |
| Reporting Model 2 FFI | none (GIIN on line 9a) | 06 |
| Registered deemed-compliant FFI | none (GIIN on line 9a) | 09 |
| Sponsored FFI | IV | 08 |
| Nonreporting IGA FFI | XII | 31 |
| Owner-documented FFI | X | 16 |
| Foreign government, government of a U.S. possession, or foreign central bank of issue | XIII | 27 |
| International organization | XIV | 27 |
| Exempt retirement plans | XV | 27 |
| Entity wholly owned by exempt beneficial owners | XVI | 28 |
| Nonparticipating FFI | none | 15 |
The certified deemed-compliant categories (Parts V to IX), restricted distributors (Part XI), territory financial institutions (Part XVII) and excepted inter-affiliate FFIs (Part XXVII) have their own codes in the 1042-S code finder.
On Form W-8EXP instead: lines 3 and 4
A foreign government, international organization, central bank, foreign tax-exempt organization or private foundation claiming its own exemption certifies on Form W-8EXP, not the W-8BEN-E. The statuses are the same idea with a shorter list: line 3 for chapter 3, line 4 for chapter 4, Part II for the chapter 3 qualification and Part III for the chapter 4 one. A foreign charity with no U.S. 501(c) determination is not on this list; it signs a W-8BEN-E as a nonprofit organization (Part XXII).
| Payee | Line 3 box (Part II line) | Box 13j | Line 4 box | Box 13k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry, department or agency of a foreign government | Foreign government (line 10, integral part) | 36 | Foreign government, government of a U.S. territory, or foreign central bank of issue (Part III) | 27 |
| Entity controlled by a foreign government | Foreign government (line 10, controlled entity) | 37 | Foreign government, government of a U.S. territory, or foreign central bank of issue (Part III) | 27 |
| International organization | International organization (line 11) | 19 | International organization | 27 |
| Foreign central bank of issue | Foreign central bank of issue (line 12) | 24 | Foreign government, government of a U.S. territory, or foreign central bank of issue (Part III) | 27 |
| Foreign charity with a U.S. 501(c) determination or counsel opinion | Foreign tax-exempt organization (line 13) | 20 | 501(c) organization (Part III) | 24 |
| Foreign private foundation | Foreign private foundation (line 13) | 18 | 501(c) organization (Part III) | 24 |
| Pension plan of a foreign government | Foreign government (line 10) | 36 or 37 | Exempt retirement plan of foreign government (Part III) | 27 |
Line 4 also lists financial institution and NFFE statuses (participating, reporting Model 1 and Model 2, registered deemed-compliant, nonreporting IGA and territory FFIs; passive, direct reporting and sponsored direct reporting NFFEs) for a government or exempt body that is also one of those; their codes are the same as on the W-8BEN-E table above. Line 3 also has a box for a withholding qualified holder under section 1445, which matters only for U.S. real property interests.
What payers get wrong
- An investment holding company checking Active NFFE. A company whose income is mostly dividends, interest and gains is passive, or a financial institution if it is managed by one. The test is in Part XXV: less than 50% of last year's gross income passive, and less than 50% of its assets producing passive income.
- Line 5 left blank and the form rejected. A chapter 4 status is only required when the payee receives a withholdable payment (U.S.-source interest, dividends and other investment-type income). Most service fees, rents and software licenses an operating business pays are excluded nonfinancial payments. Still, a complete line 5 avoids the argument.
- A GIIN nobody checked. A GIIN on line 9a has to be matched against the IRS FFI list within 90 days of receiving the form.
- The wrong Part completed. The Part must match the line 5 box, and Part XXX must be signed. An active NFFE completes Part XXV, not Part XXVI.
- An LLC that is a partnership at home and a corporation here. Line 4 follows U.S. classification. A foreign entity whose members all have limited liability is a corporation by default, unless it elected otherwise on Form 8832.
Questions this tool gets asked
What chapter 4 status does a normal foreign supplier have?
Almost always Active NFFE (line 5, Part XXV, 1042-S code 22): a foreign company that is not a bank, fund, custodian or insurer, with less than half its income and assets passive. A listed company or a member of a listed group can use Publicly traded NFFE (Part XXIII, code 21) instead.
Our payee is a foreign individual. Does any of this apply?
No. An individual signs a W-8BEN, which has no chapter 3 or chapter 4 status lines. On Form 1042-S the codes are 16 (individual) in box 13j and 23 (individual) in box 13k.
What happens if the entity sends no W-8BEN-E at all?
The presumption rules apply. An undocumented entity receiving a withholdable payment is presumed to be a nonparticipating FFI, so 30% chapter 4 withholding applies and no treaty rate is available. For a payment that is not withholdable, chapter 3 presumptions decide.
Where were the status codes on older 1042-S forms?
Up to the 2025 form the recipient's chapter 3 and chapter 4 status codes were boxes 13f and 13g. The 2026 form splits the recipient's address into separate boxes, which moves the status codes to boxes 13j and 13k, the U.S. TIN to 13i and the GIIN to 13l.