My wife worked in the US in 2022 as an independent contractor on F1-OPT status. She was recently asked by her client to fill in a W9 form.
The W9 form specifies that it is for US citizens, or US residents for tax purposes.
We have the following scenario:
- My wife was a non-resident for tax purposes in 2022, by the substantial presence test.
- I was a resident for tax purposes in 2022. We are electing to file jointly for 2022, and treat my wife as a resident.
Because of this election to treat my wife as a resident for tax purposes, should we fill in her W9 form as requested?
Edit: While this seems obvious, it is unclear. The instructions of form W9 state 'If you are a foreign person that has elected to be treated as a US person, do not use form W9. Instead use form W8 or form 8233'.
When examining form W8-BEN it says 'Do not use this form if you are a beneficial owner receiving compensation for personal services performed in the US - instead use form 8233'
Form 8233 is only used for requesting tax treaty benefits, which we are not eligible for. Hence, there is no form that seems to fit our situation.
Thanks in advance for your help!