W-8BEN-E for a French company selling on Amazon.com
This article was created with AI assistance and has not been reviewed by a human editor. It is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice.
A SAS, SASU, SARL or EURL that sells into the United States through Amazon answers the tax interview as a foreign corporation. The French choices are the company form, the SIREN and Article 7.
What changes because the company is French
- Line 4: Corporation for a SAS, SASU, SARL or EURL. An SA is Corporation because it is per se.
- Line 9b: the nine-digit SIREN. The SIRET adds a five-digit establishment and is not the number Amazon should store.
- Line 15: Article 7(1), 0%, business profits, when Amazon asks for the treaty claim.
What Amazon does with the French answers
The Tax Information Interview writes and e-signs the W-8. Upload or mail a signed PDF only if Amazon asks. A valid W-8 keeps the SAS off 1099-K; without it Amazon suspends selling privileges until the interview is done. Product sales carry no US withholding either way. It runs through 31 December of the third year, then Amazon asks again. Status: Provided and Pending Validation. Our PDF lists fields. See the Amazon W-8BEN-E guide.
Lines for a company registered in France
Name and siège social come from the Kbis. The lines below are the ones a US reviewer checks against French records.
| Line | French entry |
|---|---|
| Line 1 | The dénomination sociale from the Kbis, in Latin letters, with SAS, SASU, SARL or EURL. |
| Line 4 | Corporation for a SAS, SASU, SARL or EURL: shareholders are not jointly liable for the debts. An SA is always Corporation — France, Société Anonyme, is per se under Treas. Reg. §301.7701-2(b)(8). |
| Line 5 | Active NFFE when the company sells goods and passive income is under half. A holding that only collects dividends is Passive NFFE. |
| Line 9b | SIREN, nine digits. It is the company’s identity in the registre du commerce, not the VAT number and not the SIRET. |
| Line 14a | France, when the company is resident in France and claims the treaty. |
| Line 14b | Limitation on benefits, Article 30. A company that runs the business itself usually qualifies under the active-trade test. |
| Line 15 | Article 7(1), rate 0%, income type business profits, if Amazon asks. Sales with no US permanent establishment are taxed in France. |
SAS, SARL and the forms that are not W-8BEN-E
French company law and the US checkboxes do not use the same words. Match the liability, not the marketing name.
- SAS, SASU, SARL, EURL. Corporation. Limited liability is the US test, and all four have it. A single shareholder does not turn an EURL or SASU into a disregarded entity for this form.
- SA. Always Corporation. Société Anonyme is on the per se list for France.
- SCI or SNC. Often a partnership or a transparent vehicle. Do not force it onto W-8BEN-E. A foreign partnership uses Form W-8IMY under the IRS instructions.
A micro-entrepreneur is an individual. The form is W-8BEN, with the personal tax number, not a SIREN on a company certificate, unless that person is a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person (including a resident alien). A U.S. citizen or other U.S. person uses Form W-9. Selling as a micro-entrepreneur? Use W-8BEN, unless you are a U.S. person (Form W-9)
SIREN, SIRET and the VAT number
SIRET
Fourteen digits: the SIREN plus five digits for one establishment. Line 9b wants the nine-digit SIREN so every establishment still points at the same company.
Numéro de TVA
FR followed by a key and the SIREN. That is the VAT identifier. It can appear in Amazon’s VAT settings; it is not a substitute for the SIREN on the W-8.
Numéro fiscal personnel
The 13-digit number on a person’s avis d’impôt. It belongs to the president or gérant, not to the company.
Cartons in an Amazon building in the United States
A Lyon textile house that sends duvets to FBA is letting Amazon store and ship them. Article 5(4)(a) and (b) of the US–France treaty exclude, from the idea of a permanent establishment, facilities used only to store or display goods, and a stock of goods kept only for delivery.
The exclusion does not cover a showroom the company leases in its own name, staff who live in the United States and take orders, or an agent who habitually signs contracts for the SAS. Any of those can be a permanent establishment, and the United States may then tax the profits that belong to it.
For ordinary FBA the line 15 note, when Amazon requests it, is business profits, Article 7(1), 0%.
Impôt sur les sociétés still applies
Amazon.com revenue is French profit if the company is resident in France. It is included in the résultat and taxed as impôt sur les sociétés. Nothing on a W-8 cancels that return.
Amazon’s selling fees for the US store are services received from abroad. The company self-assesses French VAT on those fees under autoliquidation, article 283-2 of the CGI, rather than treating the US invoice as a domestic VAT charge. The corporate-tax return goes to the French tax administration on the company’s own timetable, and the W-8 is not a substitute for that computation or for the VAT return that records the autoliquidation.
Atelier Garance SAS, Lyon
Atelier Garance SAS weaves household linen. The first orders were merchant-fulfilled on Amazon.fr. After a year the company enrolled FBA for Amazon.com and booked space for stock in US fulfilment centres. Nobody from Lyon works in the United States, and no agent can bind the SAS there.
Camille Renard, présidente, selected Corporation, typed SIREN 814 372 066, claimed Article 30 on the active-trade test, and where the interview asked for the treaty rate entered Article 7(1), 0%, business profits. Amazon composes the live certificate from that interview. The PDF on this page is the same set of answers, for the day Amazon asks for a signed file.
Article 5(4)(a) and (b) are the reason the US cartons are not a permanent establishment: they exist to be stored and delivered. The profit is declared in France and taxed as impôt sur les sociétés. The company, the address and the SIREN in the sample are made up.
Sample: Atelier Garance SAS
Line 9b is a fictional SIREN. Line 15 shows Article 7(1) at 0% for business profits.
Example only. Atelier Garance SAS, Lyon, is fictional.
Answers you can read back into the interview
Build the French W-8BEN-EFor an organization
For companies, funds, partnerships registered outside the USA.
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French company questions
SASU and EURL — still a corporation?
Yes. A single owner does not change line 4. SASU and EURL limit liability, so the US classification is Corporation. Write the full legal name, including SASU or EURL, on line 1.
We are an SCI. Can we file W-8BEN-E?
Usually no. Many SCIs are transparent or partnership-like. The IRS instructions for Form W-8BEN-E say a foreign partnership uses Form W-8IMY instead. Check how the SCI is taxed in France before picking a US form.
Does FBA force us to get an EIN?
No. Leave line 8 blank when the company has no US office, employees or dependent agent. Line 9b is the SIREN. Inventory in Amazon’s warehouse is Amazon’s building, not a reason to apply for a US employer number.
We already sell on Amazon.fr. Do we still do the US interview?
Yes. The Amazon.fr profile does not replace US income reporting. Selling on Amazon.com triggers Amazon’s Tax Information Interview, which builds and e-signs the W-8. VAT settings in Europe stay a separate questionnaire.
We changed from SARL to SAS. What do we resubmit?
Line 4 remains Corporation, but the legal name and often the statutes change. Run the Tax Information Interview again under the SAS name so Amazon’s file matches the Kbis. The SIREN normally stays with the same company; confirm it on the new Kbis before you type it.
Sources
Last checked: 7 October 2026