W-8BEN-E for a Dutch 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 B.V. that sells on Amazon.com completes the US tax interview as a foreign corporation. The Dutch lines are the entity box, the RSIN and Article 7. A holding B.V. is a different chapter 4 box.
What a Dutch seller fills differently
- Line 4: Corporation for a B.V. An N.V. is Corporation because it is per se.
- Line 9b: the nine-digit RSIN. The KvK number is the trade-register file, not the tax ID.
- Line 15: Article 7(1), 0%, business profits, when Amazon asks for the treaty claim.
Seller Central writes the form
The Tax Information Interview builds and e-signs the B.V. W-8. Upload or mail a signed PDF only if Amazon asks. A valid W-8 keeps the company 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 page.
Lines for a besloten vennootschap
The KvK extract has the statutory name. These rows are the Dutch choices on the US certificate.
| Line | Dutch entry |
|---|---|
| Line 1 | The statutory name, Latin letters, including B.V. or N.V. |
| Line 4 | Corporation for a B.V. Shareholders are not personally liable for the debts. An N.V. is always Corporation: the Netherlands, Naamloze Vennootschap, is per se under Treas. Reg. §301.7701-2(b)(8). |
| Line 5 | Active NFFE when the B.V. sells goods and passive income is under half. A holding B.V. whose income is dividends and interest is Passive NFFE, not Active NFFE. |
| Line 9b | RSIN, nine digits. It is the legal entity’s tax number. The KvK-nummer identifies the registration and is not line 9b. |
| Line 14a | The Netherlands, if the company is resident there and claims the treaty. |
| Line 14b | Limitation on benefits, Article 26. An operating B.V. usually qualifies under the active-trade-or-business test. |
| Line 15 | Article 7(1) at 0% for business profits, if Amazon asks. Goods sold with no US permanent establishment are taxed in the Netherlands. |
B.V., holding B.V. and N.V.
Line 4 can be the same while line 5 changes. A holding that does not trade is not an active NFFE.
- Operating B.V.. Corporation, and usually Active NFFE if it sells goods and passive assets stay under the halfway line.
- Holding B.V.. Still Corporation on line 4. If the income is passive — dividends, interest, royalties from subsidiaries — chapter 4 is Passive NFFE, not Active NFFE.
- N.V.. Always Corporation. Naamloze Vennootschap is on the per se list for the Netherlands.
An eenmanszaak is an individual. Use W-8BEN. Selling as an eenmanszaak? Use W-8BEN
RSIN, KvK and BTW
KvK-nummer
Eight digits at the Kamer van Koophandel. Amazon’s business profile may ask for it. Line 9b of the W-8 is the RSIN.
BTW-nummer
NL plus the RSIN plus B and two digits. That is the VAT number. Do not paste the whole string into the foreign-TIN field if the field wants nine digits.
BSN
The citizen service number of a director. It is personal data and it is not the company’s RSIN.
Bike parts in a US fulfilment centre
Article 5(4)(a) and (b) of the US–Netherlands treaty say that facilities used solely for storage, display or delivery of goods, and a stock of goods maintained solely for storage, display or delivery, do not make a permanent establishment.
A Utrecht B.V. can send accessories to Amazon FBA on that rule. It stops applying when the company opens its own US depot, stations people there, or authorises an agent to conclude contracts in its name. Those are permanent-establishment facts, and Article 7 then lets the United States tax the profits that belong to that place.
Asked for line 15, the operating seller states business profits, Article 7(1), 0%. A passive holding that does not itself sell the goods should not copy that claim.
Vennootschapsbelasting, and VAT on the fees
Profit of a resident B.V. is in the vennootschapsbelasting return, whether the customer paid through Amazon.com or a European store. The W-8 does not switch that off.
Commissions charged by a US Amazon entity are services from abroad. The B.V. applies the verleggingsregeling in article 12(3) of the Wet OB and accounts for Dutch VAT itself. That Dutch return goes to the Belastingdienst and still includes the Amazon.com result.
A holding B.V. that only receives dividends is still in vennootschapsbelasting, but on the W-8 it is a Passive NFFE. Do not tick Active NFFE because a subsidiary somewhere sells on Amazon.
Polderfiets B.V., Utrecht
Polderfiets B.V. sells lights, locks and bags for city bikes. The first shop was Amazon.nl, merchant fulfilled from a Utrecht unit. The company then enrolled FBA for Amazon.com and sent cartons to US fulfilment centres. Directors and staff remain in the Netherlands. Nobody can bind the B.V. in the United States.
Sanne de Wit, bestuurder, answered Corporation, typed RSIN 853142762, claimed Article 26 on the active-trade test, and where Amazon asked for the rate entered Article 7(1), 0%, business profits. The interview is Amazon’s copy. This PDF is the same answers, useful when Amazon asks for a signed file.
Article 5(4)(a) and (b) cover the US cartons: storage and delivery only, so no permanent establishment. Profit goes into the Dutch vennootschapsbelasting return. The company, the street and the RSIN in the sample are fictional. A sister holding that only owns the shares would be Passive NFFE and would not use this goods claim.
Sample: Polderfiets B.V.
Line 9b is a fictional RSIN. Line 15 is Article 7(1) at 0% for business profits of an operating B.V.
Example only. Polderfiets B.V., Utrecht, is fictional.
RSIN on 9b, Article 7 if you sell the goods
Build the Dutch W-8BEN-EFor an organization
For companies, funds, partnerships registered outside the USA.
Free to start. Payment is only required at the final step to download your completed PDF.
Loading...
Dutch company questions
B.V. or N.V. — line 4?
Corporation for a B.V. An N.V. is Corporation as well, and it is per se, so there is no election the other way. Write the statutory name, including the ending, on line 1.
Our seller is a holding B.V. Active or passive?
Passive NFFE when the income and assets are passive: dividends, interest and similar receipts from subsidiaries. Selling goods in an operating B.V. can be Active NFFE. Owning an operating company does not make the holding itself active.
FBA stock — do we need an EIN?
No. Line 8 stays empty if the B.V. has no US office, no employees and no dependent agent. Line 9b is the RSIN. Amazon’s warehouse is not your US establishment under Article 5(4).
We already sell on Amazon.nl. Is the US interview extra?
Yes. Amazon.nl does not complete US income reporting. Amazon.com still requires the Tax Information Interview, which builds the W-8 and signs it electronically.
We converted a VOF into a B.V. Which form now?
The VOF was a partnership and would have used Form W-8IMY under the IRS instructions. The B.V. uses W-8BEN-E, line 4 Corporation, with the B.V.’s own RSIN. Complete the Tax Information Interview again in the company’s name.
Sources
Last checked: 7 October 2026