Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the Portfolio Interest Exemption?
Nonresident aliens holding U.S. debt in registered form, provided they own less than 10% of the debtor entity.
How does the Portfolio Interest Exemption work?
Eliminates the 30% withholding tax on U.S. source interest income received by nonresident aliens from certain debt obligations.
What law authorizes the Portfolio Interest Exemption?
The Portfolio Interest Exemption is authorized under IRC §871(h) of the Internal Revenue Code (Title 26, United States Code).
Statutory Text — IRC §871
Source: Internal Revenue Code, Title 26, United States Code
§ 871. Tax on nonresident alien individuals(a) Income not connected with United States business—30 percent tax(1) Income other than capital gainsExcept as provided in subsection (h), there is hereby imposed for each taxable year a tax of 30 percent of the amount received from sources within the United States by a nonresident alien individual as—(A) interest (other than original issue discount as defined in section 1273), dividends, rents, salaries, wages, premiums, annuities, compensations, remunerations, emoluments, and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical gains, profits, and income,
(B) gains described in subsection (b) or (c) of section 631,
(C) in the case of—(i) a sale or exchange of an original issue discount obligation, the amount of the original issue discount accruing while such obligation was held by the nonresident alien individual (to the extent such discount was not theretofore taken into account under clause (ii)), and
(ii) a payment on an original issue discount obligation, an amount equal to the original issue discount accruing while such obligation was held by the nonresident alien individual (except that such original issue discount shall be taken into account under this clause only to the extent such discount was not theretofore taken into account under this clause and only to the extent that the tax thereon does not exceed the payment less the tax imposed by subparagraph (A) thereon), and
(D) gains from the sale or exchange after October 4, 1966, of patents, copyrights, secret processes and formulas, good will, trademarks, trade brands, franchises, and other like property, or of any interest in any such property, to the extent such gains are from payments which are contingent on the productivity, use, or disposition of the property or interest sold or exchanged,
but only to the extent the amount so received is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States.
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