Form 8233 is the form a nonresident alien gives to the person paying them, the withholding agent, to claim that some or all of their pay for services in the United States is exempt from withholding because of a tax treaty. Without it, pay to an independent contractor generally has 30% withheld. You file a separate Form 8233 for each tax year, each withholding agent and each type of income.
It's most common for visiting professors, researchers, students with campus jobs and foreign consultants. Everything below comes from the IRS Instructions for Form 8233 (Rev. December 2025, used with the September 2018 form), checked in October 2026.
Independent vs dependent personal services
| Independent personal services | Dependent personal services | |
|---|---|---|
| What it means | Services as a self-employed independent contractor | Services as an employee |
| Examples | Contract labor, consulting fees, professional fees paid directly to the person, honoraria to visiting professors, researchers and speakers | Wages, salaries, fees, bonuses, commissions, and compensatory scholarship or fellowship income |
| Default withholding | Generally 30% | Sometimes 30%, sometimes graduated rates |
| Use Form 8233 when | You're claiming a treaty exemption for some or all of it | Only if you're claiming a treaty exemption; otherwise use Form W-4 |
The catch for contractors: if you have an office or fixed base in the United States available to you, you generally can't claim a treaty exemption for independent personal services, even as a partner in a partnership that has one. A few treaties have limited exceptions.
One form per year, per payer, per type of income
The instructions give an example worth copying. A nonresident professor teaches at one university and is also invited to lecture at other institutions on a self-employed basis. For each tax year, they must give a separate Form 8233 to the withholding agent at each institution to claim treaty benefits on each item of income, if the treaty allows.
Scholarship income has its own rule. You can use Form 8233 for noncompensatory scholarship or fellowship income only if you're also claiming a treaty exemption for pay for services from the same withholding agent. Otherwise that scholarship claim goes on Form W-8BEN.
The taxpayer identification number rule
You need a U.S. taxpayer identification number on the form: a Social Security number or an ITIN. Normally you apply for an ITIN when you file a tax return. But if the reason you need one is to give Form 8233 to a withholding agent, you file Form W-7 with the required documents for that purpose. If you've applied for an SSN or ITIN and haven't received it yet, the instructions allow you to attach a copy of the completed W-7 or SS-5 showing it was submitted.
What the line 11a description should say
Line 11a asks you to describe the services. The IRS gives plain examples of descriptions it accepts:
- Independent services: consulting contract to design software, or give three lectures at a named university.
- A student: part-time library assistant, part-time on-campus restaurant worker, or teaching one chemistry course per semester to undergraduates.
- A professor or teacher: teaching at a named university.
- A researcher: research at a named university's department.
Lines 13b and 13c then name the treaty and the article you're relying on. The IRS examples are the U.S.-Germany tax treaty and Article 20, paragraph 3, and line 14 is where you give enough facts for the IRS to see why the exemption applies.
What happens after you hand it in
- You complete Form 8233 and give it to the withholding agent, not the IRS.
- The withholding agent reviews it and, if they accept it, certifies it and forwards a copy to the IRS within 5 days of accepting it, by mail to Philadelphia or by fax.
- The agent waits at least 10 days after mailing it to see whether the IRS objects.
- If there's no objection, the exemption applies, and it's effective back to the date of the first payment the form covers.
- The agent must refuse the form, and withhold, if they know or have reason to know a statement on it may be false or your eligibility can't be readily determined, for example because you have a fixed base in the United States.
If you're also claiming treaty benefits on other income, such as investment income, that's usually done with Form W-8BEN. If you still need a number to put on the form, our guide to getting an ITIN covers the W-7 process.
Common Form 8233 mistakes
- Using one form for two payers. Each withholding agent needs its own.
- Assuming last year's form still works. It's one form per tax year, and the year goes in the space above Part I.
- Claiming an exemption for contract work while you have an office in the United States.
- Writing a vague description of the services instead of the kind the IRS examples use.
- Submitting it to the IRS yourself instead of to the payer.
If you're a nonresident with income for which you're not claiming a treaty exemption, such as wages beyond what the treaty covers, the instructions point you to Form W-4 for that part instead.
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The verdict
If you're a nonresident being paid for work in the U.S. and your country's treaty covers it, Form 8233 is how you stop tax being taken at source. Get your SSN or ITIN sorted first, give a fresh form to every payer every year, and describe the work in the plain words the IRS examples use. Then expect a short wait while the payer sends it to the IRS.
Frequently asked questions
Who files Form 8233?
A nonresident alien who wants to claim a tax treaty exemption from withholding on pay for independent or dependent personal services in the United States.
Where do I send Form 8233?
To the withholding agent who pays you, not to the IRS. The agent forwards a copy to the IRS if they accept it.
How often do I need to submit Form 8233?
For each tax year, for each withholding agent and for each type of income.
Do I need an ITIN for Form 8233?
You need an SSN or ITIN. If you need the ITIN to give Form 8233 to a withholding agent, you file Form W-7 with the required documents for that reason.
How long before the Form 8233 exemption applies?
The withholding agent must wait at least 10 days after mailing it to the IRS to see whether the IRS objects, but the exemption is effective back to the first payment it covers.
Can a contractor with a U.S. office use Form 8233?
Generally no. With an office or fixed base in the United States available to you, you usually can't claim a treaty exemption for independent personal services.
