Harvard is in the final stages of a multi-year foreign individual and foreign entity supplier data clean-up effort to support IRS compliance. Immediate next steps and timelines are outlined below:
Late October 2020
- Harvard will send an email and B2P supplier invitations to all “active” foreign entities imported into B2P that do not have a valid W-8 on file but who have invoiced Harvard as of June 1, 2019 or later.
- Harvard Finance Offices will receive a list of the active foreign suppliers that do not have a valid W-8 on record. If a school would like to ensure that a particular supplier is updated timely, they are welcome to reach out to any contacts they may have with the supplier.
November 30, 2020
- In order to remain an active supplier, these foreign entities must complete the supplier onboarding process and upload a valid W-8 form into the B2P Supplier Portal by the end of November.
December 2020
- Foreign entities that did not register in the B2P Supplier Portal and provide a valid W-8 form will be inactivated until they submit the required information.
- Schools can send suppliers invitations at any time to kick off the reactivation process for any supplier.
Important to note: Income paid to foreign entities, such as royalties, patents, copyrights, rents, and personal services, generally can trigger a statutory tax withholding of 30% when the income is considered U.S. sourced. Certain foreign entities may begin to incur tax withholding on payments that historically did not trigger taxes. A valid W-8 can possibly reduce or exempt tax withholdings, if eligible, and the valid claim has been made with Harvard before payment has been processed.
Please visit the Nonresident Alien Tax Compliance website for more information about general W-8 Forms details.