Contact us
New to IG: +35 318 009 95362
Existing clients: +35 318 009 95364
Email: newaccounts.uk@ig.com
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Options and turbo warrants are complex financial instruments and your capital is at risk. Losses may be extremely rapid.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Options and turbo warrants are complex financial instruments and your capital is at risk. Losses may be extremely rapid.
New to IG: +35 318 009 95362
Existing clients: +35 318 009 95364
Email: newaccounts.uk@ig.com
It’s free to open an account and no downloads are required to use our web-based platform.
The US Internal Revenue Service ('IRS') has issued regulations under Section 871(m) of the US tax code to ensure that non-US holders of US equity derivatives - including spread betting and CFDs - are taxed on dividend adjustments in the same way as non-US holders of the real US dividends.
IG has an obligation under this US tax regulation to obtain documentation from our clients that hold CFDs and spread betting instruments that reference US equities. Please provide us with either one of the W-8 forms listed below or a Form W-9, depending on your circumstances.
Online form
Our electronic W-8BEN enables most clients to apply online via a pre-populated form, in as little as two minutes
We’re a qualified derivatives dealer (QDD)*
We can pay dividend-equivalent payments with the relevant amount of withholding tax deducted
If you want to deal on US equities from any of your IG accounts, please complete one of the forms detailed below and return it to us as soon as possible.
If you’re not a corporate client, joint account holder, a US citizen or resident of the US, you need to complete our quick and easy electronic Form W-8BEN as soon as possible:
The whole process should only take a minute or two. Your information will be stored at IG and only be shared with the IRS on audit.
Please complete the relevant form from our US stocks page and return it to newaccounts.uk@ig.com, or to our postal address: IG, Cannon Bridge House, 25 Dowgate Hill, London EC4R 2YA.
Joint account holders that are not US citizens or residents of the US should each complete a Form W-8BEN, and return both to us together.
Individual US citizens or residents of the US should complete and return a Form W-9.
Corporate clients should complete and return ONE of the following forms:
Form W-8BEN-E: Those corporate clients that are (i) resident in a country with which the US has a double taxation treaty and (ii) are making a claim under that treaty should be aware of the treaty’s Limitation on Benefits provisions and the terms within those provisions. For more information, please visit the IRS website.
This withholding applies to spread bets and CFDs on shares in US incorporated companies, ETFs and non-qualified indices which contain US equities.
There will, however, be an exemption for spread bets and CFDs on qualified indices, such as:
The rules apply to contracts with a delta of 0.8 or greater, relative to a US underlying. However, guidance from the IRS allows a phased-in approach such that only 'delta one' products will be in scope for 2017. This includes both spread betting and CFD contracts.
The rules apply to any in-scope positions opened on or after 1 January 2017. From 1 January 2018, they will apply to any in-scope positions that remain open from 2016.
The IRS issued regulations under Section 871(m) to ensure that non-US holders of US equity derivatives – including spread betting and CFDs – are taxed on dividend income in the same way as non-US holders of the underlying equities. The new regulations achieve that by deeming 'dividend-equivalent payments' arising on derivatives over US equities to be US-source dividend income.
Generally, an individual is subject to 30% withholding tax under US rules. However, certain tax treaties that exist between the US and other countries may entitle you, where eligible, to a reduced rate of withholding tax. For example, an eligible resident of the UK is subject to 15% rather than 30% withholding. This means a UK tax resident can receive a net payment equal to 85% of the dividend-equivalent payment, as opposed to 70%.
We will hold these forms on file and will not provide them to the IRS unless they are required as part of an IRS audit.
* IG has extended its current Qualified Intermediary (QI) status to include a Qualified Derivatives Dealer (QDD) status. This means that for in-scope contracts, we can receive dividend-equivalent payments without the deduction of tax and ensure the correct amount of withholding tax is deducted from dividend equivalent payments made to clients.