A payer wants my W-8ECI for workshop fees in the U.S. How certain do I need to be that I had a U.S. trade or business?
I ran a paid in-person workshop in Chicago and the payer is now asking for Form W-8ECI. I understand why they are thinking about effectively connected income, but I do not want to sign the form casually if it represents a stronger U.S. trade-or-business position than my facts really support.
I need a practical way to judge how seriously to treat that request. If W-8ECI belongs only in a file that is already comfortable with a U.S. trade or business analysis, I would rather know that now and build the facts first instead of treating the form like a paperwork shortcut.
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