The W-8 hasn't arrived yet but I need to pay my foreign payee now — should I just over-withhold at 30%?
I have a US-source payment due to a foreign payee, but the valid W-8 still hasn't come back. I don't want to hold up the payment, and I'm tempted to just withhold the full 30% now and let them sort out a refund later. Is over-withholding the safe default when documentation is missing, or am I creating a different problem by paying without the paperwork?
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