Treas. Reg. 1.1441-7(a)-(b): who is the withholding agent, and when it must ignore a treaty claim (26 CFR 1.1441-7(a)(1), (b)(1))
The US buyer is the withholding agent. If it has reason to doubt a holder's treaty claim, for example a holder whose address is in a no-treaty country, it must withhold the full 30 percent.
Dated 18 Oct 2026Source checked 18 Oct 2026Basis: primary text
In the source's own words
“the term withholding agent means any person, U.S. or foreign, that has the control, receipt, custody, disposal, or payment of an item of income of a foreign person subject to withholding ... A withholding agent must withhold at the full 30-percent rate under section 1441, 1442, or 1443(a) or at the full 4-percent rate under section 1443(b) if it has actual knowledge or reason to know that a claim of U.S. status or of a reduced rate of withholding under section 1441, 1442, or 1443 is unreliable or incorrect.”
Figures it counts in
It is shown on its own, not counted into a figure.
Cited in this guide