Description
A guide for the non-U.S. investor on the three regimes that govern a U.S. brokerage account: the 30 percent withholding on dividends and the treaty rates claimed on Form W-8BEN, the general exemption of capital gains and portfolio interest from U.S. income tax, and the U.S. estate tax of up to 40 percent on U.S. securities above an exemption of about $60,000, the account remaining frozen at death until the custodian receives a transfer certificate from the Internal Revenue Service; together with the holding structures and treaties that reduce the exposure.
10 pages. Updated in August 2026.