兆龍移民律師解答｜美國稅務之EB-5利息篇

近期一些EB-5投資人遇到涉及EB-5利息報稅的問題，劉宇和貝特曼律師事務所Yevgeny律師撰寫下文為大家進行解答。由下文可知，

• 除非在此前三年中在美國居留達到183天，EB-5投資人在美國稅法上屬於非居民外籍人士，只對產生於美國的收入繳稅；

• EB-5利息應當是屬於FDAP類別並按30%預扣稅款（根據中美稅務條約，該30%又進一步降到了10%）還是按ECI常規收入進行37%的預扣，目前沒有定論，也沒有官方指導意見；

• 即使項目方已經按ECI常規收入進行了37%的預扣，EB-5投資人也可以在年度提交稅表時（每年的4月15日），申請將該收入重新分類為FDAP，並要求IRS退還多扣的27%稅款。

希望這篇文章能夠幫助大家，有不清楚的地方，歡迎聯繫我們客服人員進一步諮詢。大家也應諮詢自己的會計師，按會計師的專業意見進行稅務申報或申請退稅。

——美國劉宇和貝特曼律師事務所

Understanding Taxation of EB-5 Interest Income

瞭解對EB-5利息收入的稅收政策

By 作者: Yevgeny Samokhleb律師

The EB-5 Program includes several areas of law – including immigration, securities, and taxation. It is important for investors to understand that their investment and the generated interest are subject to tax regulations that may greatly vary depending on the nature of the project and immigration status of the investor during each phase of the investment process.

EB-5項目涉及多個法律領域，包括移民、證券、稅收等。對於投資者而言，重要的是要了解自己的投資及其產生的收益都必須遵守稅法規定，而且因項目性質以及投資者不同投資階段移民身份的不同，適用的稅法規定也不同。

U.S. tax law classifies individuals differently than immigration law. For income tax purposes, foreigners are considered either resident or non-resident aliens. A resident alien is someone who either holds a U.S. Green Card or has “substantial presence” in the United States regardless of their nonimmigrant visa status. Generally, any non-immigrant who is physically present in the U.S. for more than 183 days during the immediately preceding 3-year period (which includes the current year) is considered a resident alien for tax purposes. Thus, even nonimmigrants may be subject to the same tax provisions as a permanent resident if they spend considerable time in the United States (F-1 students and some other categories are exempt but must file certain forms to claim the exemption). Everybody else who derives income from the United States but is not a resident alien is taxed as a non-resident alien.

美國稅法對個人的分類與移民法不同。就所得稅而言，外國人身份分為外籍居民或非居民外籍人士。外籍居民

指持有美國綠卡的人，以及無論持有何種非移民簽證但在美國有一定時間居留的人士。通常來講，任何一個在美國3年內（包括本年度及本年之前的兩年）停留時間超過183天的非移民人士，都被視為外籍居民，需按美國規定納稅。因此即使是非移民簽證人員，如果在美國停留足夠時間（持F-1簽證的學生和其他符合豁免規定需提交相關豁免申請），仍需象永久居民一樣按美國稅法報稅。其他從美國獲得收入但不是外籍居民的個人則按非居民外籍人士徵稅。

U.S. citizens and resident aliens are taxed on their worldwide income based on progressive-rate brackets. Non-resident aliens, however, are taxed only on income they derive from the United States and a rate that depends on how the income is classified. There are generally two categories of income for non-resident aliens: (1) Fixed, Determinable, Annual, or Periodical (FDAP) income and (2) Effectively Connected Income (ECI).

對於美國公民和外籍居民，美國按累進利率對其全球收入進行徵稅。但是對於非居民外籍人士，則只對其在美國所得收入徵稅，稅率按收入劃分類別確定，非居民外籍人士收入通常包括兩類：（1）固定的、可確定的、按年度的或其他固定時間間隔支付的收入（FDAP）；（2）實際關聯收入（ECI）。

Generally, FDAP income is income from interest, dividends, royalties, rents, insurance, annuities, lottery winnings, and other payments that are fixed or otherwise determinable and are paid annually or in periodic intervals. FDAP income is taxed at a flat rate which is either 30% by default, or a lower rate based on specific international treaties. For example, based on a tax treaty between the U.S. and China, the FDAP income tax rate for Chinese non-resident aliens is only 10%. ECI is income that is connected to a person or entity that is engaged in business or trade within the United States, it is taxed at the regular progressive bracket rates from 10% to 37%, and it is not subject to international treaty tax rates.

通常，FDAP收入包括利息、分紅、版稅、租金、保險、年金、彩票中獎，以及其他固定的、可確定的，並且按年度或其他固定時間間隔支付的款項。該收入按統一稅率徵稅，稅率默認為30%，或基於特定國際協定低於30%。比如，基於美中稅收條約，非居民中國人的FDAP所得稅率僅為10%。ECI收入指個人或實體在美國從事貿易或經營活動所得的收入，該部分收入按累進稅率徵稅，稅率為10%至37%，不受國際稅收條約管轄。

Resident and non-resident aliens are also subject to different procedures with respect to tax withholding from interest and other non-employment income. The payer must withhold applicable tax from the non-resident alien payees and remit to the IRS. For payments that the payer considers FDAP, the withholding rate is 30% unless the payee certifies that he or she is subject to a lower treaty-based rate. For payments that the payer considers to be ECI, the withholding rate is 37% - the highest available tax bracket. If the non-resident alien falls into a lower tax bracket, he or she may file a tax return to request a refund of the income withheld in excess of his or her actual tax rate. Resident aliens are not subject to such withholding. They have the legal responsibility to file a tax return, report their income, and pay their tax burden at the end of the year.

外籍居民和非居民外籍人士的利息所得及其他非就業所得也要遵守不同的稅款預扣程序。付款人必須預扣非居民外籍收款人應付的稅款，並匯給美國國家稅務局（IRS）。對於付款人認定為FDAP收入的款項，預扣稅率為30%，收款人確定符合稅收優惠條約的除外。對於付款人認定為ECI的款項，預扣稅率為最高稅率37%。符合稅收優惠的非居民外籍人士可提交納稅申報表，要求退回預扣稅額中超出實際繳納的部分。外籍居民則無需預扣，他們必須於年底提交納稅申報表，彙報收入，並支付稅款。

In the EB-5 context, the classification of income as FDAP or ECI will depend on the corporate structure of the project. In a typical loan-model project, interest paid to the lender company and distributed to the investors can usually be classified as FDAP income, but can sometimes be considered ECI as well. Moreover, in certain circumstances, taxpayers can often choosewhether to have their income classified as FDAP or ECI. Even though the income and the taxation burden belongs to the investor, the withholding responsibility falls on the project. For administrative efficiency and for risk-reduction purposes, projects will often make their own decision as to when to pay out the interest, how to classify it, and which type of withholding to apply. In many cases, an investor’s actual tax burden may differ from that determined by the project, and they may reconcile the difference by filing a tax return.

EB-5項目中，FDAP收入和ECI收入的劃分取決於項目的企業結構。對於典型的貸款型項目，支付給貸方公司及分配給投資者的利息通常歸類為FDAP收入，但有時也可以歸為ECI收入。另外，在某些情況下，收入歸為FDAP收入還是ECI收入，納稅人也可以自行選擇。即使收入和納稅責任屬於投資者，稅款預扣仍然由項目方負責。為了提高管理效率，降低風險，項目方通常會自行決定利息的支付時間、歸屬類別以及採用的預扣稅種類。大部分情況下，投資者實際應繳稅額和項目方確定的稅額存在出入，投資者可提交納稅申報表，多退少補調和差額。

We hope that this article makes EB-5 investors aware that U.S. tax law is complex and that the same income may be taxed in very different ways based on a variety of factors pertaining to both the payer and the payee. We therefore strongly encourage our EB-5 clients to establish a relationship with a professional U.S. investment accountant or tax attorney to discuss all the tax implications of the EB-5 investment. Just as your immigration future depends on our experienced immigration legal team, your financial future depends on planning with an experienced tax specialist.

我們希望本文可以讓EB-5投資者認識到美國稅法的複雜性，即使是同樣的收入，徵稅方式也會因稅收徵納雙方的種種因素而存在巨大差異。因此，我們強烈鼓勵我們的EB-5客戶和美國專業投資顧問或稅務律師建立聯繫，共同探討EB-5投資的各種稅收情況。正如您的移民需要我們經驗豐富的移民律師團隊一樣，您的投資也需要有經驗的稅務專家為您保駕護航。

感謝大家閱讀此文！

Yevgeny Samokhleb律師

劉宇和貝特曼律師事務所