兆龙移民律师解答｜美国税务之EB-5利息篇

近期一些EB-5投资人遇到涉及EB-5利息报税的问题，刘宇和贝特曼律师事务所Yevgeny律师撰写下文为大家进行解答。由下文可知，

• 除非在此前三年中在美国居留达到183天，EB-5投资人在美国税法上属于非居民外籍人士，只对产生于美国的收入缴税；

• EB-5利息应当是属于FDAP类别并按30%预扣税款（根据中美税务条约，该30%又进一步降到了10%）还是按ECI常规收入进行37%的预扣，目前没有定论，也没有官方指导意见；

• 即使项目方已经按ECI常规收入进行了37%的预扣，EB-5投资人也可以在年度提交税表时（每年的4月15日），申请将该收入重新分类为FDAP，并要求IRS退还多扣的27%税款。

希望这篇文章能够帮助大家，有不清楚的地方，欢迎联系我们客服人员进一步咨询。大家也应咨询自己的会计师，按会计师的专业意见进行税务申报或申请退税。

——美国刘宇和贝特曼律师事务所

Understanding Taxation of EB-5 Interest Income

了解对EB-5利息收入的税收政策

By 作者: Yevgeny Samokhleb律师

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项目涉及多个法律领域，包括移民、证券、税收等。对于投资者而言，重要的是要了解自己的投资及其产生的收益都必须遵守税法规定，而且因项目性质以及投资者不同投资阶段移民身份的不同，适用的税法规定也不同。

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.

美国税法对个人的分类与移民法不同。就所得税而言，外国人身份分为外籍居民或非居民外籍人士。外籍居民

指持有美国绿卡的人，以及无论持有何种非移民签证但在美国有一定时间居留的人士。通常来讲，任何一个在美国3年内（包括本年度及本年之前的两年）停留时间超过183天的非移民人士，都被视为外籍居民，需按美国规定纳税。因此即使是非移民签证人员，如果在美国停留足够时间（持F-1签证的学生和其他符合豁免规定需提交相关豁免申请），仍需象永久居民一样按美国税法报税。其他从美国获得收入但不是外籍居民的个人则按非居民外籍人士征税。

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).

对于美国公民和外籍居民，美国按累进利率对其全球收入进行征税。但是对于非居民外籍人士，则只对其在美国所得收入征税，税率按收入划分类别确定，非居民外籍人士收入通常包括两类：（1）固定的、可确定的、按年度的或其他固定时间间隔支付的收入（FDAP）；（2）实际关联收入（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、分红、版税、租金、保险、年金、彩票中奖，以及其他固定的、可确定的，并且按年度或其他固定时间间隔支付的款项。该收入按统一税率征税，税率默认为30%，或基于特定国际协定低于30%。比如，基于美中税收条约，非居民中国人的FDAP所得税率仅为10%。ECI收入指个人或实体在美国从事贸易或经营活动所得的收入，该部分收入按累进税率征税，税率为10%至37%，不受国际税收条约管辖。

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业所得也要遵守不同的税款预扣程序。付款人必须预扣非居民外籍收款人应付的税款，并汇给美国国家税务局（IRS）。对于付款人认定为FDAP收入的款项，预扣税率为30%，收款人确定符合税收优惠条约的除外。对于付款人认定为ECI的款项，预扣税率为最高税率37%。符合税收优惠的非居民外籍人士可提交纳税申报表，要求退回预扣税额中超出实际缴纳的部分。外籍居民则无需预扣，他们必须于年底提交纳税申报表，汇报收入，并支付税款。

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项目中，FDAP收入和ECI收入的划分取决于项目的企业结构。对于典型的贷款型项目，支付给贷方公司及分配给投资者的利息通常归类为FDAP收入，但有时也可以归为ECI收入。另外，在某些情况下，收入归为FDAP收入还是ECI收入，纳税人也可以自行选择。即使收入和纳税责任属于投资者，税款预扣仍然由项目方负责。为了提高管理效率，降低风险，项目方通常会自行决定利息的支付时间、归属类别以及采用的预扣税种类。大部分情况下，投资者实际应缴税额和项目方确定的税额存在出入，投资者可提交纳税申报表，多退少补调和差额。

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.

我们希望本文可以让EB-5投资者认识到美国税法的复杂性，即使是同样的收入，征税方式也会因税收征纳双方的种种因素而存在巨大差异。因此，我们强烈鼓励我们的EB-5客户和美国专业投资顾问或税务律师建立联系，共同探讨EB-5投资的各种税收情况。正如您的移民需要我们经验丰富的移民律师团队一样，您的投资也需要有经验的税务专家为您保驾护航。

感谢大家阅读此文！

Yevgeny Samokhleb律师

刘宇和贝特曼律师事务所