Form 1042, Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons

2011

Instructions for Form 1042

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons
Section references are to the Internal
Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

General Instructions
What’s New
More information. For more information
about the latest developments on Form
1042 and its instructions, go to
www.irs.gov/form1042.
Excise tax on specified federal
procurement payments. Include on
lines 1 through 60 the liability for the 2%
excise tax on payments made for goods
and services provided under a specified
foreign procurement contract entered into
after January 1, 2011. Also report the tax
on line 71. For details, see Excise tax on
specified foreign procurement payments
in Lines 1 through 60 and Line 71, later.
Failure to deposit penalty. The line to
report a self-assessed failure to deposit
penalty is deleted.

Purpose of Form
Use Form 1042 to report the following.
• The tax withheld on certain income of
foreign persons, including nonresident
aliens, foreign partnerships, foreign
corporations, foreign estates, and foreign
trusts.
• The 2% excise tax due on specified
foreign procurement payments.
Publicly traded partnerships (section
1446 withholding tax). For purposes of
reporting on Form 1042, a publicly traded
partnership (PTP) must withhold section
1446 tax on distributions of effectively
connected income (ECI) to its foreign
partners. A nominee that receives a
distribution of ECI from a PTP and is
treated as the withholding agent must use
Form 1042 to report the tax withheld. For
this purpose, a nominee is a domestic
person holding an interest in the PTP on
behalf of one or more foreign partners.
For more information, see Regulations
section 1.1446-4 and Pub. 515,
Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens
and Foreign Entities.

Who Must File
Every withholding agent or intermediary
(see definitions next) who receives,
controls, has custody of, disposes of, or
pays any fixed or determinable annual or
periodical income must file an annual
return for the preceding calendar year on
Form 1042. Also, any PTP or nominee
making a distribution of ECI under section
1446 must file Form 1042 for the
preceding calendar year.
Oct 13, 2011

You must file Form 1042 if any of the
following applies.
• You are required to file Form(s) 1042-S
(whether or not any tax was withheld or
was required to be withheld). File Form
1042 even if you file Forms 1042-S
electronically.
• You pay gross investment income to
foreign private foundations that are
subject to tax under section 4948(a).
• You pay a specified federal
procurement payment to any foreign
person.

Withholding Agent
Any person required to withhold tax is a
withholding agent. A withholding agent
may be an individual, trust, estate,
partnership, corporation, nominee (under
section 1446), government agency,
association, or tax-exempt foundation,
whether domestic or foreign.
Liability for tax. As a withholding agent,
you are personally liable for any tax
required to be withheld. If you fail to
withhold and the foreign payee fails to
satisfy its U.S. tax liability, then both you
and the foreign person are liable for tax,
as well as interest and any applicable
penalties.
The applicable tax will be collected
only once. If the foreign person satisfies
its U.S. tax liability, you are not liable for
the tax but remain liable for any interest
and penalties for failure to withhold.

Intermediary
An intermediary is a person who acts as a
custodian, broker, nominee, or otherwise
as an agent for another person,
regardless of whether that other person is
the beneficial owner of the amount paid, a
flow-through entity, or another
intermediary.
Qualified intermediary (QI). A QI is an
intermediary that is a party to a
withholding agreement with the IRS. An
entity must indicate its status as a QI on a
Form W-8IMY submitted to a withholding
agent.
For information on a QI withholding
agreement, see:
• Rev. Proc. 2000-12, which is on page
387 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2000-4
at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb00-04.pdf;
• Notice 2001-4, which is on page 267 of
Internal Revenue Bulletin 2001-2 at
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb01-02.pdf;
• Rev. Proc. 2003-64, Appendix 3,
2003-32 I.R.B. 306, available at
www.irs.gov/irb/2003-32_IRB/ar19.html;
• Rev. Proc. 2004-21, 2004-14 I.R.B.
702, available at
Cat. No. 54843T

www.irs.gov/irb/2004-14_IRB/ar10.html;
and
• Rev. Proc. 2005-77, 2005-51 I.R.B.
1176, available at
www.irs.gov/irb/2005-51_IRB/ar13.html.
Withholding foreign partnership (WP)
or withholding foreign trust (WT). A
WP or WT is a foreign partnership or trust
that has entered into a withholding
agreement with the IRS in which it agrees
to assume primary withholding
responsibility for all payments that are
made to it for its partners, beneficiaries,
or owners. For information on these
withholding agreements, see Rev. Proc.
2003-64, Appendix 1 and Appendix 2.
Also see Rev. Proc. 2004-21 and Rev.
Proc. 2005-77.
Nonqualified intermediary (NQI). An
NQI is any intermediary that is not a U.S.
person and that is not a QI.
Qualified securities lender (QSL). A
QSL is a foreign financial institution that is
a bank, custodian, broker-dealer, or
clearing organization subject to regulatory
supervision in its home jurisdiction and
that is:
1. Regularly engaged in the business
of borrowing securities of U.S.
corporations and lending such securities
to unrelated customers; and
2. Subject to audit by the IRS under
section 7602 or, in the case of a QI, an
external auditor.
For further information about QSL
status and the withholding requirements
for substitute dividend payments, see
Notice 2010-46, 2010-24 I.R.B. 757,
available at
www.irs.gov/irb/2010-24_IRB/ar09.html.

Where and When To File
Mail Form 1042 by March 15, 2012, to:
Ogden Service Center
P.O. Box 409101
Ogden, UT 84409
Use Form 1042-T to transmit paper
Forms 1042-S.
Extension of time to file. If you need
more time to file Form 1042, you may
submit Form 7004, Application for
Automatic Extension of Time To File
Certain Business Income Tax,
Information, and Other Returns.
Form 7004 does not extend the time
for payment of tax.

Additional Information
For details on the withholding of tax, see
Pub. 515. You can get Pub. 515 by calling
1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) or

by downloading it from IRS.gov. Click on
“Forms and Pubs” and then on
“Publication Number.”

Need Assistance?
If you need help completing Form 1042,
call 267-941-1000 (not a toll-free number)
from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time
or write to:
Internal Revenue Service
International Section
Philadelphia, PA 19255-0725

Income Tax Withholding
on Wages, Pensions,
Annuities, and Certain
Other Deferred Income
Use Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY
Federal Tax Return, to report income tax
withheld and social security and Medicare
taxes on wages paid to a nonresident
alien employee.
Use Form 945, Annual Return of
Withheld Federal Income Tax, to report
income tax withheld under section 3405
from pensions, annuities, and certain
other deferred income paid to a
nonresident alien individual. However, if
the recipient has elected under section
3405(a)(2) or (b)(2) not to have
withholding under section 3405, these
payments are subject to withholding
under section 1441 and the tax withheld
must be reported using Forms 1042 and
1042-S.
Use Schedule H (Form 1040),
Household Employment Taxes, to report
income tax withheld and social security
and Medicare taxes on wages paid to a
nonresident alien household employee.

Deposit Requirements
You are required to use the Electronic
Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS),
discussed later, to deposit the tax
withheld and required to be shown on
Form 1042.

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To avoid a penalty, do not mail
your deposits directly to the IRS.

CAUTION

The amount of tax you are required to
withhold determines the frequency of your
deposits. The following rules explain how
often deposits must be made.
1. If at the end of any quarter-monthly
period the total amount of undeposited
taxes is $2,000 or more, you must deposit
the taxes within 3 business days after the
end of the quarter-monthly period. (A
quarter-monthly period ends on the 7th,
15th, 22nd, and last day of the month.) A
business day is any day other than a
Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday in the
District of Columbia.
2. If at the end of any month the total
amount of undeposited taxes is at least
$200 but less than $2,000, you must
deposit the taxes within 15 days after the
end of the month. If you make a deposit
of $2,000 or more during any month

except December under rule 1, earlier,
carry over any end-of-the-month balance
of less than $2,000 to the next month. If
you make a deposit of $2,000 or more
during December, any end-of-December
balance of less than $2,000 should be
remitted with your Form 1042 by March
15, 2012.
3. If at the end of a calendar year the
total amount of undeposited taxes is less
than $200, you may either pay the taxes
with your Form 1042 or deposit the entire
amount by March 15, 2012.
Note. If you are requesting an extension
of time to file using Form 7004, follow
these rules to see if you must make a
deposit of any balance due or if you can
pay it with Form 7004. See Form 7004
and its instructions for more information.
Electronic deposit requirement. You
must make electronic deposits of all
depository tax liabilities using EFTPS. If
you fail to use EFTPS, you may be
subject to a 10% penalty. To enroll in or
get more information about EFTPS, call
1-800-555-4477 or visit
www.eftps.gov/eftps. Information is also
available at www.irs.gov/e-pay.
Depositing on time. For deposits
made by EFTPS to be on time, you must
initiate the deposit by 8 p.m. Eastern time
the day before the date the deposit is
due. If you use a third party to make
deposits on your behalf, they may have
different cutoff times.
Same-day wire payment option. If you
fail to initiate a deposit transaction on
EFTPS by 8 p.m. Eastern time the day
before the date a deposit is due, you still
can make your deposit on time by using
the Federal Tax Application. If you ever
need the same-day wire payment
method, you will need to make
arrangements with your financial
institution ahead of time. Check with your
financial institution regarding availability,
deadlines, and costs. Your financial
institution may charge you a fee for
payments made this way. To learn more
about the information you will need to
provide to your financial institution to
make a same-day wire payment, visit
www.eftps.gov to download the
Same-Day Payment Worksheet.
Note. All payments should be made in
U.S. dollars.

Interest and Penalties
If you file Form 1042 late, or fail to pay or
deposit the tax when due, you may be
liable for penalties and interest unless you
can show that the failure to file or pay was
due to reasonable cause and not willful
neglect.
You do not have to figure the
TIP amount of any interest or penalties
you may owe. Because figuring
these amounts can be complicated, we
will do it for you if you want. We will send
you a bill for any amount due.
If you include interest or penalties with
your payment, identify and enter the

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amount in the bottom margin of Form
1042. Do not include interest or penalties
in the balance due on line 68.
Interest. Interest is charged on taxes not
paid by the due date, even if an extension
of time to file is granted. Interest is also
charged on penalties imposed for failure
to file, negligence, fraud, and substantial
understatements of tax from the due date
(including extensions) to the date of
payment. Interest is figured at a rate
determined under section 6621.
Late filing of Form 1042. The penalty
for not filing Form 1042 when due
(including extensions) is 5% of the unpaid
tax for each month or part of a month the
return is late, up to a maximum of 25% of
the unpaid tax.
Late payment of tax. The penalty for
not paying tax when due is usually 1/2 of
1% of the unpaid tax for each month or
part of a month the tax is unpaid. The
penalty cannot exceed 25% of the unpaid
tax.
Other penalties. Penalties may be
imposed for negligence, substantial
understatement of tax, and fraud. See
sections 6662 and 6663.

Specific Instructions
File only one Form 1042
consolidating all Form 1042-S
CAUTION recipient information, regardless of
the number of different clients, branches,
divisions, or types of income for which
you are the withholding agent. However, if
you are acting in more than one capacity
(for example, you are acting as a QI for
certain designated accounts and as an
NQI for other accounts), file a separate
Form 1042 for each capacity in which you
are acting.
Rounding off to whole dollars. You
can round off cents to whole dollars. If
you do round to whole dollars, you must
round all amounts. To round, drop
amounts under 50 cents and increase
amounts from 50 to 99 cents to the next
dollar. For example, $1.39 becomes $1
and $2.50 becomes $3. If you have to
add two or more amounts to figure the
amount to enter on a line, include cents
when adding and only round off the total.
Employer identification number (EIN).
You are generally required to enter your
EIN. However, if you are filing Form 1042
as a QI, withholding foreign partnership,
or withholding foreign trust, enter your
QI-EIN, WP-EIN, or WT-EIN. Also, be
sure to check the “QI/Withholding foreign
partnership or trust” box. See QI and NQI
checkboxes, later.
If you do not have an EIN, you can
apply for one online at
www.irs.gov/businesses. Click on
‘‘Employer ID Numbers’’ and then on
‘‘Apply for an EIN Online.’’ You can apply
for an EIN by telephone at
1-800-829-4933. You also can file Form
SS-4, Application for Employer
Identification Number, by fax or mail. File

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Instructions for Form 1042

amended Forms 1042-S when you
receive your EIN.
To get a QI-EIN, WP-EIN, or WT-EIN,
submit Form SS-4 with your application
for that status. Do not send an application
for a QI-EIN, WP-EIN, or WT-EIN to the
addresses listed in the Instructions for
Form SS-4. Send the application along
with Form SS-4 to:
Internal Revenue Service
LB & I: International: QI Group 1031
290 Broadway, 12th floor
New York, NY 10007-1867 USA
If you are a QSL that is also a QI,
enter your QI-EIN. Otherwise enter the
EIN you have been assigned.
Address. Include the suite, room, or
other unit number after the street
address. If your post office does not
deliver mail to the street address and you
have a P.O. box, show the box number
instead of the street address.
QI and NQI checkboxes. See page 1
for definitions of intermediary, qualified
intermediary (QI), withholding foreign
partnership (WP), withholding foreign
trust (WT), and nonqualified intermediary
(NQI). See the Form 1042-S instructions
for definitions of U.S. branch treated as a
U.S. person and flow-through entity.
Check the “QI/Withholding foreign
partnership or trust” box if you are a QI,
WP, WT, or a U.S. branch treated as a
U.S. person. Check the “NQI/
Flow-through entity” box if you are an NQI
or a flow-through entity.
Lines 1 through 60. Except as
otherwise provided in these instructions,
include tax liability for the period in which
the income was distributed. Do not enter
any negative amounts on these lines.
Foreign partners of U.S. partnerships.
To the extent that a domestic partnership
has not distributed a foreign partner’s
distributive share of income subject to
withholding under section 1441, it should
not include any tax liability on lines 1
through 60 for tax relating to the partner’s
distributive share in the year the
partnership earns the income. For
distributive shares not actually distributed,
the partnership must include any tax
liability on lines 1 through 60 of the Form
1042 for the following year. Include the
tax liability on the line that represents the
earlier of the following dates.
• The date on which the Schedule K-1
(Form 1065) is sent or otherwise
furnished to the foreign partner.
• The due date for furnishing Schedule
K-1 (Form 1065) to the partner.
Include such tax liability for the period
that includes the date the tax was
required to be withheld.
Example. In 2010, USP, a U.S.
partnership, has foreign partners. The
withholding tax relating to the distributive
shares of the foreign partners was $120.
USP made no distributions in 2010. On
the 2010 Form 1042, USP did not enter
any amount as tax liability on lines 1
Instructions for Form 1042

through 60 because it did not distribute
any amounts.
USP made a distribution on February
10, 2011, that related to the 2010
distributive shares of the foreign partners.
USP withheld $100 at the time of the
distribution. USP sent the 2010
Schedules K-1 (Form 1065) to its partners
on April 2, 2011.
On the 2011 Form 1042, USP entered
$100 on line 7. This is the tax liability for
the period (February 8 through 15) during
which it made a distribution. USP entered
$20 on line 16. This is the tax liability for
the period (April 1 through 7) during which
it furnished the Schedules K-1 (Form
1065) to the partners.
Use Form 8804 to report
TIP withholding tax liability on the
partnership’s income effectively
connected with a U.S. trade or business.
Corporate distributions. Do not include
on lines 1 through 60 any tax liability
caused by adjustments of underwithheld
tax on corporate distributions made in
calendar year 2011 if the following apply.
• The distributing corporation made a
reasonable estimate of accumulated and
current earnings and profits under
Regulations section 1.1441-3(c)(2)(ii)(A);
and
• The distributing corporation or
intermediary paid over the underwithheld
tax by March 15, 2012.
Instead, include these payments of
underwithheld tax on line 63b.
Excise tax on specified foreign
procurement payments. Include on
lines 1 through 60 any liability for the 2%
tax imposed on specified foreign
procurement payments made to any
foreign person. Report the amount on the
line that corresponds with the date the
payment was made.
Specified foreign procurement
payment. A specified foreign
procurement payment is a payment made
on a contract entered into after January 1,
2011, if it satisfies either of the following.
• The payment is made for goods
manufactured in a country that is not a
party to an international procurement
agreement with the United States.
• The payment is made for services
provided in a country that is not a party to
an international procurement agreement
with the United States.
For information about countries that
are parties to an international
procurement agreement with the United
States, see www.ustr.gov/trade-topics.
Click on the “Government Procurement”
tab on the left.
Qualified intermediaries with no
primary withholding responsibility. If
you are a QI that did not assume primary
withholding responsibility, enter the total
amount withheld by the U.S. withholding
agent(s) on line 59. Report all other
amounts (that is, amounts you actually
withheld) on the line that corresponds
with the date the liability was incurred.

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Overwithholding. If you repaid the
recipient for an amount overwithheld by
reducing the amount withheld on a later
payment, report the reduced amount on
these lines. If you used the
reimbursement procedure for
overwithheld amounts, see Adjustment for
Overwithholding, later.
Line 61. Enter the number of Forms
1042-S filed on paper and electronically.
If you file 250 or more Forms
1042-S, you must submit them
CAUTION electronically.
Lines 62a and 62b. Enter the amounts
requested for all Forms 1042-S
(regardless of whether the form was filed
electronically or on paper) and for all
Forms 1000, Ownership Certificate.

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Be sure to reconcile amounts on
Form 1042 with amounts on
CAUTION Forms 1042-S (including Forms
1042-S filed electronically), to avoid
unnecessary correspondence with the
IRS.
Line 62a. The amount on line 62a
should equal the sum of all amounts
shown on Forms 1042-S, box 2, and all
amounts shown as gross interest paid on
Forms 1000.
Line 62b. The amount on line 62b
should equal:
• The sum of all Forms 1042-S, box 9
(box 7 plus box 8), less
• The sum of all Forms 1042-S, box 10,
plus
• The tax assumed from Forms 1000.
If it does not, attach a statement to
Form 1042 explaining the difference.
Line 63a. The amount on line 63a must
equal the sum of the monthly totals as
listed on the Record of Federal Tax
Liability. Do not make any adjustments on
this line. Except for adjustments
described in the instructions for line 63b,
you may only make adjustments on the
appropriate entry line of the Record of
Federal Tax Liability.
Line 63b. Include on line 63b any tax
liability resulting from adjustments of
underwithheld tax on corporate
distributions made in calendar year 2011
if:
• The distributing corporation made a
reasonable estimate of accumulated and
current earnings and profits under
Regulations section 1.1441-3(c)(2)(ii)(A),
and
• The distributing corporation or
intermediary paid over the underwithheld
tax by March 15, 2012.
If you are a regulated investment
company (RIC), real estate investment
trust (REIT), or personal holding company
(PHC) that paid a dividend subject to
section 852(b)(7), section 857(b)(9), or
section 563(b) (relating to certain
dividends declared in the preceding
October, November, or December), enter
your additional tax liability on those
dividends declared in 2011 but paid no
later than March 15, 2012, less any
additional tax liability on those dividends

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declared in 2010 but paid no later than
March 15, 2011. Show any negative
amount in brackets. Attach a statement
showing your calculation.
Line 64. Enter the total tax deposits you
made (including amounts paid with an
extension of time to file).
Line 66. You are permitted to take a
credit for amounts withheld by other
withholding agents that relate to the total
net tax liability reported on line 63c. For
example, you are a QI and the amount
you entered on line 63c includes amounts
withheld by a U.S. withholding agent. You
may take a credit on line 66 for the
amounts that were withheld by the U.S.
withholding agent. The amount on line 66
should equal the sum of all Forms
1042-S, box 8, that you file for the year.
Note. All withholding agents (QIs and
NQIs) must verify entries on Line 66 by
attaching supporting Form(s) 1042-S,
issued to you, to verify the credit amounts
claimed.
If you are a QI requesting a
refund, you must attach the
CAUTION corresponding Form(s) 1042-S
received to support the amount claimed
on line 66. Failure to do so will result in
the denial of the refund or credit being
claimed. If you are a PTP or a nominee
withholding under section 1446, the tax
paid for a payee may only be claimed as
a credit by the payee.

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QSL claiming a credit forward. If you
are a QSL or other withholding agent
claiming a credit forward of prior
withholding on substitute dividends as
determined under Notice 2010-46, you
should attach Form(s) 1042-S issued to
you to support such credits. If a credit is
claimed with respect to any U.S. source
substitute dividends paid to you from a
withholding agent that has not issued a
Form 1042-S to you for such payments,
attach a supporting statement to Form
1042 indicating the following:

• The withholding agent’s name,

address, and EIN (if known);
• The amount of U.S. source substitute
dividends received from the withholding
agent; and
• The amount of credit forward you
included on line 66 in connection with
these substitute dividends.
Line 69. You may claim an overpayment
shown on line 69 as a refund or a credit.
Check the applicable box on line 70 to
show which you are claiming. If you claim
a credit, it can reduce your required
deposits of withheld tax for 2012.
Line 71. Enter on line 71 the total
amount of specified federal procurement
payments multiplied by 2% (.02).

Adjustment For
Overwithholding
What to do if you overwithheld tax
depends on when you discover the
overwithholding.

Overwithholding discovered by March
15 of the following calendar year. If
you discover that you overwithheld tax by
March 15 of the following calendar year,
you may use any undeposited amount of
tax to make any necessary adjustments
between you and the recipient of the
income. Repay the recipient and reduce
the amount of your total deposit. Report
the reduced tax liability on lines 1 through
60 for the period(s) for which you repaid
the overwithheld tax.
If the undeposited amount is not
enough to make any adjustments, or if
you discover the overwithholding after the
entire amount of tax has been deposited,
you can use either the reimbursement or
the set-off procedure to adjust the
overwithholding.
If March 15 is a Saturday, Sunday,
TIP or legal holiday, the next business
day is the final date for these
actions.
Reimbursement procedure. Under
the reimbursement procedure, you repay
the beneficial owner or payee the amount
overwithheld. You use your own funds for
this repayment. You must make the
repayment by March 15 of the year after
the calendar year in which the amount
was overwithheld. For example, if you
overwithhold tax in 2011, you must repay
the beneficial owner by March 15, 2012.
You must keep a receipt showing the date
and amount of the repayment and provide
a copy of the receipt to the beneficial
owner.
You may reimburse yourself by
reducing any subsequent deposits you
make before the end of the year after the
calendar year in which the amount was
overwithheld. The reduction cannot be
more than the amount you actually
repaid.
Report the reduced tax liability on lines
1 through 60 for the period for which you
reimbursed the overwithheld tax. Report
the total tax withheld as your total
deposits. Indicate on line 70 whether you
want a refund or a credit.
Set-off procedure. Under the set-off
procedure, you repay the beneficial owner
or payee the amount overwithheld by
reducing the amount you would have
been required to withhold on later
payments you make to that person.
These later payments must be made
before the earlier of:
• The date you actually file Form 1042-S
for the calendar year in which the amount
was overwithheld, or
• March 15 of the year after the calendar
year in which the amount was
overwithheld.
Report the reduced tax liability on lines
1 through 60.
Overwithholding discovered at a later
date. If you discover after March 15 of
the following calendar year that you
overwithheld tax for the prior year, do not
adjust the amount of tax liability reported
on Form 1042 or on any deposit or
payment for that prior year. Do not repay

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the beneficial owner or payee the amount
overwithheld.
In this situation, the recipient will have
to file a U.S. income tax return (Form
1040NR, Form 1040NR-EZ, or Form
1120-F) or, if a tax return has already
been filed, a claim for refund (Form
1040X or amended Form 1120-F) to
recover the amount overwithheld.

Third Party Designee
If you want to allow any individual,
corporation, firm, organization, or
partnership to discuss your 2011 Form
1042 with the IRS, check the “Yes” box in
the Third Party Designee section of the
return. Also, enter the designee’s name,
phone number, and any five digits the
designee chooses as his or her personal
identification number (PIN). The
authorization applies only to the tax form
upon which it appears.
If you check the “Yes” box, you are
authorizing the IRS to call the designee to
answer any questions relating to the
information reported on your tax return.
You also are authorizing the designee to:
• Exchange information concerning your
tax return with the IRS, and
• Request and receive written tax return
information relating to your tax return,
including copies of specific notices,
correspondence, and account transcripts.
You are not authorizing the designee
to receive any refund check, bind you to
anything (including additional tax liability),
or otherwise represent you before the
IRS. If you want to expand the designee’s
authorization, see Pub. 947, Practice
Before the IRS and Power of Attorney.
The authorization automatically
expires one year from the due date
(without any extensions) for filing your
2011 Form 1042. If you or your designee
desires to terminate the authorization, a
written statement conveying your wish to
revoke the authorization should be
submitted to the IRS service center where
the return was processed.

Amended Return
If you have to make changes to your
Form 1042 after you submit it, file an
amended Form 1042. Use a Form 1042
for the year you are amending. Check the
“Amended Return” box at the top of the
form. You must complete the entire form,
including all filing information for the
calendar year, and sign the return. Attach
a statement explaining why you are filing
an amended return (for example, you are
filing because the tax liability for May was
incorrectly reported due to a
mathematical error).
If you also are amending Form(s)
1042-S, see Amended Returns in the
Form 1042-S instructions.
Do not amend Form 1042 to recover
taxes overwithheld in the prior year. For
more information, see Adjustment for
Overwithholding, earlier.
Instructions for Form 1042

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction
Act Notice. We ask for the information
on this form to carry out the Internal
Revenue laws of the United States.
Sections 1441, 1442, and 1446 (for
PTPs) require withholding agents to
report and pay over to the IRS taxes
withheld from certain U.S. source income
of foreign persons. Form 1042 is used to
report the amount of withholding that
must be paid over. Form 1042-S is used
to report the amount of income and
withholding to the payee. Section 6109
requires you to provide your identifying
number on the return. Routine uses of
this information include giving it to the
Department of Justice for civil and
criminal litigation, and to cities, states, the
District of Columbia, and U.S.
commonwealths and possessions for use
in administering their tax laws. We may
also disclose this information to other

Instructions for Form 1042

countries under a tax treaty, to federal
and state agencies to enforce federal
nontax criminal laws, or to federal law
enforcement and intelligence agencies to
combat terrorism. If you fail to provide this
information in a timely manner, you may
be liable for penalties and interest.
You are not required to provide the
information requested on a form that is
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB
control number. Books or records relating
to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents may
become material in the administration of
any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are
confidential, as required by section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file
these forms will vary depending on

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individual circumstances. The estimated
average time is: Recordkeeping, 10 hr.,
31 min.; Learning about the law or the
form, 2 hr., 25 min.; Preparing the form,
4 hr., 34 min.; and Copying,
assembling, and sending the form to
the IRS, 32 min.
If you have comments concerning the
accuracy of these time estimates or
suggestions for making this form simpler,
we would be happy to hear from you. You
can write to the Internal Revenue Service,
Tax Products Coordinating Committee,
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S, 1111 Constitution
Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC
20224. Do not send the form to this
address. Instead, see Where and When
To File, earlier.