My father is a foreign investor. But his w-9 form expired last year, and he filed a valid one.?

Question

But in between this period, the broker withheld tax from his stock sales -- 28% of the proceed from stock sale. Foreign investors should not pay tax on capital gains, so IRS should refund him the money. And the capital gain is much less than the proceed from a stock sale.

What form shall he file to get refund? He has no ITIN number. He tried to apply one, but got rejected.

He is no longer in the country. Is he still able to apply for ITIN?

Answer 1

He needs to file a W7 to get an ITIN. The W9 form simply advises the broker of his SSN or ITIN.

If he was rejected for an ITIN, he applied incorrectly. He either checked the wrong reason or failed to include proper proof if identity.

The broker is probably required to withhold taxes. He (your father) will need to file a 1040NR to calculate any tax liability (if any) and will receive a refund if one is due.

The rules for non-resident alien withholding and tax liability are extremely complex. Some income is tax exempt and some is not. Some is subject to a flat 30% tax. See IRS Pubs 515 and 519 for further information.