Hi, I'm a non-US resident, and non-US citizen. I hope you can help me fill in the W-8BEN. I've filled out others before, but this is the first time I've come across an entry which says "Exempt from back-up withholding". I don't known if I should check this or not in the broker's electronic form. I've asked them about it and they wouldn't offer help for legal reasons. Hope someone can explain what this means and if I should check the box or leave it blank. The other entries were straightforward and same as what I've filled up before. So this is the one thing I can't figure out. I've looked through the net and people just seem to be guessing. Some say tick it, some say leave it. Thanks for the help.