Form 1042-S Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding is used to report amounts paid to foreign persons (including persons presumed to be foreign) who are subject to income tax withholding. For an individual taxpayer, Form 1042-S is a document provided to you (and the IRS) by the payer of the income reported. That income could consist of interest, dividends, royalties, compensation for teaching, and a number of other income sources. See IRS Instructions for Form 1042-S for a full list, starting on page 33.
You should receive Form 1042-S even if no amount is deducted and withheld from the payment you received because of a treaty or exception to taxation, or if you repaid any amount to the payee.
Form 1042-S is also used to report amounts withheld under Chapter 3 of the Internal Revenue Code and to report distributions of effectively connected income by a publicly traded partnership or nominee.
Different rules may apply if you are a citizen of the United States or a resident alien; see IRS Publication 519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens for more information.
Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the document at the time it is accessed.