@taxpayer2005, assuming that you are US person ( citizen / Green Card / Resident for tax purposes ) and you report your self-employed/ sole proprietor business on Schedule-C ( dis-regarded entity for tax purposes ),:
1. you are not required to withhold any taxes ( Fed, FICA, state etc. ) for and on-behalf of your contractors ---- this assumes that these "subs" are actual contractors-- whether actual persons or entities. You give a task, they perform with no "overseeing" from you -- thus fulfilling a contractor- contractee relationship.
2. You report contractor expenses on line 11 of Schedule-C --- see intsructions for Schedule-C here -->
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sc.pdf
3. You do NOT need to file W-8BEN , just because the entity/ contractor is foreign --- you need that information ( W-9) i.e. tax id for a contractor that is US person and/or the work is done in the US. If the contractor ( person / entity ) is a Non-Resident Alien and the work is performed abroad, then the contractor has no requirement to file US taxes and therefore there is no need for the W-9 or W-8BEN. Generally the tax treaty would require the income from such contracting activity ( performed in that other country ) to be taxed by the country where the entity/ person is resident / domiciled.
4. US-Other country tax treaties generally works on the basis of world income of the resident and income is sourced where the work is done.
5. As far as contractors -- if they are US person and the work is done in the USA then you need to issue 1099-NEC or W-2 depending on circumstances and relationship with the "performer" of the activity; for contractors where the work is done abroad, it is just a financial relationship --- you perform and I pay for the work -- no forms to the IRS except Schedule-C notation as an expense and back-up documentation of the work required and payment for therof.
Does this answer your query ? Do you need more help ?
pk
