3 ms·

Is royalties a different category for US taxation than other revenue streams?

graeme 6y ago
Depends on the tax treaty. With Canada and the US it is for example. So, the Canadian creator complaining should in theory be able to file a W-8BEN form with youtube showing Canadian beneficial ownership of the channel, and then the tax rate will be 0% due to the US Canada tax treaty. The creator will likely need an ITIN as well. Not a lawyer. Just have done this for royalties via amazon’s printing company. Amazon otherwise would have had to withhold 15% of the income.
- ricardobayes 6y ago
  Why would they need an ITIN? They are not filing US taxes.
  - graeme 6y ago
    It would appear the process has changed since I did it. If you live in a country with a national tax id number, you can now use that. However, you can also elect to use an ITIN or EIN even though no US tax return is required. “ If you are a non-U.S. publisher interested in claiming tax treaty benefits to reduce your withholding, you will have to provide a tax identification number (TIN). If you have a U.S. TIN (ITIN for individuals, EIN for non-individuals), you must provide it. If you do not have a U.S. TIN and the tax authority in your country of residence issues an income tax identification number, you may enter it to claim treaty benefits.” https://www.savvynewcanadians.com/amazon-kindle-self-publishing-how-to-avoid-the-30-u-s-withholding-tax/ https://www.savvynewcanadians.com/amazon-kindle-self-publish...
- rjsw 6y ago
  I read the title as YouTube not wanting to have to process W-8BEN forms for the creators.
  - gruez 6y ago
    But their support article[1] says that if you submit your "tax info" (presumably w-8ben?), they'll adjust the withholding rate accordingly. [1] https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/101463270?hl=en https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/101463270?hl=en
    - graeme 6y ago
      Yeah more than likely Youtube just had poor comma. Amazon had an extremely seamless tax interview that guided you through the needed forms. They even had a prefilled W 8BEN, and I think they pointed to the relevant parts of the tax treaty for me. Believe they scaled this back as non publishers were abusing it to get ITINs in order to get US credit cards. Too seamless if anything.
      - graeme 6y ago
        *poor comms

Depends on the tax treaty. With Canada and the US it is for example. So, the Canadian creator complaining should in theory be able to file a W-8BEN form with youtube showing Canadian beneficial ownership of the channel, and then the tax rate will be 0% due to the US Canada tax treaty. The creator will likely need an ITIN as well. Not a lawyer. Just have done this for royalties via amazon’s printing company. Amazon otherwise would have had to withhold 15% of the income.

ricardobayes 6y ago
Why would they need an ITIN? They are not filing US taxes.
- graeme 6y ago
  It would appear the process has changed since I did it. If you live in a country with a national tax id number, you can now use that. However, you can also elect to use an ITIN or EIN even though no US tax return is required. “ If you are a non-U.S. publisher interested in claiming tax treaty benefits to reduce your withholding, you will have to provide a tax identification number (TIN). If you have a U.S. TIN (ITIN for individuals, EIN for non-individuals), you must provide it. If you do not have a U.S. TIN and the tax authority in your country of residence issues an income tax identification number, you may enter it to claim treaty benefits.” https://www.savvynewcanadians.com/amazon-kindle-self-publishing-how-to-avoid-the-30-u-s-withholding-tax/ https://www.savvynewcanadians.com/amazon-kindle-self-publish...
rjsw 6y ago
I read the title as YouTube not wanting to have to process W-8BEN forms for the creators.
- gruez 6y ago
  But their support article[1] says that if you submit your "tax info" (presumably w-8ben?), they'll adjust the withholding rate accordingly. [1] https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/101463270?hl=en https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/101463270?hl=en
  - graeme 6y ago
    Yeah more than likely Youtube just had poor comma. Amazon had an extremely seamless tax interview that guided you through the needed forms. They even had a prefilled W 8BEN, and I think they pointed to the relevant parts of the tax treaty for me. Believe they scaled this back as non publishers were abusing it to get ITINs in order to get US credit cards. Too seamless if anything.
    - graeme 6y ago
      *poor comms