I went to the US embassy in London to see what I needed to do. They will only issue an ITIN if accompanied by a signed letter from Apple on an Apple letterhead stating that I will be earning money in the US. I've tried enquiring at Apple to see about the possibility of getting this, but it doesn't look promising.
The other option is an EIN (there is a link on iTunes connect to the SS-4 form for applying for this), but this is intended for companies, not individuals. However, the form says "certain individuals" can apply for an EIN. I am going to phone someone at the IRS to inquire about this. I understand you will need to do an annual US tax return too.
1. The form W-8BEN is US tax form (courtesy of mighty IRS).
It is afaik only for people (individuals) that are not US residents and companies that were not founded (incorporated) in US.
2. If you are not US citizen and you are making money in US, you still have to pay taxes in US. The problem is you also have to pay taxes from the same money in your country.
Yes, from the same money you would pay taxes twice!
Luckily there is agreement between countries that allows you to bypass this under some circumstances.
That agreemant is called "tax treaty".
It defines dozens of situations and what you are obligated and allowed to do under each of them.
Luckily if you are selling things on AppStore, you are able to use the Tax treaty and basicaly tell US gov. that you don't have to pay taxes in US, only in your country.
You STILL HAVE TO be legaly qualified to conduct business (in your country) and have to pay taxes from your income in your country!
Ie. If you are just some guy who made some software and now you want to sell it, better check your legal status and what are your (not only tax) dutes in your country 1st!
I, for one, have to have so called 'business licence', otherwise its illegal for me to conduct most kind of business(es)! (Im from Czech republic, EU)
So anyway to use the Tax treaty thing you afaik need to be registered on US tax office (IRS) = you have to have some kind of US tax ID.
If you are not US resident or company, that number is apparently "EIN".
EIN is requested with form SS-4 you can DL from Apple or IRS web.
But you can also just gather the info for the form, call IRS and they will fill it for you and just tell you your newly assigned number. (I have done that)
Now, If you fail to provide right informations (including EIN and your local tax ID, some informations from Tax treaty for your country etc.), you are still obliged to pay taxes in US! and to ensure that, Apple will take additional caa 30% from your share and give it to US gov.
Im not sure, but in some cases you might not need to provide some of the informations and you are still ok, but I would not take the chances myself.
I have just registered as a Iphone Developer. I am having big time problems with the tax info. My country Malaysia do not have a tax treaty with the US. Do I still have to fill out the W-8BEN? What about the EIN?
Please help if there is any developer out there is from a country with no tax treaty with the US.
trumi: have you started receiving your payments yet? If yes, what was the withholding tax like?
Hi Marcodelrio,
I am italian too. I'm the developer of Internet Translator and i have received after one month the Financial Reports.... the total money is N*0.48 euro (0.79 is the app price) where N is the number of app sold. No tax retain!! I do the 000000.. trick .. Do you know, finally, if that is correct? What did you do ? I don't know if now I have to pay taxes "manually".
Thanks.
Alvise
Same situation with me, I'm from Armenia which doesn't have a tax treaty with US. In addition, I've got an EIN from US IRS because at the time of applying for EIN I was thinking that it will free me from paying taxes in US (I didn't know that it depends on country of my residence).
So, as I understand, I have two options: 1. to provide my EIN and fill the section 10 of W-8BEN with 30% (as there is no tax treaty for my country) and in this case Apple will withhold 30% of my earnings, also I will have to pay taxes in my country (I don't like this way 😟 ) or 2. I can provide nine 0-s for EIN in the W-8BEN and in this case Apple will not withhold any amount so I will just have to pay taxes in my country. I would like to go by second way.
But is it possible that one day I will have problems with IRS because I exist in their records as a tax payer? Anyone knows how this stuff works?
Thanks in advance!
P.S. *To McArthur* Please let me know what did you do and what results do you have.
Hi I'm also from Czech republic and I'm trying to fill SS-4 form. Can you please send me your email adress. I'm not sure how to fill some of the lines.
Would it be possible for Apple Legal Council to finally close out this topic with the facts regarding the correct way to fill out the forms and the implications of not filling the forms out correctly.
It is time to step up to the plate Apple...
How should the following groups of people fill out the itunes-connect forms?
1) App developers that are 100% Foreign individuals (ie. NOT US CITIZENS) not living or residing in the USA
2) App developers that are 100% Foreign companies with no offices in the USA and no US based employees... Just using Apple to distribute foreign built applications.
Since the impact of filling in the forms incorrectly could be that you are detained by customs when you arrive in the USA with serious charges against you such as non payment of taxes owed... and that you may have to fill in a complicated US tax form each year for the rest of your lives which costs time and money to do correctly - COULD WE PLEASE HAVE SOME FACTUAL GUIDANCE FROM APPLE LAWYERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS NONSENSE?
Regardning Line 10, you are NOT supposed to fill out anything here if you have checked any of the 9-boxes.
In the instructions it says: "Line 10 must be used ONLY if you are claiming treaty benefits that require that you meet conditions NOT covered by the representations you make in lines 9a trought e."
However, if youre a student, then you should fill it out.
One issue is that this may not be something that Apple can officially comment on in the way you want.
I have dealt with other publishers, and the policy is that the maximally-simplified documents have already been produced by the US government and it is not the publishers prerogative to try and over-ride them. Yes, I agree there is a ton of confusing verbiage that is overly general, but this is an intrinsically very legalistic issue.
Hi all! I sent them an email and they responded within the next day. Really nice of them. And this one was a mix of a template response, however also a unique response to my questions. here is the email i sent and a response i got, i think this solves the biggest question for me (tax or no tax):
*My email:*
Hi!
I have a company (l.l.c) here in Croatia and i am a croatian citizen. The Iphone Developer account is set up using the company name. Croatia does not have a tax treaty with US. Does this mean that i should put in 30% for witholding tax in the Form W-8BEN? There is an email circulating fromiTStax@apple.com that states:
"Please enter nine zeros (000000000) in the space provided in section 6. In addition, payments from the USA App Store will not be reported to the IRS on form 1042 at year end"
Is this legal? Or is this legal only for physical persons and not foreign l.l.c? Is my comapny a corporation or an international business?
*Their response:*
The information you have is correct; because the App Store contracts are characterized as a "sales/commission" agreement, as opposed to a "royalty" agreement, there is no tax withholding in the United States. Therefore, we would still like you to complete the W-8BEN form, however, you are not required to obtain a new US Taxpayer Identification Number if you do not already have one. Your business would be considered a corporation on the form.
You may enter nine zeros (000000000) in the space provided in section 6.
In addition, payments from the USA App Store will not be reported to the IRS on form 1042 at year end.
We must receive a signed form prior to payment for sales in the USA App Store.If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Just got off the phone with the IRS. They're talking about ITIN, but requiring that I fill out a W-4 form, submit a notarized copy of my passport, either by a US notary, or by the issuing agent, presumably the Canadian Government. Then wait 5-6 weeks. Then submit the W-8BEN.
This seems at odds with the general experience some are having.
I'm a Canadian, non US resident, no employees. Can anyone confirm the experience of Cocoa Touch Games that the nine zero model works?
