US TAX ID - The Big Dilemma

I’m a self publishing author from Austria and my company name under which I pay taxes is the German equivalent to “First Name Last Name Publishing”.

I have no SSN or ITIN or anything like that.

I faxed the SS-4 form a week ago but I think I must have filled it incorrectly because I never received the promised reply after 4 business days.

So I called the number 001 267 941 1099 yesterday at about 23:00 and was put on hold.

No need to press any phone key just wait and listen to the nice music.

After about 30 minutes a man answered, told me his name and his IRS number and asked what he can do for me.

I said my name is …, I’m calling from Austria and I would need an EIN number.

The first question was about my role in my company: Sole Proprietor

Then

Do you have a Social Security Number (SSN): No.

Then

First Name

Last Name

Phone number

Company Name

Street address

House number

City

Postal code

Country

Month of Business start: January

Year: 2001

Reason for applying: I said that I think the correct answer is “Compliance with IRS withholding regulation”

This took about 10 minutes because I slowly spelled every letter to him and he confirmed the letters and numbers by repeating them.

(It would have been faster and more fool proof if I had spelled like this “A like Apple”, “C like Charlie”.)

After this the man told me that he had activated my EIN and that I would receive a letter with my EIN in about 4 weeks.

And then … he gave me my EIN number over the phone.

It is formated like this: 9x-xxxxxxx (Enter it without the dash in Apples online form)

My costs so far are a 40 minutes long distance call to the USA.

If you can spell the English alphabet you can do it.

Also look up the correct phone code for calling you from within the USA.

I hope this encourages others from outside the USA in a similar situation to call the IRS under the above number.

Hi,

yesterday evening I got my EIN 9X-xxxxxxxx

Thank you very much.

I called the number. After 8 minutes I got an nice women. Her speaking was very fast (for me :-) )

Then I asked to speak a little bit slow for me :-)

Yes an then we followed the Question list like this:

The first question was about my role in my company: Sole Proprietor

Then

Do you have a Social Security Number (SSN): No.

Then

First Name

Last Name

Phone number

Company Name

Street address

House number

City

Postal code

Country

She repeated all that I said. And gave me the Fax Number, because I said, that my fax wasnt answered.

So for you all here is the correct number (I hope):

001-267-99411329

OK after 13 minutes I got my EIN.

Now I am waiting to get the entry to my Paid Books account.

Thanks a lot for your help here!!

Kathrin

UK residents DO NOT need an EIN - confirmed by the Apple Legal team. See below. Hope this helps everyone! All i needed was my IBAN...

Dear Team,

I'm not sure how, but when setting up my tax details on iTunes Connect i was faced with a page on which to enter my UK tax details. At the time i did not have an EIN, but now that i do i can't enter it. Please can this be entered onto my account for me?

Liz

Hi,

You do not need an EIN. Your contract is in effect, and you are ready to upload and sell books.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

You need a SS-4 form to apply for an EIN. Check IRS website for details.

One month after faxing my SS-4 form, I finally picked up my phone and called IRS. I answered all the questions (which basically were someone filling out the SS-4 form on the other end of the line for you), and he asked me to wait for a moment. When he finally came back, he asked me if I had applied before. I told hime about the faxed application with no reply. He gave me the EIN from my first application and said I would recieve a mailed reply in 2 or 3 weeks. I thanked him and said goodbye.

Considering my own experience and some other guys' from above, I think fax application is not the way to go. You will just have to pick up your phone and call them. It is the only way to be sure.

Thank you, guys, for all your helps.

It wasn't terribly complicated for me (Australia).

You download the EIN application form and fill it in. That's just so you have all the details handy when you need them.

Then you call the IRS and ask for an EIN. They will ask you for all the details you filled in previously and give you an EIN on the spot.

Once you have an EIN, you fill in your application to become a publisher with Apple.

The entire process took well less than an hour for me.

The one glitch I encountered was that I filled in the application with Apple immediately, once I got my EIN over the phone. Maybe five or six days later, I received an email from Apple telling me that my application was on hold because Apple had not been able to find my EIN in the IRS database. (It takes about a week for newly-issued EINs to make their way into the IRS database.) The email said that I should resubmit after a week or so, and I did.

I think it was three days later that I received my iTunes Connect authorisation and could start to provide my publisher details.

Michi.

G'day Vinny

I'm in Noosa, Queensland. I have just recently received my first (quarterly, I think) payment from Apple as a result of sales of my book created with iBA. The payment was broadly in accord with what I expected, but I still have some details to work out. It's the second iBA book I've created, the first being done for a paying client, who opened an account with Apple and deals directly with them.

My book

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kayak-fishing-manual/id580417421?ls=1y

So far I've sold to Australia, US, France, UK but it is available in 32 countries.

I have a very small limited company which is the entity which deals with Apple and had some difficulty in jumping through the necessary hoops to set up the whole process but eventually they worked. The EIN was easy, just a quick phone call, then a one month wait for the entry to appear in the IRS database. I also had to prove to Apple's satisfaction that my company was registered for GST.

I consulted my accountant before embarking on the process and he recommended using the company as the entity for publishing the book. The accountant will deal with any matters with the IRS, I hope. So far I have received no simple document detailing precisely how my payment was derived but will wait and see what other info is forthcoming.

It is certainly possible to load your book up using another entity's Apple account, but I'm not sure how YOU would keep track of sales as the other entity would receive all of the reports and income.

May I suggest that you consider setting up an Australian company and bank account. That's one way that definitely works. And give me a call if you wish, in Queensland, 54748522.

Kev

Your best bet is to publish with an aggregator like Tablo Publishing. They publish with iBooks, they'll assign ISBNs, manage royalties, you get full online sales reports and your book will be live within a few days.

You'll only need a PayPal email address too. Makes life a lot easier!

I dont know which country you are in.. but in Sydney Australia, I purchased a $10 Hello Phone card. The call I made took about 15 minutes or so.. but allow it can vary.

The call cost me $0.50c

First download the SS4 form and fill it in before you make a telephone call.

Phone the number 0011 - 267-941-1099 its option 1 for EIN

The agent will take 1 minute to recite his or her identification number.

SAy you need to request an EIN as a requirement of Apple Inc book sellers application.

if not asked state you have a filled in SS4 to assist the process.

Then asnwer the questions put to you.

Its a serious procerss and they do not rush and if in doubt will ask you to repeat an answer or clarify a spelling.

If you can use A - Apple, B-Baker- C - Cat type alphabet "code" it helps.

You are given the number over the phone and a letter will arrive after about 2 weeks.

Thats it after the call is over it takes at least 2 weeks to be seen by Apple.

I am hesitant to say Jamy that selling iBooks without an EIN isn't possible at all....but let's just say you must be the only Australian taxpayer in the world who is :-)

For any Australian (and I suspect any non-US residents) authors this is the reply I received from Apple directly.

"There is a requirement to obtain a US Tax ID if you wish to make your books available in the US market. This is no different for Australian authors than authors from anywhere else in the world hence no local FAQ. In my experience I have found that calling the IRS is the most effective way of obtaining an ID: Apply By EIN Toll-Free Telephone Service Taxpayers can obtain an EIN immediately by calling the Business & Specialty Tax Line at (800) 829-4933. The hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. An assistor takes the information, assigns the EIN, and provides the number to an authorized individual over the telephone. Note: International applicants must call (267) 941-1099 (Not a toll-free number).

"

jamy.s wrote:

I am in Australia and I got hold of the Australian iBookstore representative.

I have opened a bookstore for my organisation without an EIN, ITIN or any other IRS accronym.

You should have a local rep in the UK that should be able to help you with this.

I think, from my vague memory, that i just emailed iBookstore support and it was smooth sailing from there. Before that, I made numerous phone calls and wasted a lot of time.

Trilogy1000

I doubt Apple would offer the letter - the ITIN is used to identify individuals, for tax purposes, who are not eligible for a social security number. An EIN is used by a company to identify itself for tax purposes, and does not require a letter. You can apply for an EIN online at IRS.GOV and get one instantly. Per thr IRS, one reason to get an EIN is if you:

Are a foreign person and need an EIN to comply with IRS withholding regulations (from IRS.GOV)

I'd seek competent tax advice from someone, in your country, that can explain the ins and outs. If you get an EIN the US IRS will expect annual tax returns, even if you are not a US citizen. They will tax any income from the sales of your book, even as a non-US citizien not in the US selling a book to someone outside of the US, but how and how much depends on a lot of things, which is why you really need to get some good advice from a real tax professional.

Warning. The IRS says only use one form for getting an EIN either use mail, fax or phone. If you apply by fax they say an answer will be faxed back to you within 4 days. Not true! Because there was no answer after 10 days I applied by phone and received an EIN.

Today I received another EIN by mail - the answer to my former SS4 form fax. Now I have two and don't know what to do. I hope I can cancel one EIN by mailing the IRS and explaining the issue.

Anyway I wanted to let you know stick to one form! I suggest calling because there's no uncertainity or wait. You'll get your EIN (almost) immediately.

As mentioned before it takes two weeks until your EIN is in the IRS permanent records and Apple can verify it no matter how you apply for it.

I can only speak from my own experience. I am currently the administrator of an iBookstore for a large organisation that provides educational material. I established the bookstore with the direct assistance of Apple, we have also sold and received payment for our publications.

We have a current iBookstore contractual agreement. We do not have an EIN.

Perhaps things were different because of the nature of our business or publications I don't know.

So, I can tell you that it is possible for us, I'm not in a position to comment on other arrangements.

Anyone wanting to publish who's unable to or doesn't want to register for US tax, check out this label.

http://www.tablo.com.au

They publish iBooks Author textbooks on itunes for commission. Like a Lulu or Smashwords for iBooks.

vinnyvg and co

i have published books using amazon, scribd, bookbaby and tablo and can say

that my experience with tablo in publishing for apple devices was the best.

i prefer tablo's simplified process of submitting books and tracking their progress, all in plain english

from a very modern web site.

tablo charges you a small fee to

- get an ISBN

- deal with the IRS as a non-american taxpayer

- and iTunes as a small publisher

and that's worth it, IMHO.

john

enrichedbooks.com

Hi Guys,

To publish on the apple store as a non US resident you need an EIN, you can apply online for an EIN at Australia-Offshore.com, they did it for me for a fee in 48 hours they are base in the US and in Australia, you just need to fill up the application form at http://www.australia-offshore.com/employer-identification-number-ein-online-onli ne-application-irs-usa/

Let me how how it went,

Cheers and good luck.

Lev