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Tax Forms – TIN – Taxpayer Identification Number

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Questions have come up on on tax forms and obtaining a U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number or TIN if you live outside of the U.S. but working with a U.S. based company. I have moved the comments to here.

38 thoughts on “Tax Forms – TIN – Taxpayer Identification Number”

  1. Filling out the W-7 now myself (UK), and I’m all clear on the certified copy, generally filling it out, but for the exceptions, what do I choose and what documentation do I send?

    As said in the thread already, I guess I tick “a” (Nonresident alien required to get ITIN to claim tax treaty benefit.) then tick “h” and write “Exception 1(d)” But what do I documents can I send in? Where can I get a document stating I need an ITIN?

    Any help would be great!

    And through my rampant googling of w7s, w-8bens and ITINs, I came across this:
    “Am I required to provide a U.S. tax identification number under line 6? I’m not a U.S. citizen or resident.”
    “Not any longer! In order to claim tax treaty benefits, however, a tax identification number must still be provided on form W-8BEN. This may be the tax ID issued to you by your native country if there is a tax treaty in effect between our two countries. A tax id allows the IRS to establish both the identity and residency of foreign entities and nationals. We are required to withhold tax at the 30% rate if this information is not provided.”
    http://www.kongregate.com/pages/international-tax-faq

    Different circumstances, but do I need to get an ITIN or can I just go w8-ben?

    Reply
    • If you don’t get the ITIN then they will withhold 30% of your earnings.

      The best thing to do is to call IRS on the phone and get EIN instead of ITIN.It doesn’t demand all the notarized docs and hassle that ITIN demands and other artists said they got their EIN in about 10 minutes over the phone.

      I didn’t know that when i had to get an ITIN (2.5 years ago) and i had to deal with all the ITIN paperwork for 2 days,send it by mail and then wait 8-10 weeks to get my ITIN mailed to me!
      I had to get my ID,birth certification,driver’s license notarized and fill in correctly the W7 form (in case you don’t get it right you’ll need to send it again – that’s another 4-6 weeks!).

      I was talking to a fellow artist from Estonia and he just got his EIN last month,over the phone.
      I’ve also read in these forums of other artists getting an EIN instead of ITIN.It seems they both have the same effect.

      Do some google research though to get some more info about it.

      Reply
        • uk resident but having worked in the USA i managed to get a SSN which has voided my need to go through the ITTN number thing!

          Reply
      • Called and got my EIN. Like you said, 10 mins. Super easy, and thankfully the timezones worked quite nicely, as they were just starting their day, so I didn’t have to wait on the phone at all.

        Thanks for the help!

        Reply
        • Glad you avoided all the ITIN hassle (wish i knew it back then!).
          Now only thing left is fill in the EIN info in your W8-BEN form and you’re ready to go 😉

          Reply
  2. Hello,

    I’m just about to fill W7 form and found some info at the bottom of the page 3 in Instructions for Form W-7.
    There is written:
    “Submittal of original/certified copies of identifying documents for applicants using the combination of reason codes a and h is not required. Original documents and notarized copies will be accepted. The applicant
    will be required to submit original documents or certified copies if
    a U.S. tax return is being submitted with the ITIN request.”

    So I don’t need to send them my passport or certified copy if I don’t want any U.S. tax return right?

    Reply
  3. What happens if i dont fill out a w8-BEN form when im in the uk and making a little money thru licensing in the U.S.? Will I be taxed heavily on my earnings or can I incur a fine for America witholding taxes against me?

    Reply
  4. Resurrecting this post it seems…

    I’m a UK citizen, and yes, guess what, I’m trying to get an ITIN number. It’s turning into a serious headache and I could really do with some advice from someone who’s been through the hell of this bureaucracy before!

    The bits I’m stuck on are:

    1. On the W7, I have to tick box h, seeing as I tick box a. Now I have to put down which ‘Exception’ and which ‘treaty article number’. Is this Exception 1(d) and number 14? The number is what I’m really not sure about at all. Maybe it’s 12?

    2. Do I have to send them a letter from the music library on letterhead stating that I need an ITIN? I think I saw something in the documentation about this in general terms, but I’m not sure if it’s necessary.

    3. Seeing as the US embassy recently decided that offering a US notarization service in their London embassy made life too easy for normal people, I now have to get a copy of my passport notarized and subsequently apostilled by the Foreign Office. However, does this have to be notarized or can it be certified by a solicitor before I send it to the Foreign Office? A family member recently got their documents (for another reason) certified by a solicitor and the Foreign Office said that was fine for an apostille. The reason I ask is because certification costs 5 quid, and for a notary to sign your piece of paper it costs 70 quid.

    In summary, I should have become a lawyer. In the meantime, any help would be hugely appreciated!

    Reply
  5. Is there anyone who knows about what difference is between going embassy and notary public to notarize passport? I am going to notarize my passport to receive ITIN from IRS but American embassy is a little far from my home. So I want to go to notary public for convenience.(it is even possible to notarize with notary public by post or online). but like I said above, I’m wondering what is difference(or pros and cons) between embassy and notary public. for examble, such as security problems. I do want to go to notari public if there is no problem to worry about security of personal information.
    Please give me some advice, Thanks.

    Reply
  6. If you are a composer living outside the US and have your own company like me there is no need for an ITIN and difficult stuff with Embassy and notarized copies.
    Just call the IRS, fill in a SS4 form together with the Taxguy on the phone and get your EIN number immediately
    Took me 20 minutes..
    Then fill in a W-8Ben form with the EIN and send it to the Libraries that need it.

    Ready!

    Reply
  7. Apologies for this being off-topic – there isn’t a tax thread anywhere, and since this relates to payment the royalty thread was the closest I could find. We need help from any UK or Northern Ireland composers who have successfully applied for an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer ID Number).

    We have been experiencing some confusion with correctly filling out form W-7. We want to clarify our exception category and tax treaty article number before we send in the application to the IRS, as entering the wrong information will result in having to do it all again.

    We are fairly certain we are in exception category 1(d):

    “1(d) Individuals who are receiving distributions during the current year of income such as pensions, annuities, royalties, dividends, etc. and are required to provide an ITIN to the withholding agent (i.e., investment company, insurance company, financial institution, etc.) for the purposes of tax withholding and reporting requirements.”

    And tax treaty article 12:

    “ARTICLE 12
    Royalties
    1. Royalties arising in a Contracting State and beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in that other State.
    2. The term “royalties” as used in this Article means:
    a) any consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic, scientific or other work (including computer software and cinematographic films) including works reproduced on audio or video tapes or disks or any other means of image or sound reproduction, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or other like right or property, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience; and
    b) any gain derived from the alienation of any right or property described in sub-paragraph a) of this paragraph, to the extent that the amount of such gain is
    contingent on the productivity, use, or disposition of the right or property.
    3. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State, in which the royalties arise, through a permanent establishment situated therein, and the royalties are attributable to such permanent establishment. In such case, the provisions of Article 7 (Business Profits) of this Convention shall apply.
    4. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties paid exceeds, for whatever reason, the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.
    5. The provisions of this Article shall not apply in respect of any royalty paid under, or as part of, a conduit arrangement.”

    The exception category and tax treaty article number relate to box “h” in the first section of the form which can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf. If anyone could confirm that we have chosen the correct information (or let us know what we should put if this is wrong) we would be extremely grateful! If you happen to live in or near Leeds, we’ll buy you a pint. 🙂

    Reply

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