Withholding tax for non-US authors – get your ITN/EIN today

by Frank | May 2, 2013 | Books, Writing

Until recently getting hold of your ITIN or EIN number in order to receive more royalties from your books was a lengthy process. The US tax office has listened and you can now have your form filled out for you over the phone. I did it recently and it took no more than half an hour. They give me my ITIN there and then which you can then use to fill out the relevant forms and send them to Amazon, Createspace, Lulu, iBooks and so on. Just follow this information below from the Createspace website:

1. Obtain a U.S. Tax Identification Number (TIN)
For non-U.S. persons, a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) may be an EIN (for individuals and businesses) or an ITIN (for individuals only). An EIN may be obtained by filing IRS Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number. The application may be completed over the telephone in one session by calling +1 (267) 941-1099. The application may also be completed by fax in approximately 4 business days and by mail in approximately 4 weeks.

You will then need to provide hard-copy versions of the forms to your sales channels. You can download sample forms and everything else from this Createspace webpage (needs log-in), I recommend doing this before calling so that you have the relevant info in front of you.

Use Skype on your machine if you want cheap calls. Talk nicely and be professional to the representative on the phone and answer all relevant questions. They will give your ITIN/EIN number there and then and confirm it in writing in the following weeks. You can use this number to fill out the relevant forms straight away and send the hard-copies to the sales-platforms you are using.

You can also use Createspace’s excellent example form to fill learn how to fill yours out correctly with the minimum of fuss found on the same link.

Some addresses to send forms to are:

CreateSpace
c/o Vendor Maintenance
PO Box 80683
Seattle, WA 98108-0683

Amazon Digital Services
Attn: Vendor Maintenance
PO Box 80683
Seattle, WA 98108-0683

If you have other addresses to hand, drop them in the comments below. And if anyone finds out how to claim their already withheld tax back please let us know.

#update on claiming withheld tax.

One comment on this Kindleboards thread said:

How long back does the withheld amount go back to? I just had some money withheld in my January payments and Amazon sent a cheque out incl. the withheld funds with my EIN acknowledgement letter.

Join in the discussion.

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