Tax forms help (W9, W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E)

PublishDrive, as a platform that assists authors and publishers in distributing and selling their books, is subject to tax regulations and reporting requirements, especially since the company is based in the United States. Notably, any royalties earned by PublishDrive users through the service are considered income generated within the US.

The reasons why we need to collect tax forms from our users are the following:

• IRS reporting requirements, legal compliance: we want to ensure that we are in compliance with U.S. tax laws and regulations.
• Tax withholding and reporting: depending on the tax laws and treaties between countries, we might be required to withhold a portion of payments made to authors and publishers. The information provided in the tax form helps us determine the appropriate withholding rate, if applicable.
• Treaty benefits, avoiding double taxation: if users are from countries that have tax treaties with the United States, they might be eligible for reduced or eliminated withholding tax rates on their income earned through PublishDrive. The tax forms help us determine if users qualify for treaty benefits.
• Accurate payouts: collecting tax information ensures that payouts to authors and publishers are accurate and aligned with their tax obligations.

Where to find the tax forms

You can provide your billing data, payout details, and tax information by clicking on your name in the main dashboard and selecting "Account Settings" and then "Payout Settings."

We won't ask for sensitive information such as banking details or legal information until you've received your first sales report. Once you receive your sales report, you'll have until the 15th of the following month to complete your legal and payment information and file your tax form. (This step is required before the first payment.)

When you need to fill out your tax form, your account will show this status: 

The status will change to 'Completed' after a successful submission of the tax form.

You can edit the tax form later if any of your details change.

Different types of tax forms

• W-8BEN: For individuals residing outside the United States.
• W-8BEN-E: For companies located outside the United States.
• W-9: For individuals and companies residing within the United States (including citizens and Green Card holders).
• Other: Depending on your circumstances, other forms may be more suitable. If none of the above seems fitting, please consult an accountant.

W9 form (for US individuals and companies)

Page 1

• Enter your legal name and/or the name of your corporation.
• Select your legal type: are you an individual, a sole trader, or a corporation?
• Enter your address.
• Enter your TIN: you can use either your Social Security Number or your Employer Identification Number.
• Confirm that you have provided only accurate information and sign the contract.

It will take around 24 hours to validate your tax form.

W-8BEN (for individuals outside the US)

Page 1

• Enter your legal name, country of citizenship, permanent address, and mailing address.
• After selecting the country, the system will automatically fill in your addresses as you type.

Page 2

• Enter your tax identification number. You might have an ITIN or a local tax identification number.

If you do not hold an ITIN, please input your local tax identification number. This can differ based on your country of residence. For instance, individuals from the UK can provide their UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) or NI (National Insurance) number. Utilize the number that is most commonly employed in your country for tracking the taxes you pay.

Page 3

• If your country has a tax treaty with the US, you can select it from the drop-down list. In this case, your payments will be subject to a lower rate of tax withholding, or no tax withholding at all.

Please refer to this article to learn more about withholding rates.

If your country is not on the list, your earnings will be subject to the default 30% tax withholding.

Page 4

• Confirm accurate information and sign the contract.

Rate of withholding

To see the rate of withholding, click Tax forms after submitting your form.

It'll take around 24 hours to validate your tax form.

W-8BEN-E (for companies outside the US)

Page 1

• Enter the name of your organization, and select the country of incorporation.
• Select the type of your organization from the two options or from the drop-down list.

• Enter the permanent address and mailing address. When you select the country, the system will automatically offer filling in your addresses.

Page 2

• Enter your tax identification number. You might hold an EIN, an employer identification number. If you don't hold an EIN, enter your local tax identification number.

Page 3

• If your country of residency has a tax treaty with the US, you can select it from the drop-down list. In this case, your payments will be subject to a lower rate of tax withholding, or no tax withholding at all.

Please refer to this article to learn more about withholding rates.

• Select your country of residence from the list, then select the tax treaty type that might apply.

If your country is not on the list, your earnings will be subject to the default 30% tax withholding.

Page 4

• Confirm accurate information and sign the contract.

Rate of withholding

To see the rate of withholding, click Tax forms after submitting your form.

It'll take around 24 hours to validate your tax form.

If you require assistance

In case you encounter difficulties during the tax form process due to the legal language, you can find the translation of the form and instructions in several languages on this site.

The languages currently available are Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, French, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Turkish and Ukranian.

Please note that the PublishDrive platform uses a simplified form of the tax forms with only the information relevant to our service, but you will still be able to find the same questions in the instructions above.

More information about payment methods and thresholds can be found here and here.

You can also reach out to our Support Team if you need help or clarification.