Non-US Tax witholdings?

I'm currently trying to fight my way through that system which is an absolute pantomime and might ultimately replace Microsoft products as my personal leading cause of anti-Americanism. Go though relevant the help sections on the Amazon Publishing site, prepare to do a lot of reading.

You'll have to get an ITIN number, which is basically a tax number for non Americans. There should be a double taxation agreement between the UK and US that should allow you to avoid Amazon sending the money to the US Tax man in the first place.

Oh and if you think dealing with the US tax authorities from the UK is fun, try being a UK citizen who is resident in Ireland - that just adds to the hilarity!

Annmarie09 said:

Hi all,
So I recently published on kindle. I'm a UK-based indie author, with very little experience regarding tax etc.. Do amazon really withold 30% of royalties for tax for non-US authors? I haven't recieved my first payment yet, so I am a little dubious about the whole thing.
Do you have to fill in the tax return form every year?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

For non-US authors to recieve the full amount you will need to have an ITIN - this can take some time to process.

Scarlet did a post on this a while backwhich is really helpful.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202216

I think the easiest thing to do in your situation is not to apply for the ITIN now, but to submit a tax return in April, reclaiming whatever tax has been withheld. At that point the IRS will issue you with an ITIN automatically and you won't have to go through the process again.

Though I will admit, I haven't done this myself, being in the amazingly privileged position of a UK citizen who happens to have a US social security number.