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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: click_click on June 26, 2017, 14:19
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I've moved to a country that unfortunately is on the list for a 30% tax withholding on footage. Previously I was living in Germany and got all my $$$ (both photos and footage) straight to my bank account.
Now, I was wondering if it is possible to retrieve those 30% filing my tax return?
Has anybody ever done this or heard about it? Is there any information somewhere? Or are those 30% just gone?
Thanks in advance.
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you need to claim the 30% tax back in your own country when filling in your tax form. like any other tax paid, its deductible from your revenue.
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From Canada here, at first I thought I just lose that 30%, then last year I gave the forms to my accountant and sure enough all that money paid or withheld is a tax deduction against your income, just like any other business expense. Glad I printed off those tax forms from SS and VB. When in doubt give it to the accountant and let them check things over.
I'm an extremely high volume seller of editorial content on VB and a lower tier seller on SS but it was significant at year end that I was able to claim that tax paid as a business expense.
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Keep in mind though... there are countries which don't have a tax treaty with the US and you get 30% withheld, and there are countries which do have a tax treaty with the US and still have 30% withheld. If you're in one of the countries that doesn't have a treaty with the US, then they may not recognise the payment that you've already made.
There's a list somewhere on the IRS website with all the different tax treaties and withholding rates. If your country is in the list, then you should be all good.
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From Canada here, at first I thought I just lose that 30%, then last year I gave the forms to my accountant and sure enough all that money paid or withheld is a tax deduction against your income, just like any other business expense. Glad I printed off those tax forms from SS and VB. When in doubt give it to the accountant and let them check things over.
I'm an extremely high volume seller of editorial content on VB and a lower tier seller on SS but it was significant at year end that I was able to claim that tax paid as a business expense.
Having the foreign taxes returned and considering it a business expense isn't quite the same thing.
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From Canada here, at first I thought I just lose that 30%, then last year I gave the forms to my accountant and sure enough all that money paid or withheld is a tax deduction against your income, just like any other business expense. Glad I printed off those tax forms from SS and VB. When in doubt give it to the accountant and let them check things over.
I'm an extremely high volume seller of editorial content on VB and a lower tier seller on SS but it was significant at year end that I was able to claim that tax paid as a business expense.
Having the foreign taxes returned and considering it a business expense isn't quite the same thing.
Yeah, nobody gets them returned. Maybe if they've been withheld incorrectly, but if you should be paying 30% and they are withholding 30%... then you're never seeing that money ever again. The business expense route is the only way to go.
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Yeah, nobody gets them returned. Maybe if they've been withheld incorrectly, but if you should be paying 30% and they are withholding 30%... then you're never seeing that money ever again. The business expense route is the only way to go.
He lives in Canada, there is a tax treaty, so in a way they've been withheld incorrectly. The way to go about it is to file the return with IRS, get an ITIN and get a full refund. And fire the accountant who clearly doesn't know anything about cross-border taxes.
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Yeah, nobody gets them returned. Maybe if they've been withheld incorrectly, but if you should be paying 30% and they are withholding 30%... then you're never seeing that money ever again. The business expense route is the only way to go.
He lives in Canada, there is a tax treaty, so in a way they've been withheld incorrectly. The way to go about it is to file the return with IRS, get an ITIN and get a full refund. And fire the accountant who clearly doesn't know anything about cross-border taxes.
Sounds like somebody didn't fill out a W8 form then.