Author Topic: Tax Interview (Read 28701 times)

grace · « **on:** January 22, 2015, 21:50 »

Hi all, I just filling in the tax interview, but for the last page that wrote "Capacity in which acting", how to fill in this coloumn?Thanks

dpimborough · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2015, 01:36 »

You could put "Self" in?

Semmick Photo · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2015, 02:09 »

I always fill in Creative Owner, or Owner, thats my capacity, running my own business. If you are partner your should fill in Partner, or something to that extend.

PZF · « **Reply #3 on:** January 23, 2015, 03:04 »

I gather this needs to be filled in - but where do you find it? I see no link or anything though I did get an email from Payoneer (my current option) about changing payment method on IS....

akaza · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2015, 03:24 »

Just type "Individual"

pixsol · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2015, 03:26 »

Quote from: PZF on January 23, 2015, 03:04

I gather this needs to be filled in - but where do you find it? I see no link or anything though I did get an email from Payoneer (my current option) about changing payment method on IS....

On your profile page, you will see on the left side of the page under 'Contributor Tools' the options 'Payment Information' (to update your payment details) and the 'Tax Interview'.

jarih · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2015, 11:00 »

It's stuck, I can't go further than a "profile". After Continue it's totally stuck.. nothing happens.. I tried Safari and Crome.. I use partnerships and so on..

niserin · « **Reply #7 on:** January 23, 2015, 11:21 »

I am stuck on Sign and Submit tab. The field Submit W8BEN is inactive....

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #8 on:** January 23, 2015, 11:40 »

At the end of the first (instructions) page for the Tax Interview it says:

"Do not update your tax information using our tax interview if you want to be the payee for the account. A change of payee requires a change to your agreement."

Of course I want to be the payee for my own account! I am a US resident and thus shouldn't have any tax withheld, but I never filled out a W9 with iStock before because they were not a US company.

From the forum FAQ it says

"What happens if I don't do the Tax Interview?

You will be subject to maximum withholding tax."

and

"I’m a US Citizen will I have taxes deducted from my payments? - new

If you are a US person or business and complete the tax interview (completing a W9) you will not have taxes deducted from your payments."

So I have to complete the tax interview, I guess?

Edited to add that I did complete it, and they now have a W-9.

Perhaps the first quote about not doing the tax interview if you want to be the payee for the account relates only to cases where you wish to change the account payee and they're trying to tell you not to do it via the tax interview.

ShadySue · « **Reply #9 on:** January 23, 2015, 11:42 »

Well, the very first question, Individual, Sole Proprietor or Business, I thought I'd better see Help to find out whether I'm US-legally an Individual or a Sole Proprietor, and Help told me:
"Individual, Sole Proprietor or Business?
If you are preparing tax information as an Individual or Sole Proprietor, select the appropriate "Individual" or "Sole Proprietor" radio button."
Help? = 'not as advertised'. Bl**dy obvious information, but not telling what we need to know, and I've seen two different interpretations on two different groups discussing this, both peer information, not official.
FLOG

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #10 on:** January 23, 2015, 11:49 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 23, 2015, 11:42

Well, the very first question, Individual, Sole Proprietor or Business, I thought I'd better see Help to find out whether I'm US-legally an Individual or a Sole Proprietor, and Help told me:
"Individual, Sole Proprietor or Business?
If you are preparing tax information as an Individual or Sole Proprietor, select the appropriate "Individual" or "Sole Proprietor" radio button."
Help? = 'not as advertised'. Bl**dy obvious information, but not telling what we need to know, and I've seen two different interpretations on two different groups discussing this, both peer information, not official.
FLOG

Unless you have a company of which you are the owner and sole proprietor (i.e. not a partnership) you should select individual

ShadySue · « **Reply #11 on:** January 23, 2015, 12:12 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on January 23, 2015, 11:49

Quote from: ShadySue on January 23, 2015, 11:42
Well, the very first question, Individual, Sole Proprietor or Business, I thought I'd better see Help to find out whether I'm US-legally an Individual or a Sole Proprietor, and Help told me:
"Individual, Sole Proprietor or Business?
If you are preparing tax information as an Individual or Sole Proprietor, select the appropriate "Individual" or "Sole Proprietor" radio button."
Help? = 'not as advertised'. Bl**dy obvious information, but not telling what we need to know, and I've seen two different interpretations on two different groups discussing this, both peer information, not official.
FLOG

Unless you have a company of which you are the owner and sole proprietor (i.e. not a partnership) you should select individual

Thanks Jo-Ann. I decided to do that on the grounds they'd get back to me if it was wrong.
Now completed and I have 0% to pay the US.

polar · « **Reply #12 on:** January 23, 2015, 12:43 »

I just filled mine out. I noticed there was one question asking whether "you've been in the US in the past two years." It so happens I haven't been so I checked no. But I might make some short visits there in the next few years if the Canadian dollar ever recovers :-(. It says you're supposed to update the form if anything you've said "becomes incorrect" so does that mean I have to update this form every time I take a trip to the US?

ShadySue · « **Reply #13 on:** January 23, 2015, 12:51 »

Quote from: polar on January 23, 2015, 12:43

I just filled mine out. I noticed there was one question asking whether "you've been in the US in the past two years." It so happens I haven't been so I checked no. But I might make some short visits there in the next few years if the Canadian dollar ever recovers :-(. It says you're supposed to update the form if anything you've said "becomes incorrect" so does that mean I have to update this form every time I take a trip to the US?

I had a big think about whether my three days in San Diego en route to Baja counted, but apparently not when I read the small print.

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 23, 2015, 12:56 »

Thanks for posting about that - I didn't realize we needed to do this and it would have been annoying to have tax withheld.

polar · « **Reply #15 on:** January 23, 2015, 13:01 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 23, 2015, 12:51

Quote from: polar on January 23, 2015, 12:43
I just filled mine out. I noticed there was one question asking whether "you've been in the US in the past two years." It so happens I haven't been so I checked no. But I might make some short visits there in the next few years if the Canadian dollar ever recovers :-(. It says you're supposed to update the form if anything you've said "becomes incorrect" so does that mean I have to update this form every time I take a trip to the US?

I had a big think about whether my three days in San Diego en route to Baja counted, but apparently not when I read the small print.

Where's the small print? Can I see it now that I've already completed the form?

ShadySue · « **Reply #16 on:** January 23, 2015, 13:19 »

Quote from: polar on January 23, 2015, 13:01

Quote from: ShadySue on January 23, 2015, 12:51
Quote from: polar on January 23, 2015, 12:43
I just filled mine out. I noticed there was one question asking whether "you've been in the US in the past two years." It so happens I haven't been so I checked no. But I might make some short visits there in the next few years if the Canadian dollar ever recovers :-(. It says you're supposed to update the form if anything you've said "becomes incorrect" so does that mean I have to update this form every time I take a trip to the US?

I had a big think about whether my three days in San Diego en route to Baja counted, but apparently not when I read the small print.

Where's the small print? Can I see it now that I've already completed the form?

Can't remember, and I'm not sure if it was actually 'small', but there were definitions on that page.
I think you'd need to check yourself if you can go back to see.

polar · « **Reply #17 on:** January 23, 2015, 13:35 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 23, 2015, 13:19

Quote from: polar on January 23, 2015, 13:01
Quote from: ShadySue on January 23, 2015, 12:51
Quote from: polar on January 23, 2015, 12:43
I just filled mine out. I noticed there was one question asking whether "you've been in the US in the past two years." It so happens I haven't been so I checked no. But I might make some short visits there in the next few years if the Canadian dollar ever recovers :-(. It says you're supposed to update the form if anything you've said "becomes incorrect" so does that mean I have to update this form every time I take a trip to the US?

I had a big think about whether my three days in San Diego en route to Baja counted, but apparently not when I read the small print.

Where's the small print? Can I see it now that I've already completed the form?
Can't remember, and I'm not sure if it was actually 'small', but there were definitions on that page.
I think you'd need to check yourself if you can go back to see.

Okay, thanks. I have no plans to visit the US in 2015, so I'll just let it go for now. When I make a trip down there, I'll go back to the form and see if I need to update it.

I assume that what they're really looking for are people who stay in the States for longer periods of time and/or do some work there, not people who go for a week or two on vacation. Can you recall the gist of what you read that made you conclude that your three-day stopover didn't count?

ShadySue · « **Reply #18 on:** January 23, 2015, 13:57 »

Quote from: polar on January 23, 2015, 13:35

I assume that what they're really looking for are people who stay in the States for longer periods of time and/or do some work there, not people who go for a week or two on vacation. Can you recall the gist of what you read that made you conclude that your three-day stopover didn't count?

Exactly that, a vacation didn't count. There were various visa specifications, and the tourist visa wasn't there.
I'm not sure how they'd regard it if, as a non-US citizen, you went there for a few days or weeks and shot some files for stock ...

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 23, 2015, 14:13 »

As long as you didn't earn any money while in the US I think you should be OK.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #20 on:** January 23, 2015, 14:54 »

I realize reading this anguished English is a form of torture, but all the rules are (I think) on the IRS instructions for form W-8ben, should you want to go back and re-read details or see if you need to change something in the future

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw8ben.pdf

polar · « **Reply #21 on:** January 23, 2015, 17:03 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on January 23, 2015, 14:54

I realize reading this anguished English is a form of torture, but all the rules are (I think) on the IRS instructions for form W-8ben, should you want to go back and re-read details or see if you need to change something in the future

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw8ben.pdf

Thanks for this link. I took a quick look at the document and yes, it is indeed a torture to read. In one section, it says you may be considered a US resident for tax purposes depending on the "number of days you are physically present in the US over a period of three years" and refers to yet another document for details. In another section, it mentions people who stay in the States for more than 183 days in a calendar year. I know Canadian "snow birds" (seniors who spent most of the winter in Florida or Arizona) have to be careful how long they stay or they will be taxed.

None of this applies to me at the moment so I'll revisit it if I plan any longish trips down there. But I wouldn't be working down there in any event.

PixelBytes · « **Reply #22 on:** January 23, 2015, 20:38 »

I did the tax interview, but I don't see where to pick the payment method for new payout structure . Anybody know that?

ShadySue · « **Reply #23 on:** January 23, 2015, 20:56 »

Quote from: PixelBytes on January 23, 2015, 20:38

I did the tax interview, but I don't see where to pick the payment method for new payout structure. Anybody know that?

Mine came up immediately I'd finished the tax interview.
I had to do it twice: the first time it said I had no payment method selected, the second time 'fixed' it.

PixelBytes · « **Reply #24 on:** January 23, 2015, 23:44 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 23, 2015, 20:56

Quote from: PixelBytes on January 23, 2015, 20:38
I did the tax interview, but I don't see where to pick the payment method for new payout structure. Anybody know that?
Mine came up immediately I'd finished the tax interview.
I had to do it twice: the first time it said I had no payment method selected, the second time 'fixed' it.

Mine did not come up, but I did find it on the left of my profile, so I am set up now.

grace · « **Reply #25 on:** January 24, 2015, 00:16 »

Hi everyone, may I know whether I need to fill in the Tax interview or not if I'm Malaysian?Thanks

PixelBytes · « **Reply #26 on:** January 24, 2015, 00:23 »

Quote from: grace on January 24, 2015, 00:16

Hi everyone, may I know whether I need to fill in the Tax interview or not if I'm Malaysian?Thanks

I think you have to fill it out no matter where your from.

polar · « **Reply #27 on:** January 24, 2015, 00:49 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 23, 2015, 20:56

Quote from: PixelBytes on January 23, 2015, 20:38
I did the tax interview, but I don't see where to pick the payment method for new payout structure. Anybody know that?
Mine came up immediately I'd finished the tax interview.
I had to do it twice: the first time it said I had no payment method selected, the second time 'fixed' it.

Mine didn't come up automatically and I didn't even know I needed to do this until I read the comments here.

I also had to do it twice to get it to stick. Why does nothing ever work properly on the site?

WendyT · « **Reply #28 on:** January 24, 2015, 00:56 »

I did my payment method first before the tax interview ... there was actually nothing selected there, I had to reput my Paypal info in.
Everyone has to do the tax interview no matter where you are from I believe.

grace · « **Reply #29 on:** January 24, 2015, 01:17 »

The last page of the tax interview, I must checked all the boxes only can submit the W-8BEN form?

jarih · « **Reply #30 on:** January 24, 2015, 02:23 »

Quote from: jarih on January 23, 2015, 11:00

It's stuck, I can't go further than a "profile". After Continue it's totally stuck.. nothing happens.. I tried Safari and Crome.. I use partnerships and so on..

Now I know why it's stuck. "Legal Entity Name" don't accept scandinavian letters like ä, å and ö. Nice bug iStock!

PZF · « **Reply #31 on:** January 24, 2015, 05:18 »

Thanks Pixsol!

But I too am a bit confused as to my status as it were. I'm in Italy where I MUST be vat registered for any trading activity at all which exceeds a very low level. I'm not a company in any real sense - it's just me and a vat (iva) number. Anybody any idea whether this counts as a Company for Istock purposes? Payments etc still just come to my personal bank account etc....

?

dpimborough · « **Reply #32 on:** January 24, 2015, 09:02 »

Quote from: PZF on January 24, 2015, 05:18

Thanks Pixsol!

But I too am a bit confused as to my status as it were. I'm in Italy where I MUST be vat registered for any trading activity at all which exceeds a very low level. I'm not a company in any real sense - it's just me and a vat (iva) number. Anybody any idea whether this counts as a Company for Istock purposes? Payments etc still just come to my personal bank account etc....

?

I'm VAT registered in the EU but that does not matter for iStock and the US tax system. You can call your self an individual or sole trader the results are still the same.

Don't forget the "foreign" TIN (Tax identification number) could be your social security or national insurance number or unique tax reference ~ it took me a while to figure that out.

Just don't copy and paste it the site doesn't like that you have to type it in

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #33 on:** January 24, 2015, 09:17 »

Wow, thanks for letting us know - I didn't realize we had to redo the payment choice again either. You'd think iStock could have transferred that information over... oh, what am I thinking?

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #34 on:** January 24, 2015, 09:27 »

They don't work in submissions, titles or descriptions or keywords either.

Quote from: jarih on January 24, 2015, 02:23

Quote from: jarih on January 23, 2015, 11:00
It's stuck, I can't go further than a "profile". After Continue it's totally stuck.. nothing happens.. I tried Safari and Crome.. I use partnerships and so on..

Now I know why it's stuck. "Legal Entity Name" don't accept scandinavian letters like ä, å and ö. Nice bug iStock!

ShadySue · « **Reply #35 on:** January 24, 2015, 09:30 »

Quote from: jarih on January 24, 2015, 02:23

Quote from: jarih on January 23, 2015, 11:00
It's stuck, I can't go further than a "profile". After Continue it's totally stuck.. nothing happens.. I tried Safari and Crome.. I use partnerships and so on..

Now I know why it's stuck. "Legal Entity Name" don't accept scandinavian letters like ä, å and ö. Nice bug iStock!

Quote from: Uncle Pete on January 24, 2015, 09:27

They don't work in submissions, titles or descriptions or keywords either.

Or editorial captions, unless that's changed recently.

jarih · « **Reply #36 on:** January 24, 2015, 11:23 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 24, 2015, 09:30

Quote from: jarih on January 24, 2015, 02:23
Quote from: jarih on January 23, 2015, 11:00
It's stuck, I can't go further than a "profile". After Continue it's totally stuck.. nothing happens.. I tried Safari and Crome.. I use partnerships and so on..

Now I know why it's stuck. "Legal Entity Name" don't accept scandinavian letters like ä, å and ö. Nice bug iStock!
Quote from: Uncle Pete on January 24, 2015, 09:27
They don't work in submissions, titles or descriptions or keywords either.
Or editorial captions, unless that's changed recently.

Those are more understandable, so I must little lie and use a wrong name

WendyT · « **Reply #37 on:** January 24, 2015, 17:46 »

Quote from: Teddy the Cat on January 24, 2015, 09:02

Quote from: PZF on January 24, 2015, 05:18
Thanks Pixsol!

But I too am a bit confused as to my status as it were. I'm in Italy where I MUST be vat registered for any trading activity at all which exceeds a very low level. I'm not a company in any real sense - it's just me and a vat (iva) number. Anybody any idea whether this counts as a Company for Istock purposes? Payments etc still just come to my personal bank account etc....

?

I'm VAT registered in the EU but that does not matter for iStock and the US tax system. You can call your self an individual or sole trader the results are still the same.

Don't forget the "foreign" TIN (Tax identification number) should be your social security or national insurance number ~ it took me a while to figure that out

In Australia it is the Tax File Number (TFN), the Social Security number is a different thing again.

I believe the VAT is different again, the number they want is the ID number you use for doing your personal tax if you are an individual or sole operator.

ShadySue · « **Reply #38 on:** January 24, 2015, 17:54 »

Quote from: Teddy the Cat on January 24, 2015, 09:02

Quote from: PZF on January 24, 2015, 05:18
Thanks Pixsol!

But I too am a bit confused as to my status as it were. I'm in Italy where I MUST be vat registered for any trading activity at all which exceeds a very low level. I'm not a company in any real sense - it's just me and a vat (iva) number. Anybody any idea whether this counts as a Company for Istock purposes? Payments etc still just come to my personal bank account etc....

Don't forget the "foreign" TIN (Tax identification number) should be your social security or national insurance number ~ it took me a while to figure that out

In the UK, your NI number is not your UTR. Your Unique Tax Reference number is, for example, near the top right of the first page of your Self Employed (short) (SES1) tax return.

lewis larkin · « **Reply #39 on:** January 24, 2015, 20:50 »

In UK, I believe (hope?) that the national insurance number can be used as the foreign TIN. It is a unique reference, but easier to remember than the UTR. I think I found a document on UK .gov site that listed both and implied they were equivalent... of course, I can't remember the reference...

john_woodcock · « **Reply #40 on:** January 25, 2015, 03:15 »

Quote from: lewis larkin on January 24, 2015, 20:50

In UK, I believe (hope?) that the national insurance number can be used as the foreign TIN. It is a unique reference, but easier to remember than the UTR. I think I found a document on UK .gov site that listed both and implied they were equivalent... of course, I can't remember the reference...

On the IS forums dealing with this UK contributors have said they have used either their NI number or their UTR number, both seem to work.

dpimborough · « **Reply #41 on:** January 25, 2015, 04:27 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 24, 2015, 17:54

Quote from: Teddy the Cat on January 24, 2015, 09:02
Quote from: PZF on January 24, 2015, 05:18
Thanks Pixsol!

But I too am a bit confused as to my status as it were. I'm in Italy where I MUST be vat registered for any trading activity at all which exceeds a very low level. I'm not a company in any real sense - it's just me and a vat (iva) number. Anybody any idea whether this counts as a Company for Istock purposes? Payments etc still just come to my personal bank account etc....

Don't forget the "foreign" TIN (Tax identification number) should be your social security or national insurance number ~ it took me a while to figure that out
In the UK, your NI number is not your UTR. Your Unique Tax Reference number is, for example, near the top right of the first page of your Self Employed (short) (SES1) tax return.

~~Yes I know I tried using the 10 digit UTR but it would not accept it and then I tried the NI number and it accepted that.~~

Correction it seems other people on the iS forum did what I did which is copy and paste their UTR which was not accepted but then if they typed the UTR it did accept it. Just resubmitted the form with a typed UTR and it worked.

Sigh...

ShadySue · « **Reply #42 on:** January 25, 2015, 04:42 »

Quote from: Teddy the Cat on January 25, 2015, 04:27

Quote from: ShadySue on January 24, 2015, 17:54
Quote from: Teddy the Cat on January 24, 2015, 09:02
Quote from: PZF on January 24, 2015, 05:18
Thanks Pixsol!

But I too am a bit confused as to my status as it were. I'm in Italy where I MUST be vat registered for any trading activity at all which exceeds a very low level. I'm not a company in any real sense - it's just me and a vat (iva) number. Anybody any idea whether this counts as a Company for Istock purposes? Payments etc still just come to my personal bank account etc....

Don't forget the "foreign" TIN (Tax identification number) should be your social security or national insurance number ~ it took me a while to figure that out
In the UK, your NI number is not your UTR. Your Unique Tax Reference number is, for example, near the top right of the first page of your Self Employed (short) (SES1) tax return.

Yes I know I tried using the 10 digit UTR but it would not accept it and then I tried the NI number and it accepted that.

Correction it seems other people on the iS forum did what I did which is copy and paste their UTR which was not accepted but then if they typed the UTR it did accept it. Just resubmitted the form with a typed UTR and it worked.

Sigh...

In my case, as I was copying my UTR number from a scan of my SES1, it didn't accept it first time because I'd put a space in the middle, as on the form; but when I removed the space, it went through.

Difydave · « **Reply #43 on:** January 25, 2015, 06:35 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 25, 2015, 04:42

In my case, as I was copying my UTR number from a scan of my SES1, it didn't accept it first time because I'd put a space in the middle, as on the form; but when I removed the space, it went through.

Ditto. Of course we have no way of knowing how "smart" the form is, and whether it checks the number against a database, or just accepts a format.

polar · « **Reply #44 on:** January 25, 2015, 11:04 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 25, 2015, 04:42

Quote from: Teddy the Cat on January 25, 2015, 04:27
Quote from: ShadySue on January 24, 2015, 17:54
Quote from: Teddy the Cat on January 24, 2015, 09:02
Quote from: PZF on January 24, 2015, 05:18
Thanks Pixsol!

But I too am a bit confused as to my status as it were. I'm in Italy where I MUST be vat registered for any trading activity at all which exceeds a very low level. I'm not a company in any real sense - it's just me and a vat (iva) number. Anybody any idea whether this counts as a Company for Istock purposes? Payments etc still just come to my personal bank account etc....

Don't forget the "foreign" TIN (Tax identification number) should be your social security or national insurance number ~ it took me a while to figure that out
In the UK, your NI number is not your UTR. Your Unique Tax Reference number is, for example, near the top right of the first page of your Self Employed (short) (SES1) tax return.

Yes I know I tried using the 10 digit UTR but it would not accept it and then I tried the NI number and it accepted that.

Correction it seems other people on the iS forum did what I did which is copy and paste their UTR which was not accepted but then if they typed the UTR it did accept it. Just resubmitted the form with a typed UTR and it worked.

Sigh...

In my case, as I was copying my UTR number from a scan of my SES1, it didn't accept it first time because I'd put a space in the middle, as on the form; but when I removed the space, it went through.

The Canadian number is often written with hyphens between sets of numbers but this is not accepted. You have to write all the numbers together -- no hyphens, no spaces -- before it will be accepted.

ShadySue · « **Reply #45 on:** January 25, 2015, 11:19 »

Quote from: Difydave on January 25, 2015, 06:35

Quote from: ShadySue on January 25, 2015, 04:42
In my case, as I was copying my UTR number from a scan of my SES1, it didn't accept it first time because I'd put a space in the middle, as on the form; but when I removed the space, it went through.
Ditto. Of course we have no way of knowing how "smart" the form is, and whether it checks the number against a database, or just accepts a format.

I didn't like how we got no confirmation that it had gone through, other than what showed up onscreen, and did a couple of screenshots near the end. The system isn't that smart. When uploading a file this morning, I got a message asking me to make sure I had done the tax interview 'if I hadn't already'.

Difydave · « **Reply #46 on:** January 25, 2015, 11:27 »

Some sort of official confirmation would be nice. I suspect that's it though.

panicAttack · « **Reply #47 on:** January 25, 2015, 11:45 »

I dont understand those 2 points in last page, do I have to check them also?

The income to which this form relates is: (a) not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, (b) effectively connected but is not subject to tax under an income tax treaty, or (c) the partner's share of a partnership's effectively connected income,

For broker transactions or barter exchanges, the beneficial owner is an exempt foreign person as defined in the instructions

can anyone from non treaty countries answer do I have to check those two or not?

thank you!

sweetgirll · « **Reply #48 on:** January 25, 2015, 12:06 »

I'm reading this thread, and is making me afraid of opening the form....because this interview is sounding so much more complicated than filling a regular W9 form if you are in the USA?

Is this form a catch all sort of thing for people worldwide??

With a regular W9 form is pretty straight forward...

ShadySue · « **Reply #49 on:** January 25, 2015, 12:24 »

Quote from: sweetgirll on January 25, 2015, 12:06

I'm reading this thread, and is making me afraid of opening the form....because this interview is sounding so much more complicated than filling a regular W9 form if you are in the USA? Is this form a catch all sort of thing for people worldwide??

With a regular W9 form is pretty straight forward...

You start with declaring whether you are or are not liabe to US tax, and I'm supposing the procedure is different depending on whether you're from the US, from a country with a tax treaty or for a country with no treaty. I only went through the second 'strand'. Presumably if you're from the US, you'll only go through that procedure.
It wasn't too much bother, once I'd sorted out that I was an individual, not a Sole Trader; some pages were a bit glitchy but went through in the end; then at the end I had to put 'capacity in which signing' and I put Self as I couldn't think of any other possibility, and I'd seen on the thread over there that other people were writing 'self'. I'm sure they'll get back to me if that wasn't right.
I have to say that, like I said above, the 'help' wasn't helpful, i.e. it didn't answer the issues I wanted 'help' with.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #50 on:** January 25, 2015, 19:52 »

Quote from: sweetgirll on January 25, 2015, 12:06

I'm reading this thread, and is making me afraid of opening the form....because this interview is sounding so much more complicated than filling a regular W9 form if you are in the USA? Is this form a catch all sort of thing for people worldwide??

With a regular W9 form is pretty straight forward...

I'm a US taxpayer and it wasn't hard to fill out - once you identify as a US resident (I think it asked about citizenship too, but I don't remember) - it's as straightforward as filling out a W-9.

No Free Lunch · « **Reply #51 on:** January 25, 2015, 21:11 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on January 25, 2015, 19:52

Quote from: sweetgirll on January 25, 2015, 12:06
I'm reading this thread, and is making me afraid of opening the form....because this interview is sounding so much more complicated than filling a regular W9 form if you are in the USA? Is this form a catch all sort of thing for people worldwide??

With a regular W9 form is pretty straight forward...

I'm a US taxpayer and it wasn't hard to fill out - once you identify as a US resident (I think it asked about citizenship too, but I don't remember) - it's as straightforward as filling out a W-9.

are you sure Seattle is part of the States? Rumor has it that the Seahawks are out of this world!

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #52 on:** January 26, 2015, 01:15 »

Quote from: No Free Lunch on January 25, 2015, 21:11

are you sure Seattle is part of the States? Rumor has it that the Seahawks are out of this world!

I am the polar opposite of a sports fan - can't stand 99% of it

Not the football I grew up with (England) or the sports of my current home - I try to keep up enough to carry on a conversation and not sound like I come from Mars, but that's as far as I go.

But I hear there are a few fans in the area who are just a tad excited about an event next Sunday...

PZF · « **Reply #53 on:** January 26, 2015, 03:09 »

Thanks Teddy the Cat and others!

sharpshot · « **Reply #54 on:** January 26, 2015, 06:48 »

Took a lot of attempts to accept my UK NI number for the TIN. Why do they need that when most other sites don't ask for it? I almost gave up and closed my account.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #55 on:** January 26, 2015, 09:56 »

I can't even type in the form? I'm using Firefox. Should I try Chrome instead?

Edit: Never mind. I had to go back to fill in my Foreign TIN on one of the previous pages.

LesHoward · « **Reply #56 on:** January 26, 2015, 12:18 »

I realized I answered the questions about the number of days I was in the USA incorrectly - wrong number of days and I put them in the wrong year. I don't know how much it matters so I went back and redid the interview. I'm crossing my fingers that I did the right thing.

PZF · « **Reply #57 on:** January 29, 2015, 12:32 »

OK, tax papers done. Now to Payment Option!
I see cheque is still there. Great. Name email etc ok. But when I put my address in the address box it says Ooops please enter a valid address.

?
Anybody any idea?

chones · « **Reply #58 on:** January 30, 2015, 02:13 »

And I am confused. I am US resident, help me please about the last one of form. I don't know what I must fill.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #59 on:** January 30, 2015, 09:14 »

Payment Option:

Now I see what people are talking about. I looked at mine and it said None. So I added my PayPal address. Clicked SAVE and looked, it still said none, so I added it a second time and now it took.

So after the tax interview, apparently I had to reset the payment option? Kind of strange, because I thought that was in the tax interview.

They could make it more confusing. I mean, now I click Tax Interview and it says this... "Do not update your tax information using our tax interview if you want to be the payee for the account. A change of payee requires a change to your agreement."

What?

Noedelhap · « **Reply #60 on:** January 31, 2015, 08:13 »

Quote from: chones on January 30, 2015, 02:13

And I am confused. I am US resident, help me please about the last one of form. I don't know what I must fill.

Seems to me you have to tick each checkbox as a confirmation of what you've filled in previously, then type in your name, date and your e-mail address.

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #61 on:** January 31, 2015, 09:30 »

Is there any way to know it has been successfully received by them? I still get the warning/ reminder when I log in and I submitted it a couple of days ago.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #62 on:** January 31, 2015, 10:02 »

Quote from: grace on January 24, 2015, 00:16

Hi everyone, may I know whether I need to fill in the Tax interview or not if I'm Malaysian?Thanks

From iStock's FAQ:

"What happens if I don't do the Tax Interview?

You will be subject to maximum withholding tax."

So I'm not going to bother since there is no relevant tax treaty between Qatar and the US, I'll end up with 30% tax on all US-based sales regardless of whether I waste my time filling in the form or not.

It's another little cut in earnings.

bunhill · « **Reply #63 on:** January 31, 2015, 18:12 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on January 31, 2015, 10:02

"What happens if I don't do the Tax Interview?

You will be subject to maximum withholding tax."

So I'm not going to bother since there is no relevant tax treaty between Qatar and the US, I'll end up with 30% tax on all US-based sales regardless of whether I waste my time filling in the form or not.

It is to your advantage to complete the interview. This is the explanation:

I am also tax resident in a non-treaty jurisdiction. According to Lobo: if we (people like you and I) do not fill in the tax interview then we will be subject to 30% withholding on US sales and 28% on everything else. If we complete the interview we will only be subject to US tax on US sales.

PS - You have to remember that part of the purpose of the interview (from the US govt perspective) is to identify US citizens living abroad. US citizens are subject to US tax wherever they live. Completing the interview is therefore also about identifying yourself as not being a US citizen.

Here is Lobo's post in which this issue is specifically addressed:

Quote

Even if you’re not in a treaty country it’s still extremely beneficial to you to complete a US tax form via our tax interview.

If you do not complete the interview your payments will be taxed at 30% for US sales and 28% for non US sales.

If you complete the tax interview, but are not in a treaty country, your payments will be taxed at 30% for US sales and 0% for non US sales.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #64 on:** January 31, 2015, 18:24 »

Thanks for that info, Bunhill.
I must say that I am flabbergasted that they impose a tax on non-taxable income just for not filling in a bloody form.

bunhill · « **Reply #65 on:** January 31, 2015, 18:26 »

I will be studying the statements carefully to check that they stick to it.

bunhill · « **Reply #66 on:** January 31, 2015, 18:28 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on January 31, 2015, 18:24

I must say that I am flabbergasted that they impose a tax on non-taxable income just for not filling in a bloody form.

Render unto Caesar etc heh !

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #67 on:** January 31, 2015, 18:53 »

Quote from: bunhill on January 31, 2015, 18:28

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on January 31, 2015, 18:24
I must say that I am flabbergasted that they impose a tax on non-taxable income just for not filling in a bloody form.

Render unto Caesar etc heh !

A line that I've always suspected was written and inserted into the text by Saint Constantine the Great.

chones · « **Reply #68 on:** February 01, 2015, 01:57 »

Quote from: Noedelhap on January 31, 2015, 08:13

Quote from: chones on January 30, 2015, 02:13
And I am confused. I am US resident, help me please about the last one of form. I don't know what I must fill.

Seems to me you have to tick each checkbox as a confirmation of what you've filled in previously, then type in your name, date and your e-mail address.

Noedelhap - Thanks a lot!

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #69 on:** February 01, 2015, 12:54 »

THEY is the USA IRS not Getty/IS. Just for anyone who's reading along and might have thought that Getty had anything to do with this new requirement.

The IRS requires US businesses to obtain and track this data. I have to fill these out over and over for suppliers and for some reason some customers require them.

The state requires, SALES AND USE TAX EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE be on file for every one of my customers, so I don't have to collect Sales tax, county tax, and stadium taxes.

Pretty much an entire four drawer filing cabinet that's just tax forms and documentation, in case they want to come through and have me show it to them. $:-\$

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on January 31, 2015, 18:24

Thanks for that info, Bunhill.
I must say that I am flabbergasted that they impose a tax on non-taxable income just for not filling in a bloody form.

w7lwi · « **Reply #70 on:** February 01, 2015, 14:58 »

My payout selection also did not come up, but I went ahead and manually selected it and filled it out. Everything was fairly straight forward.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #71 on:** February 02, 2015, 10:36 »

It's not in the tax interview, it's the box above it. At least that's how I missed that I needed to fill it in.

On your profile page for anyone else looking, Just click your name / ID in the upper right of the login page.

Quote from: w7lwi on February 01, 2015, 14:58

My payout selection also did not come up, but I went ahead and manually selected it and filled it out. Everything was fairly straight forward.

WebSubstance · « **Reply #72 on:** February 02, 2015, 16:39 »

This is so clunky in Firefox. I had better luck filling this in Chrome.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #73 on:** February 02, 2015, 18:37 »

I just noticed my payment information was still Payoneer. Then when I tried to change it to Paypal, it still was Payoneer. How hard can it be to make it WORK for once?
(And yes, I tried again, and the second time it accepted the Paypal option, but still...)

goober · « **Reply #74 on:** February 02, 2015, 23:37 »

grace · « **Reply #75 on:** February 03, 2015, 22:22 »

Hi,after I did the tax interview, what should I do nw? Waiting they send me email?Thanks

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