Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic

mackin43 · Site Admin Joined: 20 Mar 2008 Posts: 427

1. Sorry, we really don't offer anything like this as an option.

2. US tax law imposes a 30% withholding tax on US source passive income, such as royalties, that are paid to persons who are not citizens or residents of the United States. US tax law requires the person paying the royalties to withhold the tax and pay it to the US Internal Revenue Service. If the person receiving the royalties is a resident of a country that has an income tax treaty with the United States, the withholding tax may be reduced or eliminated. However, to take advantage of the lower withholding tax US tax law requires that the person receiving the royalty payments provide a properly completed Form W-8BEN. US tax law also requires that the person who provides a Form W-8BEN for this purpose have an ITIN.

3. Can you clarify this question? If your country's treaty with the US is exempt from withholding, the IRS needs the proper info to prove you are a resident of that country - otherwise, you would be taxed 30%.

algol · Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 608

luceluceluce · Joined: 10 Dec 2008 Posts: 2616 Location: Aquafun, Minsk

miklav2 · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 210 Location: Belgium

If I don’t fill any forms now, thus SS will pay 30% of my tax to IRS - will I get an official statement about amount paid? When will I get it?

Many of contributors are registered companies - some are self-employed individuals, some are real companies. According to IRS website such entities should obtain EIN instead of ITIN and use EIN when filling W-8BEN form. However SS only refers to ITIN in all messages - could you confirm that SS will accept W-8BEN with EIN instead of ITIN? Would that mean any other implications for me if I am a self-employed individual registered and residing outside of the USA?

jarek78 · Joined: 17 Aug 2005 Posts: 665 Location: Poland

If we don't fill in any paperwork, and let Shutterstock take the 30% will we get a legal IRS certificate, that can be used in our country of residence? If so, do we get it annually?

cyhel · Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 78 Location: Cyprus

1. "If your country's treaty with the US is exempt from withholding, the IRS needs the proper info to prove you are a resident of that country - otherwise, you would be taxed 30%"

I can provide you with an original letter of MY tax authorities that i am resident in Cyprus and i am to be taxed in Cyprus on my world wide income. Is this stamped and signed copy of the Cypriot Tax Authorities sufficient enough for SS not to withhold any tax for me?

(this is a question because i am cypriot resident but all my ID's are hungarian. So providing the IRS with my hungarian passport or driving licence or whatever would not prove my residency!!!!)

2. is there any limit? i read sg like 600$ above which tax will be deducted. Is this true?

3. Is it possible to put the payment on hold while we sort things out?

medveh · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 1829 Location: Transylvania

If I have a SSN (Social Security Number) but I'm resident and citizen in a treaty country, do I need to still apply for an ITIN?

uzuri · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 520 Location: The Netherlands

1. Maybe a stupid question, but this kind of bothers me: what is the safest way to send in documents like these. I'm no expert, but even I can imagine it would be a (very) bad thing if a certified copy of my passport would fall into the wrong hands...

2. when will I receive the SS mail/ letter about this issue? I want to get all of this sorted out asap, but I need your letter/ E-mail...

Thanks.

gudellaphoto · Joined: 11 Sep 2006 Posts: 1151 Location: Hungary

Question:

Seems to me from the quoted legal texts that these regulations getting applied to us are for earnings from royalties. What about refferal earnings? Aren't they a different thing? Do they count as royalties? After all we don't get those for our images. And if they fall in the same category and SS will have to distinguish between US and non-US sales what would count in the case of refferals? The residence of the reffered member or the residence of the downloader?

What about reffered buyers? Those earnings are surely not royalties...

flaviaraddavero · Joined: 05 Dec 2008 Posts: 50 Location: france

hello SS and thanks for all your efforts in answering to all our questions,
here is mine
I did not receive "the" letter, will I ? I am in france
thanks

mschmeling · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 107 Location: Kassel, Germany

I just called the US consulate in Frankfurt. The clerk was very friendly and helpful.

According to him printing out the email from Shutterstock and sending it in is NOT sufficient.
I told him that Shutterstock is telling this, but he said "They don't know what they are doing."

According to him we need a printed letter from Shutterstock with an original signature, a printed email is not sufficient, because it lacks the signature.
I suggest to Shutter to double check this information before hundreds of submitters send wrong documents to the IRS.

Remember: that was said by an official US IRS representative!

jaminwell · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 380

HOW EASY OR DIFFICULT WOULD IT BE TO JUST SHIFT HEADQUARTERS AND AVOID ALL THIS PAPERWORK AND LOST REVENUE FOR SUBMITTERS?

DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR SUBMITTERS ARE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO YOU THAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THE HASSELS (FINANCIALLY AND OTHERWISE) OF "RELOCATING"?

ajancso · Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 1889 Location: Right Behind You

If a buyer from Brazil, for example, downloads a picture that belongs to a photographer also from Brazil. Why should this transaction result in 30% tax being paid to the US government???

pedrodiaz · Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 135 Location: Madrid, Spain

mantonino · Joined: 27 Oct 2004 Posts: 1090 Location: Syracuse, NY

Some updates!

1: Does the mail Shutterstock sent us qualify as signed document to send along with the W-7?

Being looked into but probably not. It doesn’t fit the requirements (letterhead, signed)

2. How long do we have before tax gets deducted? (should it ultimately prove necessary to apply for ITIN) 3. If we increase our minimum payout while awaiting our ITIN, will that avoid having the 30% deducted on our earnings in the interim?

It may start in July payouts. They are willing to try and be flexible. It’s unclear whether changing your payout amount will give you more time. Realistically it seems to be a good option for now.

4. Will an EIN be acceptable in place of an ITIN?

Yes! W8-BEN can be filled out with an EIN in place of ITIN.

5. If I don’t fill any forms now, thus SS will pay 30% of my tax to IRS - will I get an official statement about amount paid? When will I get it?

You will get a Form 1042 theoretically in January sometime (when we get our forms).

6. could you confirm that SS will accept W-8BEN with EIN instead of ITIN?

According to multiple sources you can file an W-8BEN with EIN, SSN or ITIN.

7. is there any limit? i read sg like 600$ above which tax will be deducted. Is this true?

No, this is in reference to something else entirely.

8. I did not receive "the" letter, will I ?

I think Shutterstock sent letters to everyone who’s already received payouts in the past first. You should get one in the next round, which would be submitters who have not received a payout before.

9. HOW EASY OR DIFFICULT WOULD IT BE TO JUST SHIFT HEADQUARTERS AND AVOID ALL THIS PAPERWORK AND LOST REVENUE FOR SUBMITTERS?

It would be extraordinarily difficult as the IRS treats branch offices as extentions of the main branch for US tax purposes.

10. Why should this transaction result in 30% tax being paid to the US government???

This is one of the main questions we are still waiting for answers to.