What is a 1042-S Form?
The 1042-S form is used to report US source income and withholding information to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and to the person or business that received the payment. Shutterstock makes one copy of this form available to the contributor, and one to the IRS.
Who receives a Form 1042-S?
Contributors who are not US Citizens or residents and who received a payment for U.S. sourced income.
When do I receive a Form 1042-S?
The link to download 1042-S is posted on your account Dashboard by March 15th of each year for your earnings from the previous year. For example, contributors who earned income from downloads in the US in 2019 will receive access to their Form 1042-S in March 2020. The form is available for electronic download until October 15 of that year. An additional paper copy of the form will not be mailed to you unless you request it. Finally, as a courtesy to our contributors, we have provisioned to maintain copies of 1042-S forms for three years in the past; these past forms can be made available to you upon written request.
How are the amounts on this form calculated?
The 1042-S reflects all payments for US sourced income (from US based customers only) that were made to you during the previous calendar year. The form will not show your total gross earnings, only your US Source earnings, because these are the earnings that are reportable to the US IRS and that may be subject to US tax withholding.
The form will include amounts you received, regardless of when the royalties were earned. So if you made earnings in December of 2019, which were not actually paid out to you until January 2020, the December earnings will not be reflected in the 1042-S for your 2019 earnings, but rather will be calculated in your 1042-S for your 2020 earnings.
How can I get a form showing all my annual earnings, as required by the tax service in my country?
We cannot provide you with a tax form showing all your annual earnings, but you can use the information in your payment history to collect that data.
How do I access the Form 1042-S?
Log into your Shutterstock contributor account and click Download now link in the message at the top of your Dashboard. You will navigate to the page from which you can download a PDF version of your tax form:
1. Click on "this PDF" hyperlink to download a sample PDF
2. This sample PDF will contain a word, enter this word in field 2 of the form
Please note that your browser may pre-populate this field with the wrong information, like your email address. Instead, the field must be populated with the word from the PDF document.
3. Re-enter your contributor account password
4. Check the consent box
5. Click Download Your Forms
What do I do with the Form 1042-S?
If you file US Income taxes, you may need to attach a copy of the 1042-S to your returns. If you file in a different country, requirements may differ. We are unable to give personal tax or legal advice. Please contact your legal and/or tax advisor.
We do suggest you download and retain a copy of your 1042-S from when it becomes available, as the download link will be active only for a limited time.
What if the name or address on the Form 1042-S is incorrect?
Your 1042-S is created using the information we have in your Shutterstock Contributor account. You should update your name or address through your Account Settings page.
Can I get a paper copy in the mail from Shutterstock?
If you are unable to download the pdf document, you may request a paper copy by contacting us at taxhelp@shutterstock.com.
What if I still have questions?
Shutterstock cannot give personal tax or legal advice. If you still have questions about taxes after reviewing the information in the Tax Center, please contact your legal and/or tax advisor.
If you have questions about the information in your Shutterstock account, please Contact Us.