How to fill out the W-8BEN form on iStock

As you know, significant changes related to payment of earned funds occurred on the iStock photo bank starting January 29, specifically – payments to Moneybookers (Skrill) were canceled, and by default, they are now monthly, provided the minimum withdrawal amount is accumulated at the end of the reporting month. Currently, this minimum amount is set at $100. But that’s not all.

Another important change concerns tax payments. Now, it is necessary to fill out the W-8BEN tax form for iStock to avoid losing 30% of earnings from sales of works purchased in the USA.

Previously, I described the nuances of filling out this form for microstocks like Shutterstock (here) and Depositphotos (here). For those who have not yet encountered this matter, I want to clarify that filling out the form is necessary to avoid double taxation of your income (in your home country and in the USA).

By completing this form, you confirm that you are not a resident of the USA. You do not need to fill out this form, but if you do not, 30% of your income will be withheld as tax deductions to the US budget. And you wouldn’t want extra expenses, would you?

So, I recommend reading how to correctly fill out the W-8BEN tax form on iStock.

W-8BEN Form on iStock

Tax Interview Section

So, to fill out the tax form W-8BEN on iStock, we need to go to the “Tax Interview/Tax Information” section in the left column of your profile page.

And, after carefully reading the text about why and in what cases it is necessary to fill out/update the tax form, click the button with the odd translation “Report income information,” which in the English version is more logically named “Take a Tax Interview.”

Next, we will be taken to a verbose preamble for filling out the form, and it will be in English for all languages. The first page explains what to expect when filling out this form, as indicated by the title.

It literally states:

This short tax interview will help guide you step by step in providing us with the necessary tax information. Before we begin, please take note of the following important information:

• Navigation tips. Always use the “Continue” and “Previous” buttons to navigate through the interview. If you exit the interview before finishing, the answers you provided will be lost.
• Use help. If you need assistance answering a question, use the prompts in the “Help guide,” which can be found in the upper right corner of any interview page. Additionally, quick help will be available when you hover over the input field.
• Be careful. Fill out all necessary fields, including those marked with red asterisks, which indicate that a response is required. Check that the information you provided is accurate. Some fields may repeat.
• Provide electronic consent. We will ask you to provide an electronic signature. If you do not, you will need to print and mail us your completed tax form.
• Print a copy for your records. At the end of the interview, you will have the opportunity to print your tax form.

Now, let’s begin gathering your tax information.

Next, there is an option to continue or proceed to the next page.

Profile Section

Click: “Continue.” We then move to the “Profile” tab. Here, they ask if you are an individual or an organization:

Are you registered with us as an individual or as a representative of a corporation, trust, partnership, LLC, or other entity?

And the response options:

• Individual
• Sole proprietor
• Corporation, Trust, Partnership or LLC.

You need to answer the same way you did when registering on iStock; I assume in most cases it will be “Individual.” Immediately after this, new fields will appear for you to fill out. Remember, all fields must be filled out in Latin letters!

So now you need to check the correctness of the spelling of your first name/“First Name” and last name/“Last Name,” provide your date of birth/“Date of birth” and country of citizenship/residence/“Country of Citizenship.”

Once you have filled everything out, you will have the opportunity to click the “Continue” button, which will take you to the address confirmation page, primarily needed for mailing tax notifications and useful tips, checking driver’s licenses and passports.

Some lines may be filled out, but if not, then:

• The first line – “Country” – country of residence, very simple to select from the list.
• The second line – “Address Line 1 (Street address)” – the first address line for writing the street name,
• The next line – “Address Line 2 (Suite, unit, building, floor, etc)” – intended for specifying house and apartment numbers, floor block, etc. You can indicate it in the first line with numbers through a hyphen.
• Next is “City” – your city of residence.
• “State / Province” – region, district, territory, etc.
• “Zip / Postcode” – postal code.

Next, there are two checkboxes. The first confirms that the address provided is valid. The second needs to be checked if the mailing address is different from the registered address (I suspect you will have to fill in several more lines to indicate the actual address).

Consents Section

Click “Continue.” Now we are on the “Consents” page. Here, we need to answer two questions. The first one goes as follows:

“We may ask you to provide a signature for identification of tax documents. If you sign the identification tax documents electronically, we need to obtain your consent for this. If you do not give consent for this type of identification, you will need to print the tax form at the end of the survey, sign it with a blue or black pen, and send it by mail to the specified address.

I confirm my consent for the accuracy of my electronic signature.”

Check the box on the “Yes” option.

The second question:

“If you wish, we can provide the reporting documentation required by law (for example, forms 1099-MISC, 1042-S) electronically. In this case, you must confirm consent to receive these documents electronically.

I confirm my consent to receive electronic responses with information about the reporting documentation.”

Although in our countries an electronic signature is not yet sufficient evidence of legality, I still recommend checking “Yes”. After that, click “Continue”.

Status Section

So, we are halfway through the questionnaire for filling out on the “Status” page. This is probably the most important moment in completing this form. The essence of the question is whether you are a resident of the USA.

A person receives US resident status if they legally reside in the USA according to immigration laws, provided this status has not been revoked administratively or judicially, or if they have been in the USA for at least 31 days in the current year and 183 days in the last three years, including the current year.

The question is as follows:

“For tax purposes, are you a US citizen, a US resident, doing business with the USA, or a US corporation?”

Select the answer: “No/Нет” and click “Continue.”

Next, we will be asked about the beneficiary, simply put – who the money goes to. In my case, the type of beneficiary is automatically specified – Individual:

Type of Beneficial Owner: Individual

So, just click on “Continue.” And on the next page, we will face a test that allows iStock to verify your identity against conditions that could change your tax status for the USA.

You need to select the items that apply to you.

The statements here are as follows:

• I have a US citizen passport.
• I was born in the USA and have not renounced my rights at birth.
• One or both of my parents were born in the USA.
• I have received or hold a Green Card.
• I have been in the USA in the last 3 years.
• I hold a non-immigrant visa of type “F”, “J”, “M”, or “Q”.
• None of the above apply/Ничего из вышеперечисленного.

Check the last item (if that is the case) and happily click “Continue.” Now we have moved to a page that states we can receive tax benefits if our country has a treaty with the USA.

In principle, the country is already specified, and if there were no checkmarks in the previous point, just click “Continue.”

Taxpayer Identification Number

Here, they ask if we have a taxpayer identification number. The identification number can be from the USA or another country. Without it, no benefits will be provided. So, we click “Yes/Да.”

Now we have new fields to fill out. Initially, it is stated that the name of the taxpayer must match the one provided in the interview above. The first field is for US taxpayers. And the checkbox confirms that the person has received a US taxpayer ID in the last 30 days.

The second field is for holders of taxpayer IDs from other countries, including ours. So, we enter the number without dots or spaces. And we check the box confirming that our number is correct and used for tax purposes. Scroll the scrollbar to the coveted “Continue,” and click.

On the next page, we are greeted with a joyous notification about the tax benefit we can expect.

We simply rejoice and click “Continue.”

Next, we have another question, which sounds like this:

“Are you the owner or manager of a business in the USA that provides services, products, or goods?”

This question is related to the fact that a reduction or exemption from tax in the USA does not apply if you have your own business in this country. Any entrepreneurship that brings income to you personally or your subordinates.

Select the answer: “No/Нет” and click “Continue.”

Form Completion Verification

Hooray! We have moved on to the review! Now we check the accuracy of the form completion and, if everything is satisfactory, we click “Continue”.

If you previously chose not to use an electronic signature, you need to print this filled-out form by clicking the “Print” button, sign it, and send it to iStock by regular mail (this is mentioned in red letters at the end).

Thought that was it? Not so fast! There’s still a lot of text with the following meaning:

“Under penalty of perjury, I confirm that I have reviewed the information provided on this form and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, confirm that the information stated herein is true and correct. Under penalty of perjury, I confirm that:

1. I am the beneficial owner (or authorized signatory for the beneficial owner) of all income to which this form relates or I am using this form to declare myself as the owner or holder of an account at a foreign financial institution;
2. The person identified in the first line of this form is not a citizen of the United States;
3. The income to which this form relates (a) is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, (b) is effectively connected but is not subject to tax under an income tax treaty, or (c) the partnership interest is indeed consistent with the tax treaty;
4. The person identified in the first line of this form is a resident of the country specified in the ninth line of the form, which is a participant in a tax treaty with the United States (if applicable);
5. As a foreigner, the beneficial owner is exempt from brokerage operations or barter agreements, as instructed; and
6. I agree to provide a new form within 30 days if any statement made on this form ceases to be true.

We check all the boxes. Next comes the following text.

In addition, I confirm my consent to transmit this form to any tax agent who has the authority to oversee, credit, and maintain the income of which I am the beneficiary; or to any tax agent who has the authority to spend or make payments from the income of which I am the beneficiary.

The Internal Revenue Service does not require your consent to any of the provisions of this document, other than the required confirmations for certifying your non-U.S. citizen status and, if applicable, the application of a reduced tax rate.

By writing my name, date, and email that I use to log into my account, I acknowledge that I am aware I am signing tax documentation, knowing the penalties for providing false information.

Next are the fields to fill out:

“Name of authorized beneficial owner (or person authorized to sign on behalf of the beneficiary)”

Here you need to enter your first and last name, exactly matching what was entered previously.

“Email used to log into the account”

We enter our email. Below it says:

“The email you entered must be accurate.”

In the field “Capacity in which acting,” we write “Beneficial Owner”.

And the last line states:

If you are satisfied with the information you provided when completing the W-8BEN form and have signed the above confirmation fields, click the “Submit W-8BEN” button to complete the filling out.

We click the “Submit W-8BEN” button and go to the confirmation page, where it says:

“You have completed the tax form. Your data has been received and may be subject to further review.”

“Click the “Exit Interview” button to exit.”

We click the coveted button.

Congratulations! You’re done!

This article is also available for reading in the following categories: About Microstocks, Istockphoto