TuneCore will require your applicable U.S. tax documentation (i.e., Form W-9). These forms are used to represent U.S. tax status, claim income tax treaty benefits (if applicable), and provide other information necessary to comply with U.S. tax information reporting and withholding rules.
The following information will be helpful when filling in tax information via Payoneer. Do note tax related questions beyond what is written in this article should be consulted with your tax advisor.
There are several forms available, which one should I fill out?
- Please use the wizard provided on the first page of the tax form, which should indicate the appropriate form for you to complete.
- If you are a “U.S. Person” by definition of the IRS (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf), then you would need to fill out a W-9. If you are a foreign business or non-resident alien earning income sourced from the U.S. you are NOT required to submit one of the W-8 forms.
- Please note, however, that we cannot provide tax advice. You may want to consult your local tax advisor, or the IRS at www.irs.gov, for further information regarding U.S. tax reporting guidelines, withholding, and the appropriate documentation for you to complete.
Do I need to do this if I already pay taxes in my country of residence, outside of the U.S.?
No, you are not required to submit a W-8 form. There are tax treaties between the U.S. and many countries that stipulate a lower rate of withholding, and in many cases a 0% withholding, so if you are a resident of a country that has a tax treaty with the U.S. and claim tax treaty benefits on the appropriate form, there will only be tax withholding up to the applicable percentage.
Do I still need to do this if I don’t use TuneCore Music Publishing Administration?
This is not limited to just Publishing Administration. It is for all reportable earnings posted to your TuneCore account. Please fill out one form per TuneCore account.
I’m having trouble filling out the form, what should I do?
If you haven’t already, please use the wizard provided on the first page of the tax form to ensure that you have selected the appropriate form to complete. Please also ensure that you have filled out all required fields. It might also help to clear your cookies or use an incognito window.
If you are still having trouble, please read this article.
What should I do if I pay more than one artist or entity from my account?
Even if you have multiple artists or entities that you pay out of your TuneCore account, you are only able to submit one W-8/W-9 per TuneCore account, which will include reportable income from all artists or entities linked to your account. Please use the wizard provided, or consult your local tax advisor for more information and guidance on how to fill out the tax form.
Can I fill this form out once and have the information apply to all of my TuneCore accounts?
Unfortunately, each account will need its own tax form, as we don’t have the ability to “link” accounts for tax purposes.
Will I be receiving a 1099 from TuneCore for the previous tax year?
If you are a U.S. person or U.S. resident by definition (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf) you will receive a 1099 for qualified earnings posted to your TuneCore account in applicable tax year.
As a non-U.S. person, I don’t have a U.S. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Do I need to apply for one to the IRS in order to complete this form?
If you are required to submit a W-8 form as a Foreign Person (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw8.pdf) then instead of a U.S. ITIN, you can supply your foreign tax ID instead. This will not affect your ability to claim treaty benefits. That said, we cannot provide tax advice. So, you may want to consult your local tax advisor, or the IRS at www.irs.gov, for further information regarding U.S. tax withholding and information regarding reporting guidelines and the appropriate documentation for you to complete.
Why am I not allowed to enter Form 8233?
When going through the wizard, please do not choose “personal services” as you are not providing a personal service, but rather generating a royalty income.
How do I know if my form was successfully submitted?
If you can still see the Submit Form button, it means the form hasn’t gone through. Please try again. When the page changes from Submit Form to Edit Form, that’s a confirmation that we have received it.
Backup Withholding
What is backup withholding and why do I have to pay it?
Backup withholding is a method the IRS uses to ensure that all taxes due on certain types of income are paid by requiring the payor (TuneCore) to withhold, and deposit with the IRS, a portion of their payments. The payor has the financial obligation to withhold a standard rate of 24% of each payment made to the payee and remit this amount to the IRS if the payee has not provided their legal name and tax identification number (Social Security Number for an individual or Entity Identification Number for an entity). The most accurate manner to collect this information is through the use of a Form W-9.
TuneCore is assessing withholding on all untaxed earnings from 2021 as well as all earnings for 2022 for which no W-9 form was provided. Withholding will also be deducted from all incoming payments until a valid W-9 tax form is submitted. Please note that TuneCore requires a W-9 (Individual or Entity) submitted through Payoneer for all U.S. & Territories taxpayers; W-9s sent directly to TuneCore will not be accepted.
For more information, please see these resources from the IRS website and contact a tax advisor.
Can I reclaim the withheld amount?
Yes, it is possible to reclaim backup withholding as a credit. The first step is to prevent further withholding by correcting the underlying issue: either by submitting your W-9 or providing corrected taxpayer information through an updated W-9.
If you have had tax withheld, you can report the federal income tax withholding (shown on Form 1099) on your return for the year you received the income. The Balance History page in your TuneCore account will show records for each time withholding was assessed on a royalty payment.
For more information, please see these resources from the IRS website and contact a tax advisor.
What payments are subject to withholding?
Taxes will be withheld from all revenue generated from recordings and compositions earned during the time that the payee’s country is U.S. or Territories, which have not previously been taxed and for which the payee has not submitted a valid W-9 through Payoneer.