Don't get the whole tax thing

Hey guys,
I am from Turkey and i dont have any tax number.
What should i do exactly?

Good news is, you would be US government sponsor and poorer for about 50% of each US sale.
Bad news, if you fail to fill that W8 form, you’ll have even less profit, since they will take 28% for each of your sale, no matter where is buyer from
Super good news, you will be US government sponsor no matter what
You can choose one of given options :smile:

I’m canadian and I wrote my business Goods and services tax/Harmonized sales (GST/HST) number as Foreign Tax ID number. Do you think it will be ok? I choose that option after reading this: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/startup/f/businessnumber.htm

I added my 9 characters Social Insurance Number too (SIN).

Ok i get the whole tax thing but my question is why do only we (authors) have to pay tax. It should be equally divided between authors and envato. After all they are also making money out of our item.

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Envato does have to pay tax. And they’re unlikely to pay half of your income tax and it;s unlikely you’d be happy to pay half of their corporation tax. Why we’re having to pay taxes on the item price rather than our actual income, is a different matter altogether though.

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Each time one of your item get sold, you’re paying Envato’s “corporation tax”, don’t you?
Beside that, Envato decided to open office in States and we all are dragged in to their adventure, whether we like it or not.
Just to be clear on this matter, I’m strongly supporting job expansions, that’s good for the company, more profit after all and i’d do the same.
Also, most of us, due to various reasons just can’t afford one more burden, while company expands and don’t really care for most of the authors.
Let me quote Newton’s third law “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction” and i believe reaction would be that in following years or even months, Envato will be filled with :

  1. hobbyist authors which don’t really care how much their earn, while they learning
  2. authors who’s got supported with their mums and dad’s and each sale is just one more hang out with mates
  3. authors from country’s in which ones you could buy a house and car for $20
    I’m not saying, those 3 groups above can’t contribute great items, i’m saying there would be less and less space for all others.
    Peace
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Well its only a matter of time. If this keeps on many authors will look for alternatives and something good will eventually turn up. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the top authors here would start his own store.

I also need help.
I’m from Italy. I sent my W-8ben, but my question is:
I don’t have an ITIN so I put my fiscal code on the itin blank, as an article suggest.
I asked Envato but they don’t reply :slight_smile:
Am I right putting my fiscal code??
Thanks !

I am just new Envato authors. I lives in Canada. Do I need to apply tax this year?

Questions about Tax, Please help!!!

  • Q1-Now I selected "I will not or am unable to provide a Tax ID Number". From what I know, after this Jan,01st, if non-US buyer sale I don't have to pay any tax, if US buyer sale I have to pay 30%. Correct?
  • Q2-I'm from Thailand. So, which one I should select? ITIN or Foreign Tax ID Number?
  • Q3-From Q2 how do I get Tax ID Number?
  • Q4 If unfortunately Thailand doesn't has a Tax Treaties or if I can't get the Tax ID Number. How to calculate 30% tax? For example if the item price is $20 how much I'll get?
  • I have already tried to find the answer by reading the guide but it's too complicated for me to understand clearly. So please help, Thank you very much!!!
  1. If you’ve selected “I will not or am unable to provide a Tax ID Number” then yes, you’ll have 30% taken from all US sales.

  2. Select Foreign Tax ID. You only need to use ITIN if you don’t have, or can’t get, a foreign tax ID.

  3. Speak to your accountant or local tax office.

  4. The tax treaty rate with Thailand is 5%.

If it’s a $20 item, isn’t on GraphicRiver, and you’ve earned less than $3,750, then the list price is $20, the buyer fee is $4 and the item price is $16. The buyer fee is 20% of the list price and you subtract the buyer fee from the list price to get the item price. The withholding amount is based on the item fee, so 30% of $16 is $4.80. That’s what will be withheld. Your author fee is 37.5% which is also subtracted from the item price.

So in this example, you’d be left with $5.20 after the 30% has been subtracted. $9.20 if you fill out the W8 with a valid Thai tax ID so it’s only 5%.

Hopefully that makes sense!

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Thank you very much @SpaceStockFootage. it’s pretty clear and useful!!

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If I have my own company in Estonia, which
one should I choose from there (W8-BEN-E).

Hi, it;s me again, some more question.
I did some homework yesterday finding the way to get Foreign Tax ID Number, I found the website https://www.taxback.com that offered to help me to get ITIN (individual Taxplyer Identification Number)


My question is
If I select “individual Taxplyer Identification Number (ITIN)” Not “Foreign Tax ID Number”, am I still can get the tax reducing from 30% to 5%(Thailand)?

Thank you very much for helping!!!

I already complete my w-8 form, so what next? how do i know it’s verified? thanks.

Getting a ITIN is a process that takes between 6 to 11 weeks. You need to apply using a W7 form and send it to the IRS.

As SpaceStockFootage said, getting an ITIN is only needed if your country does not provide a Tax Id Number. In Thailand your PIN (Personal Identification Number) can be used as a TIN. So if you do have a PIN, use it to fill the Foreign Tax Id Number field. Of course you should check with your fiscal administration that this information is correct.

To answer your question, whether you use a FTIN or an ITIN, you will be able to claim your country’s treaty benefits.

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It’s all clear now. Thank you very much @PurpleFogSound. I finished it for both of my 2 accounts…

If i am American do i have to do anything at all?

Yes, you have to fill the W9 form. If you don’t do anything you’ll have a 28% (on item price) withholding for each sales.

Go to the setting tab—>click on “Tax Info”—> Choose “I am a US person” and go from there.