Question about withheld tax / localised in Austria

Envato Authors Author Hangout
1

Hi there guys,

I’ve tried to understand this matter but it seems my braincells are just not capable enough to handle this. Oh well, I hope some of you could help me with 3 questions:

.) My account currently states that there is a certain amount of withheld taxes. How long will the stay there? If, for some reason, I never claim those, will they dissappear after a certain time or will it increase until the day that I finally claim it?

.) Can I actually claim those witheld taxes or can I only start to have less withheld taxes on future sales?

.) Question to Austrians (or anyone who knows the answer): I work full time in a normal office, and pay therefore taxes already for the dayjob income. Do you simply take your existing Tax ID and use it in the W8-form? Or would there be any reason not doing the W8 thing at all and to simply live with just having a small percentage of the actual item list price.

Thanks for all your answers! I know these questions may sound dumb, but I’d love to get your insights before connecting with a tax-consultent.

Best!!
Seven

2

Hello Seven,

The withheld taxes are not to be claimed. They’re the amount that was withheld by the IRS.

As Austia has a tax treaty with the US, there is no reason for you to pay those. So yes, you do want to use your Austrian TIN in the W8 form, that way no more US taxes. However, you won’t get back what was already withheld.

The only reason I can think of for not wanting to use your TIN would be if you weren’t reporting your Envato earning to the Austrian tax administration and you were afraid the IRS would rat you out.