Hello, I am a US citizen but I am living abroad because I have dual citizenship. I want to know if there are other authors in the same situation I am in because I am going to fill out the W9 form. But I don’t know if I’m supposed to pay taxes in the states, or how I would pay those taxes. Can anyone help me with that information?
hi, normally in most cases , u are supposed to pay taxes in the country where u are staying, however there may be some exceptions, especially with digital works by now on . Very often , as for what i know, if american citizen, u may have to pay taxes if u are paying way less that u are supposed to pay in usa, then u are asked the difference , according to what i heard from some friends …
Hi @n2n44,
Thank you for your response.
I discovered that if you’re an american living abroad you still have to pay taxes anyway, but you can claim task exclusion if you have foreign earned income, and also you have to be living outside the US for more than 330 days.
But I guess that when you sell an item to the US, it can not be considered as “foreign earned income”.
Indeed the US has one of the most aggressive tax collecting policy. As a result, many Americans living abroad have had to give up their US citizenship. You should seek legal/fiscal counseling as it could impact you somehow.
I wouldn’t give up my citizenship over taxes. Some people have regretted it after realizing that wanting to save money ended up costing them things they didn’t count on losing. It’s one thing if you have lived in abroad most of your life and another if it was the reverse.
The US allows you to be a dual citizen in terms of having both passports and allegiance to both countries, but for US federal government benefits, voting, and obligations, you are only considered a US citizen and cannot claim to be otherwise to suit one purpose or the other without abandoning US citizenship. If you renounce it for tax purposes or to avoid military service, you’re done. You’re considered inadmissible to return, even for a visit, unless you get a waiver. Plus, you’re barred from becoming a citizen again. So if you have family here, you might not be able to visit them.
Thanks for your response.
I would never give up my citizenship over taxes, even though I think is insane that I have to pay taxes even if I’m not living in the US.
What I’m not sure is: if I fill the W9 form, will I have to pay taxes to the US only for the US sales, or for all of my sales?
I guess I’ll have to seek for legal/fiscal counseling.
While you still have to file taxes the earnings threshold for citizens overseas is around $100k. So actual taxes paid should amount to very little if anything at all. Thats my understanding, someone please correct me if I’m wrong. Either way, I agree it is insane and I personally know a few people giving up their citizenship. Double taxation sucks and if you’re pulling in a lot of dough I can understand the decision.
lol but guys have to be ready to lose their nationality and i am not sure that so many guys ould like to do just that , especially for tax purposes … lol i would not personally do this indeed (even if i am not concerned as i am not american anyway lol) not that’s anybody’s choice to do it or not …
Thanks @Music2Sync @AAMediaMusic @n2n44
You are right @Music2Sync, the earnings threshold for citizens overseas is around $100k. But that only applies if the money you are earning is not coming from the US, and I guess that sales from US buyers does not apply to that $100K limit. And if the money is coming from the US, then that number goes down to $10k per year.
I guess if only the US sales counts, I wouldn’t exceed that limit, but i fear that they will consider all my sales.
I filled the W9 form, I think I’m not making enough money from envato for this to became a big problem, at least for now. But I’ll seek legal counseling.
Thank you all 
Yeah, thats a tricky one. Do keep us posted on the outcome of your legal advice.