W8 Form wtf????
 

I signed up to some new sponsors, and saw that some of them demand a w8 form filled out and sent back.
I was like wtf?? I know it's not new, but I always refused to sign up with sponsors with w8 forms...
Why do they need that?

W8? I think you mean W-9. It is required by the IRS to have on file if you payout an independant contractor for work. They need to send a form 1099 to you at the end of the year if you are an individual, sole prop, or partnership in the United States.

I guess it's called w8 for overseas...
but I'm not a "real" worker, I just promote their content like I do with so many other sponsors, and those other ones don't need such a form as well.

Not sure what you mean by real worker, but if you get paid then you are an independant contractor. The US based sponsors that wish to stay on the proper side of the Treasury Department will have you fill one out.

pimpinpays.com does not require you to have a w8, w9, w* form.

;)

2 wrongs don't make a right. :2 cents:

I havent heard of any sponsor who requires any tax forms from Europeans and for sure I woulnd't promote such sponsor.

Europeans get the tax forms if you make enough sales for the US sponsor and they have to prove your a non-US citizen to the US government, include ID etc.

If I'm not mistaken, I recently read about someone from the UK getting it from AFF.

Well bumblecash for example demands such a form from the very beginning and you stay pending if you don't send the form...

Uncle Sam. Heh.

:321GFY

To even fill in a W8 you need a US tax ID, its I think its called an EID, for non residents - It takes about 12 weeks to get one

Dont plan on getting paid anytime soon.......

They will want your Euro tax ref so you will be paying tax in your home country

If AFF ask me for one then I would have to leave them

never heard of that sponsor :thumbsup

are you sure? their site's called mac and bumble... I thought they were quite known.

If a sponsor does not get this info and they are audited then they have to pay big fines and fees. Its is becoming more standard since over the years the biz are starting to get audited and then they get in line. Eeventually all US sponsors will REQUIRE this, Just part of the Biz maturing and becoming more mainstream.

do you require from every foreign webmaster, f.e from Sweden, Poland or Argentina to send you some tax forms?

World government is coming closer to reality everyday; many would argue that it's already here.

Countries are increasingly sharing information with others - akin to how the various U.S. states increasingly share information with each other - at one time, most states didn't share much of anything with other states ... often folks who got traffic tickets, etc outside their home state would just skip paying the tickets; many jurisdictions, even now, require payment/bond immediately in large part for that reason ... but anyways, I digress.

To avoid the whole W8 nonsense, one should simply avoid U.S. sponsors - in many respects, that's likely a good idea even for folks who don't mind the W8 stuff, since the U.S. has increasingly become a hostile place to conduct business ... things are exactly dire yet, but they're definitely not as good as they were in the 90s (the devaluing of the dollar doesn't help matters) ... and thus at some point, if not already, is going to adversely affect the performance of some U.S. sponsors.

A quick work-around for folks caught in the W8 trap is to sell their sponsor account to another webmaster.

Ron

If you are a non-US company/citizen promoting a US sponsor program and YOU DO NOT fill out a w-8, the US sponsor program is required by the IRS to withhold 30% of your commissions.

Dosnt the affiliate end up paying 30% anyway?

Then gets double whamied with paying tax in the home country as well........

I need to do a little research I think, esp if AFF r going to ask for one

No, the affiliate ends up getting 1099'd and reporting it themselves to the IRS & paying the % of tax that fits their tax bracket on their tax returns.

~Alli

Also, w-9's required by sponsors is becoming more popular because the IRS fines the affiliate program company for every tax ID that doesn't correctly match the payable to name if they do not have a w-9 on file.

~Alli

but we were talking about w-8's here, for international webmasters...

does TopBucks deal with that too?????

A little off topic... but if a crackdown is coming it could have something to do with it

It would be interesting to see how much leaves the US economy via non US affs compared to income from non US consumers - and Im not just talking about adult