I’m not a US citizen or resident, and I do not live or work in the USA. Why is Veer Marketplace withholding taxes on my earnings?
Veer Marketplace is owned by Corbis Corporation, a U.S. corporation. As such, we must comply with U.S. tax laws. These laws mandate withholding taxes on royalties earned from U.S. source payments to people who are not residents or citizens of the United States.

Okay, I have to complete US tax registrations. How is the US going to tax me?
Veer Marketplace is required to deduct 30% withholding tax from U.S. source royalties paid to individuals and companies who are not US citizens or US residents. This 30% withholding tax may be reduced or eliminated if you are resident of a treaty country and provide Corbis with a properly completed treaty claim. A list of countries that have tax treaties with the United States and the corresponding tax rates can be found here.

How do I complete the tax registration process and claim treaty benefits?
To ensure that these withholding tax laws are properly administered, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has designed Form W-8BEN for purposes of:

• Certifying that you or your company is not a US citizen or tax resident, and/or
• Claiming reduction in, or exemption from, US withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty.

We’re required to obtain a W-8BEN from each contributor who is not a US citizen or resident.

Uh-oh. Sounds like a pain, but there is good news: Veer Marketplace has designed an online W-8BEN that should simplify the registration process. Hurrah!

You should be able to complete this form on-line in a matter of just a few minutes.

In a few less common cases, you may be required to complete this process manually. If that happens to be the case for you, we’ll let you know during the online process and redirect you to a page where you can download and print the appropriate forms and then mail to us. We’ll also provide printable instructions in PDF format that will likely answer your questions if you get stuck.

US tax law can be tricky, so we’ve added some help on completing this process. Additional information or explanations can be found by clicking the help indicators (orange text) on selected lines of the W-8BEN. Please note that this guidance is not meant to replace the official instructions to the W-8BEN. As these are important documents, you should refer to the W-8BEN instructions and/or consult with a tax advisor if you get stuck.

What parts of the W-8BEN must I complete?
All non-US contributors are required to complete Parts I of the W-8BEN and agree to the certification in Part IV before their images will be made available on Veer Marketplace.

Important note: If you are eligible for treaty benefits that will reduce or eliminate your withholding taxes and wish to claim these benefits, you MUST complete Part II of the W-8BEN.

Certain contributors (those who are not the rights holder – see below) will need to provide a US Taxpayer Identification Number (US TIN) on Line 6 of Part I before any treaty claim can be respected.

My country has a 0% (5%, 10%, 15%) treaty agreement with the USA. How does this work?
Once you properly complete the Form W-8BEN we will withhold at the tax rate specified in your country’s income tax treaty.

Example: If your country has a 10% withholding tax rate, and you earn $150 in U.S. source royalties – your net royalty payment will be $135 ($150 - $15 [10% withholding tax] = $135 )

If, however, we license your images to customer outside the U.S., your related royalties will not be considered U.S. source and will not be subject to U.S. withholding tax.

Example: If your country has a 10% withholding tax rate, and you earn $150 in total royalties, $75 of which is U.S. source and $75 is from non-U.S. sources – your net royalty payment will be $142.50 ($150 gross royalty - $7.50 [ 10% tax applied to $75 ] = $142.50)

We’re global! Content on Veer Marketplace will be available for license by customers around the world, so it’s quite likely that many of your sales will not be subject to U.S. withholding taxes at all.

I have had withholding taxes taken out of my Veer Marketplace earnings. Can I get that taxed amount back?

You will likely be able to claim a tax benefit in your local country related to any U.S. withholding tax deducted from your royalty. We highly recommend that you consult with your local country tax advisor on this matter.

I am a resident of a treaty country with a 0% agreement, do I actually need to fill out the forms?
Yes. We need to have your properly completed Form W-8BEN in order to apply the treaty exemption or rate reduction.

I am not a resident of a treaty country. How will I be taxed?
If you are not a resident of a treaty country, we will deduct a 30% withholding tax on all payments of U.S. source royalties.

Royalties resulting from licensing to customers outside the US will be considered non-US source income and not subject to US withholding tax.

Can I see the list of treaty countries?
Sure: Tax Treaty List