To comply with U.S. tax law, CD Baby asks U.S. and non-U.S. artists to submit the correct tax forms. If you’re a non-U.S. artist without proper forms, your U.S. source royalties may be subject to withholding. For example, if you stream your music in the U.S. but haven’t provided a valid W-8, CD Baby may withhold 30% of your U.S. royalties.
What tax forms are required
- U.S. taxpayers: Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification)
- Non-U.S. individuals: Form W-8BEN (Certificate of Foreign Status)
- Non-U.S. entities: one of Form W-8BEN-E, W-8IMY, W-8ECI, or W-8EXP
- You’ll need to provide a TIN or FTIN (Tax Identification Number or Foreign TIN)
- Note: our system currently doesn’t accept special characters or diacritics (like í, ñ, ç, etc.)
When tax withholding applies
- In general, US-based artists are not subject to tax withholding, as long as CD Baby has a valid Form W-9 on file for you.
- For Non-U.S. recipients, the default withholding is 30% of U.S.-source royalties. However, if your country has an income tax treaty with the U.S., the withholding rate may be reduced (or zero).
- To claim treaty benefits, submit a correctly completed W-8 form that includes your U.S. or foreign TIN
- Not all countries have U.S. tax treaties
Things to note
- The withholding only affects U.S.-source royalties (e.g. streaming in the U.S.)
- Even if you initially qualify, your status can change if tax documentation is missing or invalid
- Helpful information for non-U.S. taxpayers may be found at the following IRS publications:
*Please note, links to third-party sites are provided purely for informational purposes and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information. These sites are not governed by our artist agreement and privacy policy.
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