W-8BEN for YouTube creators: fill the AdSense tax form right

The W-8BEN is a US tax form that tells Google you are not a US person and, if your country has a tax treaty with the United States, which treaty rate applies to your earnings from US viewers. Google is required to collect it from every creator earning through AdSense for YouTube. Without any form, 24% backup withholding applies to an individual's worldwide YouTube earnings.

For an individual with no tax form on file, 24% of total worldwide earnings is withheld. With a valid W-8BEN, withholding applies only to the portion of earnings from viewers in the United States: 30% if your country has no tax treaty with the US, or the reduced treaty rate if it does. Earnings from viewers outside the US are not withheld at all once the form is in.

Only earnings from viewers in the United States: ad views, YouTube Premium revenue, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks and channel memberships from US viewers. A channel whose audience is mostly in India, Nigeria or Brazil has a small US share, so the withholding is small in absolute terms; a channel with a large US audience should claim its treaty rate carefully.

Google's help page uses India as its example, with the treaty reducing the rate on US-viewer earnings to 15%. Countries such as the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, South Africa, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Egypt and New Zealand have treaties; Nigeria, Pakistan, Kenya, Ghana, Brazil, Vietnam, Singapore, the UAE and Saudi Arabia do not. The AdSense tax tool shows the exact rate when you claim.

No. You use your own country's tax identification number (PAN in India, TIN or Ghana Card number in Ghana, NIF, NPWP and so on) in the foreign TIN field; a US TIN is optional and most creators leave it blank. The form asks for your legal name, country of citizenship, permanent residence address, foreign tax ID, treaty claim and a signature; Google's guided flow in AdSense selects the right form and fields.

A W-8BEN is generally valid for three years from the end of the year you sign it, and AdSense emails you before it expires. You must also resubmit if your address, name or tax residency changes. An expired form drops you back to 24% backup withholding on worldwide earnings until a new one is in, so put the expiry date in your calendar when you submit.

A company outside the US submits a W-8BEN-E instead, with the company's legal name, country of incorporation and tax ID, and the treaty claim under the company's residence. The AdSense payee must then be the company, and the bank account in the company's name. A US company or US person submits a W-9 with an EIN or SSN; US withholding does not apply to US persons, but backup withholding does if no form is filed.