YouTube’s New Payment Policy: How To Submit U.S. Tax Info In AdSense

Recently, YouTube announced that Google would deduct taxes from payments to creators outside of the United States. Google announced these tax changes to creators’ YouTube earnings because of ‘Chapter 3 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.’ As per the code, Google “has the responsibility” to collect tax information of creators earning from viewers in the U.S. through ad views, super chats, YouTube Premium, Super sticker, or channel memberships.

So, creators worldwide are bound to provide their U.S. tax info to AdSense before May 31, 2021. If YT Creators fail to provide their U.S. tax info to Google Adsense before the deadline, Google will deduct 24% of their total earnings worldwide – not just the U.S. earnings. So, as a creator, you should submit your tax information to Google AdSense as soon as possible.

Submit U.S. Tax Info In Google AdSense

1. First, log in to the Google AdSense account linked with your YouTube Channel.
2. Then, click on Payments.
3. Scroll down to find the Manage Settings option.
4. Under the Payments section, click on the United States tax info option.
5. Click on Add Tax info and confirm your Gmail account password to move forward.
6. Now, select ‘Individual’ if you’re an independent creator and ‘Non-Individual/Entity’ if you’re a company.
7. Click on ‘No’ if you’re not a U.S. citizen or resident.
8. Select between W-8BEN and W-8ECI forms. (Select W-8BEN if you’re an individual creator simply earning through Google Ad revenue)
   Note: W-8BEN is for non-US individuals that would be used to claim tax treaty benefits. Whereas the W-8ECI form is for non-US business entities or individuals who file US income tax returns and earns from US trade or business.
9. Now, fill up the details like country of origin, Tax Identification Number, address, etc.
   Note: You must give the Foreign Tax Identification Number (PAN Card number in case of Indian creators) to claim the tax treaty. If you’re eligible for the tax treaty, you’ll have to pay a 15%(In the case of Indian creators) tax from the money you make from U.S. viewers. However, if you’re not eligible, you’ll be charged 30% tax.
10. If you claim tax treaty, checklist income types that apply to you, i.e., Services (AdSense), Motion Picture and TV (YouTube, Google Play), Other copyright (YouTube, Google Play).
11. Finally, preview your document and move ahead to the certification section.
    Note: Before submitting the form, you must preview it to ensure all the information is correct.

That’s it; your U.S. tax form will be under review for a few days. If the information provided in the document is correct, Google will charge U.S. income tax accordingly. However, if any information in the form is incorrect, you’ll have to resubmit the form after 30 days.

You can go through the below links before filling the U.S. tax form:
1. Submitting your U.S. tax info to Google
2. U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number Requirement
3. U.S. tax requirements for YouTube earnings
4. Tax Withholding Types