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Post by unclegarf on Aug 28, 2018 9:21:49 GMT -8
Help, please.
Forgive me. When it comes to this withholding tax thing, my old brain becomes easily confused. I did the old T I N / E I N thing which bode me well for five years, but it seems it is time to jump through more hoops. I'm sure I heard putting in my U K tax code to the smash / D2D accounts does the trick these days. I've ignored this too long and a smash - paypal glitch made this a must do issue. I have the princely sum of 169 dollars sitting in the D2D coffers and a staggering 1.79 dollars at smash. Obviously this life-changing amount would help me buy some stale bread and moldy cheese to give me the strength to add to the mountain of literary masterpieces (recognized as such when I'm dead).
Any U K writers done this tax thing lately?? Do I really need a new U S number? Spending half hour on an international call to the U S tax office is time I could spend doing more serious things, like drinking.
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Post by unclegarf on Aug 28, 2018 11:04:15 GMT -8
I think this does it for me. Pass on to Brit writers everywhere. My National insurance number will be going in.
This from smash
Thanks for writing in. As a UK resident filing as a individual, you can file using either 1) an IRS-issued ITIN on Line 5 of the form at Account > Payment Settings or 2) your UK National Insurance or Unique Taxpayer Reference number on Line 6 of the form. Applying for tax treaty benefits will eliminate the withholding on royalties, which is 30% by default.
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chelsfield
SWF Writers
Posts: 700
Joined: Mar 28, 2012 3:07:24 GMT -8
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Post by chelsfield on Aug 28, 2018 22:52:26 GMT -8
Glad you got an answer, but did it actually work. I have a crumb waiting for me to claim at SW but my prob is that I don't like Paypal...
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Post by unclegarf on Aug 28, 2018 23:34:18 GMT -8
I haven't done it as yet, as I can only jump through one hoop at a time at my age. High on my to do list, though. I would also prefer the $$ to come directly to me as Amazon does it, but them's the rules. Smash have always just put $ automatically into my paypal account every three months no matter how small the amount, followed by an email to me. I don't use paypal for much but royalties although I have made the odd purchase. Having just used paypal's excellent U K customer service team on a free call number, I got very good response and help updating my paypal account details which I needed to do after my loptap meltdown. Always keep details written down somewhere. I'll probably keep the money with pp for any on-line shopping. I'll let you know how updating smash and D2D details go when I get my head around it.
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Post by jaydax on Aug 29, 2018 13:44:01 GMT -8
I did this a long time ago and had no problems. Unlike Amazon which withheld over $1,000 in tax before I persuaded them not to. Never got that $1,000 back
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Post by unclegarf on Aug 30, 2018 0:06:27 GMT -8
so frustrating, that. Zon can be a law unto themselves. Perhaps the real problem is the structure of how the I R S tax is set up. Maybe only U S A residents / citizens in the U S tax system, the rest of us just left out completely for the tax systems in our own countries?? That would free up their tax staff to concentrate just on their own people, ignoring the rest of us. Hey. what do I know?
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Post by Julie Harris on Aug 30, 2018 12:53:07 GMT -8
Gary, be an Australian if you really want Zon to ignore you. Now that Createspace is closing soon and its all transferring over to KDP print, Aussies are not able to order print copies direct from Zon.com due to the eff up with GST. Or so the rumour goes. D2D will pay by EFT when you reach $10, so best you bang in your bank details and do the tax interview using your UK tax number. I believe the number of non US authors calling the IRS for EIN numbers melted the system. After the melt they let us use our own tax numbers. Easier for all that way.
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Post by djmills on Aug 30, 2018 23:55:06 GMT -8
Yes, Aussie's put up with a lot of hassle because of our GST. :-)
I am seriously thinking of removing my CreateSpace print books from Ext.Dist before Amazon automatically rolls them over to KDP Print, and then reformatting every book for IngramSpark or Lightning Source with my own ISBN for selling in brick&mortar bookshops and so I can order print copies from their Melbourne printer.
That way, Amazon can print on demand for sales through Amazon, IngramSpark or LightningSource can print and deliver for brick&mortar stores/libraries/etc and accept returns, and I get a cheaper postal cost for any orders I make for sale in Australia printed out of Melbourne. So, I will need ISBNs per print book title for IngramSpark or LightningSource but I can Amazon free ISBNs/AINs for printing through them.
Talk about complications, but might work that way. Or, just remove all my print books from CreateSpace and only sell ebooks on Amazon. :-)
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Post by unclegarf on Aug 31, 2018 1:17:38 GMT -8
I always said that doin' the rightin bit is the easy part. I wasn't aware of the createspace changes, I thought Zon had owned CS for some time. To be honest, my paperback sales have been negligible anyway. Even I don't have copies. Once I finally finish the re-write of the new book, I might just call it a day and just push the paint around instead. The annoying thing is though, book 2 for that saga has been nagging me for some time with three chapters done. But then again, I'm also working on a concrete garden structure. I hardly have time for serious drinking these days. On the topic of alcohol, found this on youtube. I've been into my homebrew making again lately, but I found this to try and have made my first 2 ltr batch using a bottle of "summer fruits" for the flavour. Just use the watery drink fruit drinks, not the full on fruit juices. A consultation as to what yeast to use had me going for a basic wine yeast. That is a bit vague on the demo. Takes a couple of weeks so I'll let you know how I get on...eventually!
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Post by djmills on Aug 31, 2018 11:33:46 GMT -8
Yes, Zon owns Createspace.
They also have set up KDP Print, still in beta. However, they had to hurry up and get the rollover from Createspace to KDP Print happening soon because a lot of authors are taking their print across to Ingram Spark. It may cost more to set up each print book in Ingram but they have access to all brick&mortar stores whereas Amazon could not get Extended Distribution to all the bookstores/libraries, etc. :-)
For Australians, Amazon will not sell to Aussies because Amazon refuses to collect the GST, even though they do collect VAT or US Sales Tax.
I have moments when I want to chuck it all in and just do other things, but I like the "top-up" amount of money slipped into my bank accounts each year. And my brain still comes up with more characters, settings and conflicts so I might as well write them. :-)
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Post by unclegarf on Aug 31, 2018 12:55:40 GMT -8
The airlock is blooping already so it's working. Should be ready to drink this time next week. For around 2 quid for almost 2 liters, it could be a regular event. It will all come down to taste. Honest. Watch this space. I feel a sequel coming on.
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Post by djmills on Sept 10, 2018 10:53:00 GMT -8
So, Gary, how did the 26% home brew alcoholic drink end up? Tasty? :-)
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Post by unclegarf on Sept 10, 2018 11:42:58 GMT -8
Darned thing is still blooping in the airlock!! That's 9 days straight so it should be a good'n. In the meantime, I'm having to do with my homemade red wine and as I rite right write I am on my second bottle of the evening. Not too shabby, actually. I still managed another ten pages of book polishing leaving just a final ten to nail the beast. If only my concrete garden feature project was going as well. I'm in danger of running out of booze as I'm down to my last 12 bottles. I realize I'm something of a cliché being a writer who drinks but in darker days when I 'passed out' rather than slept, I still woke up to some interesting output from the day before whilst under the spell. I don't recommend this as a creative tool but there are times I wonder if another adventure into the 'dark realm' would open up other dimensions of creative possibilities. When the new brew finally says 'enough already!' it could take me on a precarious path of story telling enlightenment. Or B S aside I'd just end up with memory gaps and a hangover from hell. Sorry. What was the question? Oh, yeah. Dunno yet.
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Post by unclegarf on Sept 15, 2018 10:38:33 GMT -8
A busy day. New book done apart from cover and formatting and...you know how it goes. So time to check the new booze. Very sweet. What to do? A warming up and the addition of a new yeast and away it goes blooping again. This seven day brew could be ready for Christmas. I'll let you know.
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Post by unclegarf on Sept 21, 2018 10:18:00 GMT -8
As I ponder the imponderable, such as how to beef up the four minor characters in my new book to be less like shop window dummies and the rhetorical question of how to permanently block unwanted ads / emails on gmail, and deciding my next painting project, I decided to do something useful. Make more cheap booze. My error with the first one was not to add enough yeast in the beginning so after investing in another 2 liter fruit drink, airlock and more yeast, I now have two "bloopers" going on by my fireside, number 2 going quite effervescent after just two hours. As winter taps us on the shoulder with her annual visit and I enter hibernation mode, the prospect of an endless supply of booze as cheap as lemonade is a sobering one.
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