Form W for UK based instructors?

[ideostone]

Hi there

I am a new UK based instructor.  I am just in the process of uploading my first course.  I have opted to be paid via Payoneer which is all fine but I have been asked by Payoneer, on behalf of Udemy to complete the relevant form W to confirm my taxation status in relation to the US IRS.

If you are an established UK-based instructor and you have gone through this process, can you tell me which of the W forms I should be completing and where I find the relevant information about the tax treaty between the UK and US and the percentage of earnings on which I do not have to pay tax in the US?  The information provided suggests that if I do not do this, I may not get paid by Udemy (always assuming someone wants to buy my course).

Any suggestions would be gratefully received but I realise you will not be a tax consultant and so I will not be able to rely on your information - I won't come looking for you if you get it wrong!

Thanks.

[Lizzy]

@ideostone I am trying to decide between Payoneer and PayPal so can't help with your question. Sorry. But I do need to hear your answer because this aspect of payment is a sticky point. Confusing.  Did you choose Payoneer over PayPal for a reason? Do they both ask for the w form? Apologies for answering your question with more questions but any advice you can give me would be great. You are further down the line than me.

[ideostone]

Hi Lizzy

I am afraid I did not get as far with paypal as finding out if it also required the form but as the form has been requested by Udemy, I suspect it will be necessary too.

I chose Payoneer over paypal as it seemed like a simpler process for getting signed up.  I already had a paypal account but could not seem to link it with Udemy so ended up cancelling my paypal account completely.  Payoneer seemed reasonably straight forward but did have a number of additional questions about bank accounts.  When I answered the questions, however, it was a quick process to get signed up.

I hope this is helpful.

Richard

[Lizzy]

Thanks @ideostone I appreciate your advice. Perhaps I should try Payoneer. Won't Udemy advise on which W form to use? It seems quite helpful to tell us when they require it. Have you asked them? 

[Lizzy]

@ideostone I have to fill out the W form. Did you figure it out?

[ideostone]

Lizzy

Not at this stage.  It only becomes important when there is some revenue to deal with.  I have asked several people for help but will push it harder when I need to get access to some money!

[AaronPritchard]

Hi,

i am also looking for this info. subscriving to thread.

From a UK-based perspective, i am wondering if i should even run this out of a Ltd company, so not to affect my current PAYE income and tax obligations. 
(of course, if i do 1 course that doesnt really take off this seems pointless, and expensive. but, potentially easier to offload the lot to a proper accoutant).

[Francis]

I'm trying to figure out the same question. Is it better to run Udemy as a business or continue as sole trader / manage your own personal tax via UK tax return. I am not much further in figuring it out but I have found out the following.

Generally, if you are outside of the US are charged withholding tax of around 30%, BUT if there is a tax treaty between the US and the other country it can be reduced. In the UK there is and therefore this is reduced to 15% on dividends by US companies, 5% for dividends qualifying for direct dividend, 0% on interest & 0% on royalties. See more info here: http://taxsummaries.pwc.com/ID/United-States-Corporate-Withholding-taxes

So would money from Udemy be royalties?! 

http://taxsummaries.pwc.com/ID/United-States-Corporate-Withholding-taxes

UK company to US Company it looks like you can just say to Udemy (in the sign up) that you are a UK company and therefore you will get 0% withholding tax BUT I think then you are open up to having to pay tax to the US-based on the state it was purchased (different states have different tax amounts) which gets horribly complicated.

https://www.ensors.co.uk/blog/UK-tax-implications-of-companies-doing-business-in-the-US/

So far it looks like I'm going to say sole trader/individual but need to do some more digging.

Caution: I'm no way a financial expert and this is just from what I've figured out by googling and running my own company. Do not except any responsibility etc etc...