Disclaimer Regarding Tax Information: Spreadshirt aims to make payments and legal tax compliance as easy as possible for our partners. The following is for informational purposes only. Spreadshirt is unable to give tax or legal advice. If you have questions or concerns about tax filings, please contact a tax professional. Please note: The payment method "bank transfer" is currently only accepted by U.S. banks.
Setting up your payment information as a non-U.S. citizen is a straightforward process that ensures you're ready to receive earnings smoothly and securely. In the “Payment info” tab, all partners and designers are required to submit their payment details—either bank or PayPal account information—along with tax documents. It’s important to complete this step by the time you make your first sale, as providing this information is necessary to enable payouts.
Who Needs to Submit Form W-8BEN?
If you’re a non-U.S. citizen with earnings subject to withholding, you may need to submit Form W-8BEN. This form is required for nonresident aliens who are the beneficial owners of income subject to U.S. withholding tax or for account holders of foreign financial institutions (FFIs) verifying their nonresident status. Here are some key criteria for determining if you need to submit this form:
- Non-U.S. Citizenship: You are not a U.S. citizen.
- Non-U.S. Residency: You do not hold a valid U.S. green card and do not meet the “substantial presence test” for U.S. residency in the current calendar year.
- Single Citizenship: You are not a dual citizen if one of your citizenships is U.S.
- Non-U.S. Taxation: You are not subject to U.S. taxation as a citizen.
- U.S. Birth Status: You were not born in the U.S. or, if so, have formally renounced U.S. citizenship.
By submitting Form W-8BEN, you verify your foreign status for tax purposes, ensuring accurate tax withholding.
How to set up your payment data
First off, in the “Payment info” tab, if you haven’t already, you’ll have the option of setting two-factor authentication, which we suggest setting up to further protect your data.
Then the set-up process begins. First, click on the button “+ Add Payout Method”. A page with your personal data transmitted from your profile will show up. Select your account type (individual or registered business) just like you did in the “Personal information tab” then click “Next” on the bottom right.
You will then be asked to enter either your U.S. bank account information (if you have one) or your Paypal information. At this stage you will need to select one however you can always add another payout method later (although only one can be active).
The next step is providing your tax form, which is mandatory for you to receive your payouts. Start by clicking “Submit a Tax Form”, which will lead you to a page where you are required to select whether you are a US citizen or not.
As a non-U.S. citizen, you are to provide a W-8BEN form, so click “I am not a U.S. Person” (if you are a U.S. citizen you may provide the W-9 form, see the FAQ for “U.S. individuals and cooperations”). Then click on “I am an Individual”. If you are a cooperation, see the FAQ for “non-U.S. cooperations”.
At the next stage you will be required to certify that you are not a U.S. citizen and certify whether you provide services from within or outside of the U.S. The term “provide services” here refers to your design creation and/or marketing. Once you have confirmed everything, you can type in your full name to certify it.
In the next step you will need to fill in your personal data, which can be done automatically with the popup when you click each section. Be sure to add your country of citizenship and date of birth manually. (If your mailing address is the same as your permanent residence, you can click on the box to make things easier)
After this, you’ll need to provide your Tax Identification Number (TIN), if applicable. Here’s how to complete this section:
- Enter your TIN: If you reside in a country that issues TINs, you must enter your TIN in the provided field. This is required for form validation and to ensure you’re eligible for payouts.
- If no TIN is issued: For residents in countries that do not issue TINs, you may leave this field blank. Simply check the box labeled “I am unable to provide a TIN” to continue.
If you live in a country that provides you with a TIN, you are required to provide one. Without a valid TIN, your form will be invalid, and payouts cannot be processed, so please ensure you meet the requirements specific to your country.
If you’re from a country that has a double tax treaty (DTT) with the U.S., you will be taxed at a reduced rate or you will be exempt from U.S. taxes on certain items of income you receive from sources within the U.S. The withholding rate and treaty article will be shown in an extra field in this case. If your country doesn’t have a DTT with the U.S., 30% withholding will be added as usual.
Now, check that all the information is correct, click continue, and ensure all boxes on the lefthand side are ticked to proceed and complete your W-8BEN form. Then once that’s all done you can click “Complete W-8BEN” on the bottom right and your tax form has been submitted!
After everything has successfully been submitted you will be asked if you accept e-delivery for your end of year tax statement. This statement will be stored in your Partner Area and you will receive an email notification when it’s ready to be downloaded. If you do not accept e-delivery, you will receive it by post instead.
You can now find your tax form in under the “Payment info” tab and check its status. The final confirmation of your tax form may take up to 2 weeks.
If you wish, you can add another payment method by clicking on the blue “+ Add Payout Method” button next to “Payout Methods”. Enter the data for the extra payout method you’d like to add. After entering the data, you can choose between “Add” or “Add and Active”. If you select “Add and Active” that means that this payment method will be your preferred/active one.
