Hi, I have worked on book covers for publishers in the US for the last 7 years of being a freelance illustrator, and never had any issues with invoicing and payments. However, this latest invoice for a US publisher has come back with them requesting that I need a US Tax ID number (even though I live and work in the UK?) in order to avoid being taxed 30% of the fee at their end. I have questioned this over and over with them, but they insist it is correct. So I will be taxed 30% in the US, and then 20% in the UK, which seems ridiculous. Has anyone else ever come across this? The only thing I can think to do in future is add 30% extra on to my fee.
Hi, The 30% tax thing is correct for 'non resident aliens' - as they call foreigners. Luckily the us and uk have some sort of tax treaty agreement in place that allows you to side step this. You have to jump through a few hoops though. look at these links from us inland revenue service. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1915.pdf http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf I have just started to sell 3d models on some u.s asset sites. They have quite a comprehensive walk through of the process involved. I presume it would be similar for your line of work. TurboSquid Help & Support : Taxes and Documentation But you do have to send your passport off to them. They will return it but it can take over 3 months to get back to you... I am still waiting for mine, and my u.s tax number !!! Hope this was helpful. Good luck Mark
