How to Stop Paying the 30% Tax on Amazon for Non-US Authors (Legally)

Amazon charges a 30% tax to every ebook author living outside the US. However you can get an exemption from this tax if you live in the EU (Europe) or in many other countries that have signed a tax treaty with the US.

Amazon provide instructions about this point but they use legal jargon and they are not completely clear. As a result, I’ve seen many authors paying this 30% US tax and then paying again taxes to their country of residence. This is called ‘double taxation‘ and it’s forbidden by the US-EU treaty.

HOW TO GET THE EXEMPTION

Every author who pay taxes in the EU or to another recognized country is NOT required to pay the ‘double taxation’. However Amazon doesn’t know if you pay taxes in another country. You have to tell them.

This is how you do it:

1. Go to your KDP account
2. Scroll down until you see the section ‘Tax Information’ (see the image attached below)

3. File the Tax Information with your tax number. If you are resident in one of the exempted country you always have one.
In Europe it’s your VAT number (if you are a company or a professional) or your personal identification number (if you are a person).

That’s it. The screen flow is not the most customer friendly I’ve ever seen, and you’ll probably lose some time (and patience) the first time. But it’s worth. From this very moment you’ll make 30% more money with the same sales and you’ll move faster toward your financial freedom.

Some Questions:

I’m not from Europe can this work for me?

You should check if your country has a Treaty with the US here:

If not have a thought about opening a company in a Treaty Country to publish your books (and maybe the book of your network).

Cost to setup a company in the UK is £15 ($25). Maintenance for a small company probably around £50-100 per month. It’s too much for a occasional author but it could be a good investment if you plan to transform this into a business.

Source/www.moneyhomeblog.com/