YouTube (AdSense) tax form for non-US creators

Why YouTube asks for US tax info

Google has to collect tax info from every creator in the YouTube Partner Program, because US law makes it responsible for withholding and reporting US tax on royalties it pays to people outside the US. Its help page is direct: “All monetizing creators on YouTube, regardless of their location in the world, are required to provide tax info.”

That doesn’t mean all your YouTube income is taxed in the US. Google treats partner earnings as royalty revenue, and only the part earned from viewers in the US counts as US income. Google withholds on the US-viewer share of:

• ad views
• YouTube Premium
• Super Chat, Super Stickers and Super Thanks
• channel memberships

Earnings from viewers everywhere else aren’t subject to US withholding, provided your tax info is on file.

What Google withholds, with and without the form

The form decides both the rate and what it applies to. Here’s how Google describes it for an individual account outside the US:

Business accounts outside the US that don’t submit tax info get 30% withheld from US earnings instead of 24% of everything.

Google’s own example is a creator in India who earns $1,000 in a month, $100 of it from US viewers. With no tax info, Google deducts $240. With a W-8BEN and no treaty claim, it deducts $30. With a treaty claim at India’s 15% rate, it deducts $15.

Filling in the AdSense tax form step by step

You submit everything inside AdSense for YouTube. Google builds the right IRS form from your answers, so you don’t upload a PDF.

1. 1

   Open your tax settings

   Sign in to AdSense for YouTube and go to Payments > Payments info > Manage settings. Under “Payments profile”, click edit next to “United States tax info”, then Manage tax info.

2. 2

   Choose your account type

   Say whether you’re an individual or a business and whether you’re a US person. A non-US individual gets Form W-8BEN; a non-US business gets W-8BEN-E.

3. 3

   Answer the US activities question

   Google defines US activities as performing a service in the United States, including having employees or equipment in the US that help generate revenue.

4. 4

   Enter your tax ID and claim the treaty

   Give your country’s tax number (or a US one) and claim treaty benefits if your country has a treaty with the US. The tool identifies the income type and article.

5. 5

   Preview, sign and check the status

   Google generates a PDF of the form for you to check. After you submit, the status should turn to a green “Approved”, and the “United States tax info” section shows the rates that apply to you.

Google lists a TIN that isn’t a 9-digit number among the reasons it may ask you to verify your identity. Most foreign tax numbers aren’t, so expect that extra step if you use one.

Treaty rates and where your foreign TIN goes

Google puts YouTube Partner Program earnings in the “Other Copyright Royalties” category, so a treaty claim uses the royalties article of your country’s treaty with the US. The IRS publishes the rates in Table 1 of its tax treaty tables. Some examples from the copyrights column:

Film and TV royalties can have a different rate. Canada’s, for example, is 10%. Google uses that category only for certain YouTube Movies and Shows partners. Check the current table before you rely on a rate; our US tax treaty guide explains how to read it.

To claim the treaty you need a tax number. Google’s wording: “If you are claiming a tax treaty benefit, you are required to provide either a Foreign TIN or a U.S. TIN.” The examples it gives of foreign TINs include India’s PAN, Indonesia’s NPWP, Japan’s My Number and the UK’s UTR or National Insurance number.

On the W-8BEN itself, a foreign TIN goes on line 6a and a US TIN goes on line 5. The IRS instructions say that if you claim treaty benefits, you generally need an ITIN only “if you do not provide a tax identifying number issued to you by your jurisdiction of tax residence.” Our guide to finding your foreign TIN covers what to enter by country, and the W-8BEN guide goes through the form line by line.

Google asks creators to submit the form, and any treaty claim, by December 10 each year.

Do non-US YouTubers need an ITIN?

For the AdSense form, no, as long as your country gives you a tax number. You need an ITIN only in a few situations:

An ITIN is a tax number and nothing more. It doesn’t let you work in the US or change your immigration status. What is an ITIN? covers the limits.

Your 1042-S and reclaiming over-withheld tax

Google sends a Form 1042-S to creators who received eligible payments, on or before April 14 for the previous year. It shows your US-source royalties and the tax withheld. You’ll find it in AdSense for YouTube under Settings > Manage tax info, and you can choose online or paper delivery. Our Form 1042-S guide explains each box.

If Google withheld the right amount, you usually have nothing more to file in the US for that income. The IRS requires a nonresident with no US business to file a return only when the tax on their US income wasn’t fully covered by withholding at source, or when they want a refund.

If too much was withheld, how you get it back depends on timing:

• In the same calendar year: update your tax info, and claim the treaty, by December 10. Google can then recalculate and refund the difference itself. You may need to sign an affidavit of unchanged circumstances in the tax tool so the new form covers earlier payments.
• After the year ends: Google says you “will have to file a request for a refund directly with the IRS.” For a nonresident that means filing Form 1040-NR, and a US tax return needs an SSN or ITIN. If you don’t have one, you apply with Form W-7 attached to that return.

The IRS says to allow 7 weeks for an ITIN, or 9 to 11 weeks if you apply from outside the US or between January 15 and April 30. Weigh that against the size of the refund before you start.

Sponsorships and income outside AdSense

YouTube’s tax form covers only what Google pays you. Brand deals, affiliate commissions and merch sales are separate, and each payer decides what it needs from you.

When a US brand pays you to make and publish a sponsored video, it’s paying for your services. Under IRS rules, pay for services is sourced where you do the work, so a video made outside the US is generally foreign-source income. Expect the brand to ask for a W-8BEN to document that. If a deal also licenses your footage for the brand to use in the US, that part can be a royalty and may be withheld on. The content creators overview compares how other platforms handle this.