The US legislation cms provides for a tax on royalties (and many other types of income) of 30%, a p

In the last year I often happened to talk to a number of authors who would like to start publishing some of their works through self-publishing, trying to lean distribution platforms consolidated and possibly free. The choice is wide enough, with pros and cons to be considered case by case basis depending on your needs and your needs and goals. In cases where the choice fell on Amazon, on Smashwords or other global distributors, the author was to clash with the opportunity (you do, DO NOT opportunities and needs) to register with the 'IRS (Internal Revenue Service) that, to understand each other, is the equivalent of our Inland Revenue. The question that most often we were facing was just about the how you could physically do this recording and what was involved cms in tax.
This article gathers the experiences of myself and my wife in this field and want to be a small handbook for the aspiring author who wants to distribute their works on these platforms without cms seeing curtailed by the hard-earned gains taxes and levies not due.
The US legislation cms provides for a tax on royalties (and many other types of income) of 30%, a percentage that is taken by a deduction "at source". This means that the distributor will deduct cms automatically share due to the author from each sale of 30%, the sum and pay them to the state. As for the gains from artistic and talented but there are a number of bilateral agreements, under which the rate of tax is reduced or canceled. In Italy's cms case, the tax rate is 0%. What we must do is let people know that the payments to the IRS that you will receive from the US are attributable to copyright and ask then that is applied the relevant agreement with exemption from the retention of 30%. Here you can find the list of all active agreements. To do this you must first get a code ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), if an individual, or an EIN (Employer Identification Number), which instead cms is a code of business. The ITIN (which corresponds more or less to an Italian tax code) is a particular code, reserved for those who are foreign citizens but receives income cms from US companies cms (such as Amazon or Smashwords). The choice is rather indifferent to the practical side, although I feel that, if we also support platforms that provide (free or paid) an ISBN, the author acts on his own as an individual. The assignment cms of an ISBN external qualification fact the distributor as publisher of the work, despite being guaranteed to authors cms all the rights to their works. In the event that the author has procured cms some ISBNs personal might appear as a publisher of himself and then completely fall among potential holders cms of EIN. In order to request a code ITIN need someone releases the applicant a letter stating that this will be a service for which some will be paid. In the case of Smashwords, just reached the $ 10 credit may require sending the signed cms letter by entering the management payments, from where you can access a specific request form (always all in English). With Amazon's even easier: cms the letter is generated automatically, just log into your account (on Amazon KDP), access the Help section, subsection Tax Information Requirements, the discharge 'ITIN letter and complete cms it with their own data and their own code author (available in your account page). Once the letter, you have to go on the IRS website and fill out online form W-7, which is an application form assignment code ITIN. Once completed the form you have to send it to the IRS headquarters (address: Internal Revenue Service - ITIN Operation - PO Box 149 342 - Austin, TX 78714-9342), cms enclosing a letter from Smashwords and certified copy of your birth certificate and a notarized (preferably by apostille, be requested at the Prefecture) of your identity card (alternatively, if you send an authenticated copy of the passport does not need a birth certificate). Within a maximum of 8 weeks, cms the ITIN is issued. Here you can find instructions for compiling and here's an example of Form W-7 form (NB - in the example some optional fields were left blank. If you do not want to fill is required to enter the abbreviation n / a. No field must be left blank). To my wife, after a couple of weeks, received a first letter from the IRS with which they communicated the start of practice and gave back (!) Copies of the identity. After another two weeks, is to