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U.S. Tax Withholding for Vimeo OTT
Vimeo OTT transactions are sourced in the United States and are therefore subject to U.S. tax laws and withholding requirements.
⚠️Important: *U.S. tax withholding should not be confused with VAT withholding, which Vimeo collects and remits based on where Vimeo has nexus. You can find more information here.
Therefore, Vimeo OTT is required to collect tax forms or automatically withhold funds from all VOD sellers, regardless of their home country, in order to be legally compliant.
Any Vimeo OTT payments will be subject to a 28% withholding of gross sales if you do not have an approved tax form on file. In these situations, the amount withheld will be immediately remitted to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and cannot be returned to the seller.
⚠️Note: We recommend submitting your tax forms prior to opening sales. Withholding rates are applied at the time of the transaction.
If you're a U.S. citizen or entity, we will not withhold any funds as long as you have successfully connected your U.S. bank account to receive payments.
For sellers from other countries, your withholding rate may be up to 30% of your net revenue. However, many countries have tax treaties with the United States that will reduce this rate to 0%.
How your tax information is used: Vimeo OTT uses Tipalti, a third-party vendor to help gather and maintain your tax information. We may use the information supplied on your W-8 or Vimeo OTT payout settings for end-of-year reporting purposes. For example, when it’s time to send 1042s to international creators, or 1099s to U.S. creators that meet the required thresholds, your information will be used to generate those forms.
How to Submit Tax Forms to Vimeo OTT
It is crucial for all non-U.S. Vimeo OTT sellers to submit their tax forms as soon as possible.
After January 1, 2017, Vimeo OTT payments will be subject to a 28% withholding of gross sales if you do not have an approved tax form on file.
Read below to learn which form to submit, and how.
Instructions for U.S. sellers
U.S. residents and entities must connect their U.S. bank accounts in their Vimeo OTT settings. The business information provided will serve as a W-9 form and you will not be subject to withholding once your setup is verified.
You can edit these details on your Billing page (Manage > Billing).
Instructions for sellers from other countries
Residents of other countries must submit a U.S. W-8 tax form and will only be subject to withholding if it is legally required for your country.
Businesses and organizations:
- If you're selling on behalf of a business or organization, you can submit a W-8BEN-E at the bottom of your Billing settings (Manage > Billing) page on Vimeo OTT.
Individuals:
- If you're an individual seller, you must first check this IRS page to see if your country has a tax treaty with the U.S.
- If your country is listed on the IRS page above, you will not be subject to tax withholding from Vimeo if you submit a W-8BEN tax form with a valid tax treaty claim. Download the form and then submit a completed copy to taxforms@vimeo.com.
- If your country is not listed above, your net revenue will be subject to a 30% withholding if you complete a valid W-8BEN form. You can submit all the necessary forms at the bottom of your Billing Settings page.
Making Tax Treaty Claims
Vimeo OTT sellers from countries other than the United States may be subject to withholding based on U.S. tax laws.
Businesses generally will not be subject to withholding if we have a valid W-8-BEN-E form on file before payment is processed.
Individuals may be subject to withholding up to 30% of net revenue unless your country has a tax treaty with the United States and you file a valid treaty claim.
Check this IRS list to see if your country has a tax treaty with the U.S. If so, you will need to download a W-8BEN form and then submit it, along with a valid tax treaty claim, to taxforms@vimeo.com.
You can find more information about current tax treaties (and their specific exemptions) in the IRS publication on U.S. Tax Treaties. We recommend taking the time to consult a tax professional so you can ensure that you make the proper treaty determinations and submit a valid treaty claim.
⚠️Note: Vimeo OTT has determined that Vimeo OTT payments are services-related (not royalty-related) because Vimeo OTT is providing you with software as a service (i.e, the Vimeo OTT distribution platform). Therefore, you cannot make a royalty-based treaty claim.
Understanding the different tax forms
This article describes the different types of forms you may be asked to submit as a Vimeo OTT seller.
Vimeo OTT uses Tipalti, a third-party vendor that helps us collect and review tax paperwork. If Tipalti is unable to process the form you submit, you’ll be notified via email and asked to provide the required information.
If we do not have proper forms on file for your account when a monthly payment is processed, your payments might either be paused or subject to withholding of 28% of your gross sales.
W-9 Form
A W-9 form is how U.S. taxpayers provide identifying information to services like Vimeo OTT. A W-9 requires you to provide your name, address, and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (more on this below). If you are a United States-based creator you may complete this info in your Vimeo OTT payout setup instead of submitting a completed W-9 form before receiving payments from Vimeo OTT.
W-8 Form
A W-8 form identifies a person in a foreign country that received money from a U.S. entity.
All non-U.S. creators (except those with a U.S. TIN) must provide this form before receiving payments from Vimeo OTT. The most common types of W-8 forms are form W-8BEN (for individuals) and form W-8BEN-E (for companies). Once you provide some preliminary information in your Vimeo OTT billing settings, the appropriate type of W-8 form will appear automatically.
If you live in a country that has an income tax treaty with the U.S., you can make that treaty claim on your W-8 form. This may reduce the amounts that Vimeo OTT may need to withhold. See the help article on withholding for more information.
If you are an international (non-U.S.) creator and you are unable to provide a W-8, or the form you submit is incomplete or contains errors, starting this year, we will need to pause your payments until you have submitted a completed W-8 form.
8233 Form
Some international sellers who begin filling out a W-8BEN form in their account settings may be asked to submit an 8233 form. At this time, there is no need to submit this form, and we are working to update our online tax form process to remove the 8233 form.
In the meantime, if you are prompted to submit an 8233 form, please do not submit any tax forms. Once we've made the necessary updates, you will be able to submit a completed W-8BEN form instead (with the option to make a tax treaty claim directly on that form, if necessary).
If you have questions about the timing of this update, please contact us.
Receiving a 1099-K form from Vimeo OTT
If you are a U.S.-based creator, we will send you a 1099-K form for your tax filing in January if you have earned more than $20,000 in gross revenue, and had 200 transactions or more, on Vimeo OTT over the calendar year.
⚠️Note: If you sell multiple titles on Vimeo OTT, we aggregate your revenue and transactions across all of your titles to determine if you meet these thresholds. If you receive a 1099-K, note that it will report the “gross revenue” from your sales, not the revenue that Vimeo actually paid out to you.
If you do not meet these thresholds, we won’t send you a 1099-K form, but your Vimeo OTT earnings will remain subject to U.S. taxes. We advise contacting a tax professional to determine your tax responsibilities.
We partner with Stripe to file 1099-K tax forms each tax year. If you earn $600 or more, you will receive an email invitation by the end of the year from Stripe to set up a Stripe Express account.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Stripe Express?
Stripe Express is a new way to engage with Vimeo OTT and Stripe. Stripe Express allows you to manage tax forms, update your business/personal information, and get direct support from Stripe from a web-based portal.
Which email address does Stripe use to send Stripe Express invitations?
Stripe uses the email information associated with the owner of your Vimeo OTT site to send you an invitation to sign up for Stripe Express.
Why haven’t I received a Stripe Express invitation?
If you do not receive an invitation from Stripe but believe you should have received one based on your 2022 earnings, please check the following:
- Check your spam and deleted folders and junk folders, and ensure you have updated your information your Stripe settings.
- You can request a new Stripe Express here
- Confirm whether you earned $600 or more on Vimeo OTT in the past year. If you earned less than that, you will not receive a 1099 form nor the Stripe invitation.
If you confirmed all of the above, please contact support.
How do I update my tax information?
Once you receive the Stripe Express Invitation, open the email from Stripe and click on the “Get started” button, which will prompt you to create a Stripe Express account. After you create an account, you’ll be able to review your tax information.
How will I know when my 1099 tax form is available?
If you opted into e-delivery, Stripe will send an email notification about the availability of your 1099 tax form to the email associated with your Stripe Express account in January.
How will I receive my 1099 tax form?
After you log in to your Stripe Express account, you will be able to consent to the e-delivery of your 1099 tax forms. If you opt-in to e-delivery, Stripe will send an email notification about the availability of your 1099 tax form to the email associated with your Stripe Express account near the end of January.
Note: While all sellers who earned $600 or more received a Stripe Express account invitation, a 1099 form will only be available to those who earned more than $20,000 in gross revenue, and had 200 transactions or more during the previous calendar year.
If you do not consent to e-delivery, you will not be able to view or download your 1099 tax forms on the Stripe Express Tax forms page; Stripe will mail you a paper copy of your 1099 tax form instead.
Finding your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
Determining your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) depends on where you are located as an individual or entity.
- For U.S.-based individuals: Your TIN is the same as your social security number.
- For U.S.-based entities (corporations, partnerships, LLCs, etc.): In general, your TIN is usually the entity’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). In some cases (e.g., LLC, S-corp corporations, partnerships), however, the TIN may be that of the owner. Consult with a tax professional to determine what your TIN is.
- For creators based outside the U.S.: If you are a U.S. citizen living abroad, you must provide a TIN. If you are a non-U.S. citizen residing outside of the U.S., you may either provide a W-9 (if you have a TIN) or provide a W-8 (if you do not have a TIN).
*Excludes any Sellers using Standard.
Need help?
Our team cannot provide legal or tax advice. However, we're happy to help you through the process of submitting the proper form.
For questions regarding withholdings or which tax form to fill out, please reach out to our tax specialist at taxforms@vimeo.com.
If you have any issues with updating your tax forms or any other questions, please contact our support team and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.