IRS Reporting Regulations on Third-Party Payment Transactions for Seller Account Holders

The US Patriot Act and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require Amazon Payments to collect identifying information from you when you open certain account types. We may ask for your tax Identification number (SSN, EIN), legal name, physical address, and date of birth. We will use this information to identify you and to comply with tax reporting obligations applicable U.S. taxpayer sellers. If you have more than one account, you must complete the information for all of your accounts.

Important notice:

This document applies to Amazon Payments Seller Account holders who use Amazon Payments to buy or sell goods and services on websites other than Amazon.com.

If you have a Personal or Business Account, please see IRS Reporting Regulations on Third-Party Payment Transactions for Personal or Business Account Holders.

Not sure what kind of account you have?

How does Amazon use the identifying information?

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require that U.S. payment processors, including Amazon Payments, file a Form 1099-K to report unadjusted annual gross sales or payment volume information for customers that meet both of the following thresholds in a calendar year:

• More than $20,000 in gross payment volume
• More than 200 transactions

In order to ensure that there is no interruption to your service when you reach the above threshold, Amazon Payments requires all account holders to provide taxpayer identification information before they start transacting.

You cannot process payments using our Service until you have provided valid tax information.

How do I provide my Taxpayer Identification Information to Amazon Payments?

You can enter your information by:

1. Signing into https://sellercentral.amazon.com.
2. Select Settings and then Account Info.
3. Scroll down to the Legal Entity Section and click
4. Follow the instructions to complete the tax profile.

Note: You must complete the tax interview in all of your accounts. Please answer all questions in the self-service process to ensure the necessary forms are completed.

Please avoid misspellings or entering incorrect Tax Identification Numbers, both of which can affect our verification process. Please move forward or backward through the process at your own pace. Doing so does not affect the verification process.

Note: To help protect the security of your taxpayer identification information, we will not ask you to disclose it by e-mail or over the phone.

Help is available throughout the process, including links to IRS publications that support the IRS form W-9.

Information in this document does not constitute tax, legal, or other professional advice. If you have questions or require guidance on these matters, please contact your tax, legal, or other professional adviser.

See answers to frequently asked questions below, and learn more at the IRS website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Regulations

• I would like more information on the regulations that require Amazon Payments to file a form 1099-K for some of its customers. Where in the Internal Revenue Code can I read about these regulations?
• What happens if I don't provide the required information?
• Do these regulations apply to non-profit organizations?
• I am a foreign customer. Will I have to provide any additional information under these regulations?

Tax Identity Collection & Validation

• What information am I required to provide to Amazon Payments?
• Will Customer Support ask me for this information, or can I contact Customer Support to provide the information over the phone or in an e-mail?
• I am not going to come close to hitting the reporting threshold. Why does Amazon Payments require my taxpayer identification number?

Reporting and Document Retrieval

• Will I get a copy of my Form 1099-K?
• How and when will I know each year whether a Form 1099-K will be filed for my account?
• Is the $20,000 calculated based on net payment volume or gross payment volume?
• Doesn't the gross payment volume change if I refund a payment?
• Will you file Form 1099-K for my business account if I only exceed one of the two thresholds?
• If I have multiple accounts with Amazon that exceed the thresholds when the account totals are combined, will you file Form 1099-K for all my accounts?
• What if I have a Seller Account and another Amazon account, such a Personal or Amazon Business Account?
• Can Amazon Payments help me with my tax return?
• I did not receive my Form 1099-K in the mail. What address was it mailed to?
• Are there instructions on how to use the 1099-K for my tax return?
• Can you provide me instructions on how to read the Form 1099-K and how to know what the different boxes mean?
• I believe there is an error on the Form 1099-K I was issued. How do I get an updated Form 1099-K?
• How do I save a copy of the Form 1099-K to my computer?
• I saved the PDF to my computer, but I no longer remember the password. How can I get another copy of my Form 1099-K?

1099-K Form Reconciliation

• How can I find my unadjusted gross payment volume for a particular year?

Regulations

I would like more information on the regulations that require Amazon Payments file a Form 1099-K for some of its customers. Where in the Internal Revenue Code can I read about these regulations?

The regulations are under section 6050W of the Internal Revenue Code. Please see the IRS website for more information.

What happens if I don't provide the required information?

You will not be able to process payments or receive funds using your Amazon Payments Account and may be restricted for utilizing your Selling on Amazon or Amazon Webstore Account. We may also remind you to provide this information when you sign into accounts and via e-mail.

Do these regulations apply to non-profit organizations?

Yes.

I am a foreign customer. Will I have to provide any additional information?

In order to have an Amazon Payments Seller Account, you must be a permanent U.S. resident, citizen, or U.S.-registered company with a significant U.S. presence.

If you do not meet these requirements, you are not eligible to use Amazon Payments to receive payments. Please see the Amazon Payments, Inc. Customer Agreement for more information about our eligibility requirements.

Tax Identity Collection & Validation

What information am I required to provide to Amazon Payments?

To ensure that we report accurate information to the IRS, we need you to provide the following:

• Contact information (physical address, e-mail address, phone number)
• Legal name
• Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

A TIN is required by the IRS for the administration of tax laws. In most cases, your TIN is either an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or a Social Security Number (SSN).

Learn how to obtain an EIN at the IRS website.

Will Customer Support ask me for this information, or can I contact Customer Support to provide the information over the phone or in an e-mail?

Amazon customer service will not ask you to disclose your taxpayer information via e-mail or phone. To help protect the security of your information, please do not disclose this information by e-mail or phone.

I am not going to come close to hitting the reporting threshold. Why does Amazon Payments require my taxpayer identification number?

While you may not hit the reporting threshold in the near term, we want to make sure that there is no interruption to your service as your business grows. Therefore we require Seller account holders to provide this information upfront. Providing the taxpayer identifier number is simple and takes just few seconds.

Reporting and Document Retrieval

Will I get a copy of my Form 1099-K?

If your gross payment volume for a calendar year exceeds $20,000 and you have more than 200 transactions in that same year across all your Amazon Payments, Amazon Webstore and Selling on Amazon Accounts, you will get a copy of a Form 1099-K from Amazon Payments early in the following year. If you did not meet both of these thresholds, you will not receive a Form 1099-K.

Amazon Payments will make your form available electronically or via postal mail. You will be notified when your form is available electronically or your form will be mailed to you after January 31^st of the year proceeding the tax year. Amazon Payments will mail a copy of your form to the address which you provided when you gave us your Tax ID Number (EIN or Social Security Number).

If you have agreed to receive your form electronically, you may access your form by logging in to your Seller Central Account through https://sellercentral.amazon.com, clicking Reports, and then Tax Document Library.

For more information on the Form 1099 filing instructions, please visit the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099gi.pdf

How and when will I know each year whether a Form 1099-K will be filed for my account?

We will track your unadjusted gross payment volume and number of transactions, and if they both exceed the reporting thresholds ($20,000 and 200 transactions) by the end of a calendar year across your Amazon Payments, Amazon Webstore, and Selling on Amazon Accounts, we will make your form available electronically or via postal mail after January 31^th for the prior tax year, to the primary address on file within the account, and to the IRS early the following year.

You will also be able to tell if you have exceeded the thresholds by monitoring your unadjusted gross payment volume and number of transactions in your account.

Is the $20,000 calculated based on net payment volume or gross payment volume?

As required by the IRS regulations, the $20,000 is calculated based on unadjusted gross payment volume. Unadjusted gross payment volume means the total payments received, unadjusted for fees or refunds. The amount that you receive in your Amazon Payments Account is the gross payment amount for the transaction, even if a rebate applies or the transaction is later refunded.

Doesn't the gross payment volume amount change if I refund a payment?

No. When you receive a payment, the transaction total becomes a permanent part of your unadjusted gross payment volume for the year. Even if you later refund the entire amount of a transaction, the order total is still included in your unadjusted gross payment volume calculation. IRS regulations require that no adjustments to gross transaction amounts be made. Please seek advice from a tax professional to understand the appropriate adjustments when preparing your tax return.

Here is an example that includes an Amazon Payments fee, and an eventual full refund to the buyer:

The buyer makes a purchase and incurs the following charges:

The buyer is later refunded in full.

The gross transaction amount for the purposes of calculating annual gross payment volume is $115, even after the refund.

Will you file Form 1099-K for my account if I only exceed one of the two thresholds?

No. Unless you exceed both thresholds ($20,000 in gross payment volume and 200 transactions) across all your Amazon Payments, Amazon Webstore and Selling on Amazon Accounts, we will not file a Form 1099-K for you.

If I have multiple accounts with Amazon that exceed the thresholds when the account totals are combined, will you file a Form 1099-K for all my accounts?

Yes. Unadjusted gross payment volumes and transaction volumes will be consolidated for all accounts that have the same Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) across Amazon Payments, Amazon Webstore and Selling on Amazon Accounts.

Please assist us by providing your taxpayer identification information in each of your accounts, regardless of thresholds. This will help ensure that we report all accounts with the same TIN on Form 1099-K as required by IRS regulations.

What if I have a Seller account and another Amazon account, such as a Personal or Amazon Business Account?

This FAQ describes the requirements for Amazon Payments Seller Accounts. Different Amazon services and products (such as a Selling on Amazon or Amazon Webstore) have different requirements. Please review the help content for those services or products to determine if you need to provide tax information.

Can Amazon Payments help me with my tax return?

Unfortunately, we do not provide tax guidance. Please contact a tax professional for further assistance

I did not receive my Form 1099-K in the mail. What address was it mailed to?

The Form 1099-K was mailed to the address that you provided when you provided your Tax ID Number (EIN or Social Security Number) during your 1099-K tax interview in Seller Central. If you have not received a form, please visit https://sellercentral.amazon.com. Click the Help tab and then click Contact Us to ask for an additional copy to be issued. Please provide the address where the form should be sent to.

If have agreed to receive your form electronically, you may access your form by logging in to your Seller Central Account through https://sellercentral.amazon.com, click Reports, and then Tax Document Library.

Are there instructions on how to use the 1099-K for my tax return?

To find out how this legislation and Form 1099-K affects you or your business, or if you have other questions, please contact your tax, legal, or other professional advisor.

For Individual filers, see these IRS instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sc.pdf

For legal entity filers, see Form 1120: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1120.pdf.

Can you provide me instructions on how to read the Form 1099-K and how to know what the different boxes mean?

Please refer to these IRS instructions that can be found at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099k.pdf

I believe there is an error on the Form 1099-K I was issued. How do I get an updated Form 1099-K?

Please use the contact information provided on the form you received to discuss any errors or issues with the information on the tax form.

You may also contact Amazon customer service for questions about your account by clicking the Help tab from https://sellercentral.amazon.com.

How do I save a copy of the Form 1099-K to my computer?

From the Reports section in your Seller Central Account, select Tax Document Library, then the appropriate year, and then Form 1099-K. Click the Download PDF link and enter the password. To save the form to your computer, while it is open in Adobe Reader, click File, then Save As, and then PDF. Select a location on your computer and click Save.

For your security your tax form is password protected. The password provided on the Tax Document Library page is required for opening the tax form. If you save the form to your computer, be sure to save the password also because it is required each time you open the file.

If you didn't save the password, log in to your seller account, and from the Reports section, select Tax Document Library. A new password will be provided. Click the Download PDF link and enter the new password.

I saved the PDF to my computer, but I no longer remember the password. How can I get another copy of my Form 1099-K?

For your security your tax form is password protected. The password provided on the Tax Document Library page is required for opening the tax form.

If you didn't save the password, log in to your seller account, and from the Reports section, select Tax Document Library. A new password will be provided. Click the Download PDF link and enter the new password.

Be sure to save the password because it is required each time you open the file.

1099-K Form Reconciliation

How can I find my unadjusted gross payment volume for a particular year?

In order to determine your unadjusted gross payment volume you will need to combine the activity in all of your Amazon accounts.

You can find your unadjusted gross payment volume for Amazon Pay by doing the following:

1. Sign in to https://sellercentral.amazon.com.
2. Click Reports > Payments.
3. Click Date Range Reports.
4. Set the time period for the report (for example, a calendar month), and then click Generate Report. When the report has been created, download a copy.
5. Open the report, and filter for TransactionType = Capture.
6. Add up the values in the Transaction Amount column.