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U.S. tax identity and income reporting FAQs

Note: Information on this page doesn't constitute tax, legal, or other professional advice and must not be used as such. If you have questions, contact your tax, legal, or other professional adviser.

Tax reporting thresholds

Amazon is required to issue a Form 1099-K if you had:

  • At least $20,000 in unadjusted gross sales, and
  • At least 200 transactions.

If you did not meet both thresholds for the respective tax year, Amazon is not required to issue you an IRS Form 1099-K but may do so in certain instances where states have lower tax reporting threshold requirements. Consult the IRS or a professional tax advisor to understand your state and federal tax obligations.

FAQs

  1. What information do I need to provide to complete the tax interview?
  2. I'm a U.S. taxpayer. What information do I need?
  3. I'm a foreign seller and not a U.S. taxpayer. Do I need to provide information?
  4. I'm not going to reach the reporting threshold. Why does Amazon require my tax identity?
  5. My Form W-8 is expiring or has expired. How do I update it?
  6. Can Amazon help me with my tax return or the tax interview?
  7. Will I be able to provide my VAT or GST number during the tax interview?
  8. Will Amazon provide me with a copy of my W-8BEN or W-9 form?
  9. How do I determine the beneficial owner for my merchant account?
  10. I received an error message when trying to complete the tax interview. What should I do?
  11. My tax identity information came back invalid. What should I do?
  12. How do I update my tax information and legal business name?
  13. How long will it take to validate my tax identity information?
  14. How do I know if I've successfully completed the tax interview?
  15. Will Amazon ask for my tax information by email or phone?
  16. Do these regulations apply to non-profit organizations?

1. What information do I need to provide to complete the tax interview?

Amazon requires all merchants to complete the U.S. Tax Identity Information Interview. This is a self-service process that guides you through entering your taxpayer information and validating your W-9 or W-8BEN form. The inputs you provide automatically determine which IRS form applies to you.

To complete the tax interview, navigate to the Tax Interview page in Seller Central. Ensure all questions are answered accurately, including your Legal Name, Entity Classification, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and Permanent Address. An electronic signature is required at the end of the interview to complete your submission and enable timely validation.

Based on your interview responses, or if you have not consented to an electronic signature, a hard copy form may be required. To complete this, log in to Seller Central and go to the Tax Interview page. Click on "Update Tax Information" to access your Tax Dashboard, where you can upload a signed copy or follow the instructions to mail the completed form.

Note: This interview can only be accessed by the primary user of your Amazon Payments merchant account. Avoid misspellings or entering incorrect Tax Identification Numbers — both can result in an invalidated tax form (refer FAQ 10). Ensure the name entered on the form matches exactly as it is registered with the IRS against your EIN, TIN, or SSN. Any discrepancy between the name and the Tax Identification Number on record with the IRS may result in the tax form being invalidated. Help is available throughout the process, including links to IRS publications that support Forms W-9 and W-8BEN.

Watch this detailed video


Amazon Pay- Completing the tax interview in Seller Central- length: 2:04


2. I'm a U.S. taxpayer. What information do I need?

By completing the tax interview, you provide Amazon the appropriate tax identity in the form of a W-9.

For U.S. taxpayers, a Tax Identification Number (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).

3. I'm a foreign seller and not a U.S. taxpayer. Do I need to provide information?

Yes. Even if you're a non-U.S. taxpayer, you still need to provide information to retain your selling privileges. The responses you give to the tax interview questions will create the appropriate tax form on your behalf.

IRS regulations require non-U.S. taxpayers to provide Form W-8 to Amazon for U.S. tax reporting requirements.

  • W-8BEN — for non-U.S. individuals
  • W-8BEN-E — for non-U.S. businesses and entities

An IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E expires on December 31 following three years after you provide it to Amazon. When prompted, you're required to retake the tax interview to submit a new form.

Important: Merchants that are only able to complete a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E form aren't eligible to use Amazon Pay in the US. Register with Amazon Pay in your home country or region instead.

4. I'm not going to reach the reporting threshold. Why does Amazon require my tax identity?

All sellers on Amazon.com and merchants on Amazon Pay, regardless of the number of transactions they have in a calendar year, are required to complete the Tax Information Interview.

5. My Form W-8 is expiring or has expired. How do I update it?

The IRS requires that Amazon maintain a current Form W-8 for sellers, individuals, or entities who aren't U.S. persons. If you've received an email from Amazon stating that your Form W-8 is expiring or has expired, you must complete an updated tax interview to continue selling. To update the tax interview, go to the Tax interview page in Seller Central and retake the US tax interview.

If you're a non-U.S. person, failure to maintain a current Form W-8 will result in suspension of your selling privileges.

6. Can Amazon help me with my tax return or the tax interview?

While we're committed to helping merchants understand the requirements under these tax regulations, we don't provide tax guidance. Contact a tax professional for assistance.

7. Will I be able to provide my VAT or GST number during the tax interview?

No. The interview doesn't collect information about VAT or GST.

8. Will Amazon provide me with a copy of my W-8BEN or W-9 form?

Amazon doesn't provide paper copies of W-8BEN or W-9 forms. You'll have an option to download an electronic copy at the end of the tax interview. We recommend retaining a copy of all tax information you provide to Amazon.

9. How do I determine the beneficial owner for my merchant account?

For information on beneficial ownership, visit the IRS website.

10. I received an error message when trying to complete the tax interview. What should I do?

The information provided during the tax interview must match IRS records.

U.S. person:

  • Individual: Use the name and SSN that appears on your Social Security card.
  • Business: Use the same name and TIN that appears on your entity's tax return.

If you selected a federal tax classification other than "Individual/sole proprietor," use the following guidance:

  • C Corporation: Refer to your CP575 notice to confirm your federal tax classification type or contact the IRS.
  • S Corporation: Refer to your CP575 notice to confirm your federal tax classification type or contact the IRS.
  • Partnership: Use the name as it appears on the partnership agreement.
  • Trust: Use the name as it appears on the trust deed.
  • Limited Liability Company (LLC): Refer to your CP575 notice to confirm your federal tax classification type or contact the IRS.
  • Non-profit under IRC sections 501(c) or 501(d): Select "Other" as your federal tax classification, then select "An organization exempt from tax under section 501(a)…" under the "Other type" drop-down.

Non-U.S. person:

  • Individual and Business: Use the name that appears on your tax ID or is disclosed on income tax returns.

11. My tax identity information came back invalid. What should I do?

Here are common causes:

  • For an individual, this typically means the name and SSN don't match your Social Security card.
  • For businesses, this typically means the EIN and name don't match the notice you received with your EIN.
  • If you're a single-member LLC, you should enter the business owner's SSN and name, or the EIN and business name. Don't enter the disregarded entity's EIN.

If your tax identity information came back invalid, you have 30 days from the date of the email from Amazon to correct it. If you don't provide corrected information within 30 days, your Amazon account privileges will be suspended.

12. How do I update my tax information and legal business name?

To update the tax interview, go to the Tax interview page in Seller Central and retake the US tax interview.

To update your legal business name:

  1. Go to Settings, and then click Account Info.
  2. Under Business Information, click Legal Entity.
  3. Enter your legal business name and select Update.

Note: The change requires retaking the Tax Interview and completing identity verification.

13. How long will it take to validate my tax identity information?

After you update your tax identity information, the Legal Entity section of your Account Info page will display "Provided and Pending Validation."

Most accounts submitted electronically with e-signature are validated within 3-5 business days. However, the full validation process can take up to eight weeks from the time Amazon receives your information. This is typically the case when a TIN has been recently issued, or when IRS records are pending an update.

If we find your information doesn't match IRS records, we'll send you an email with instructions on how to proceed.

Note: If you checked the box that states "I have received my EIN/SSN within 60 Days" while taking the tax interview, allow the full eight weeks before following up.

14. How do I know if I've successfully completed the tax interview?

You can check the status of your account in Seller Central on the Account Info page. Your account status appears in the Product Status box at the top left of the screen.

If you see Active next to Amazon Pay, your tax interview has been successfully completed, and you're all set to transact.

If you see the status REGISTRATION_INCOMPLETE, your tax interview submission is either pending processing or has been rejected because the TIN and Legal Name combination does not match IRS records. If your submission has been rejected, you will receive an email notification from Amazon — retake the US tax interview and ensure your Legal Name is entered exactly as it appears on your IRS records to match your TIN. Once your tax interview is complete, confirm that the Amazon Pay option is enabled on your site and that you're able to check out without errors.

15. Will Amazon ask for my tax information by email or phone?

No. To protect the security of your taxpayer identification information, we won't ask you to disclose it by email or phone. Don't share this information through those channels.

16. Do these regulations apply to non-profit organizations?

Yes, they do.

See also