Help with Kindle please

[Wendy]

I have been trying to set up an account to publish my POD book with Kindle and am getting stuck on the tax questionnaire. I am reluctant to give my Australian tax file number online due to it being highly private information. I wonder if other Australians or non-US self-publishers have gone ahead with giving their tax-file number or is there some other way around it. Most info I can find online is pre-2014 where people mention getting EIN numbers, but I believe the tax treaty situation has changed since then.
Also, I find that my bank account number is rejected as being invalid - even though of course it is valid. Do most people just throw up their hands in defeat and accept cheques instead?
I see everyone else publishing with Kindle with apparent ease and I can't even seem to get past setting up an account! I do feel rather pathetic at times when it comes to setting things up online!
Would be grateful for any insights.

[[deleted user]]

I gave my tax info, though I never had an EIN number until I considered going the audibles.com route. Check with your bank. The number I provided worked okay. You may not have supplied the right type of number that was needed.

[Wendy]

Thanks for that Morris. I think the bank account issue may have arisen because of differing numbering formats outside of the US. But you are right, I should check with my bank as they should know.

[Kat]

If I remember correctly, you need to supply a SWIFT code and an IBAN (International Bank Account Number).

However, Australia doesn't use IBAN's, you use a BSB number (bank, state, branch) and account number instead.

If your bank can't give you a valid IBAN (there may be none assigned if the system is not being used), you may need to contact Amazon customer support to see if you can set up your account using a SWIFT code, BSB, and Account number.

[Wendy]

Thanks so much Kat, it's a great help to have these acronyms to bandy about when I ring my bank - should help get things sorted out much more quickly! If that doesn't work I will contact Amazon customer support - thanks again!

[Kat]

Haha, my pleasure :-)

SWIFT = Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

BIC = Bank Identifyer Code

(Note: SWIFT and BIC codes are the same thing, sometimes written as SWIFT/BIC on forms)

[Adelaide]

Wendy, would you mind posting the outcome of your enquiries here about electronic transfers/direct deposits of royalties? ie. whether it is a go-er or not? Because I had read through what I could kind on the Amazon KDP site and came away with the understanding that I had to accept cheques as an Australian author. I would be thrilled if that were not true!

[Wendy]

Yes, I will let you know how I go Adelaide! I may not get a chance to follow it up until next week though as this week is getting a bit chockers. Also, I will go back and read it through more thoroughly to be sure I haven't misread things.
In reference to my first concern, I'd be interested to know if you have - or will provide your tax file number to go ahead with setting up a kindle publishing account? And, does it seem that doing so is the only way forward to publish on Kindle?

[Adelaide]

I did provide my TFN (or perhaps it was my ABN? I'm sorry, I can't recall, but I definitely provided one). From memory, this was not a requirement to publish your book, but it was a requirement if you want to get the tax withholding rate down to 5% - KDP does an electronic tax "interview" and I'm pretty sure I couldn't get through it without giving my TFN - I'm hoping other Australian authors may be able to confirm this, because I can't 100% recall.

If you're not overly concerned with cash flow, and you don't wish to provide a TFN or ABN, then my understanding is you don't have to elect to make use of the tax treaty - Amazon would simply withhold a much higher rate from your royalty, per IRS rules, and then you would fill out your tax return in Australia accordingly (ie. to claim a foreign income tax offset). However, be warned, there is a foreign income tax offset LIMIT. I found the explanation of the limit on the ATO website so blooming confusing!!

[India]

Publishing from the UK, I provided my NI (national insurance)/tax reference number. In my case it is my responsibility to declare my income to the taxman and pay the appropriate tax on my income for sales within UK. Initially, I wasn't sure whether it was worth the hassle of obtaining an EIN from US Revenue authorities. Furthermore, just the process of self-publishing was time consuming and I didn't have the energy then to apply for an EIN. You may want to priortise :)

[T.L.]

Indeed, Kat's advice is sound. My bank gave me my IBAN code and I get my tuppence ha'penny each month.

Do NOT try to get an ITIN number (international tax identification number) unless you are going audible (who force you to).
Yes, Amazon end up keeping a bit more US income from you for tax. But it is so difficult to obtain this magical number now it's just too stressful.

Put it this way; I ended up sending my passport from the UK to the US and then they told me I'd used a wrong code in one of the boxes. Attempt 3 is now in the post (sans passport; not risking that again!!). Otherwise you have to go to the US embassy to get a verified copy of said passport :-/

xx

[Wendy]

Sorry it's taken me so long to thank everyone for your advice. Unfortunately, life got in the way this past week and I haven't had the opportunity to look further into my kindle set-up as yet. Will post again when I have made some progress. Thanks everyone for your help!