Developer Console
Sign In
Sign In
Developer Console

Set Up Tax Forms for Your Account

Amazon requires all app developers to provide taxpayer information if you intend to earn revenue from your apps in any way. This page describes how to report tax information to Amazon for your apps.

If you do not provide your tax information to Amazon, you will not be eligible to publish apps that are monetized in any way:

  • Apps that are purchased for download
  • Apps that contain In-App Purchasing items for sale
  • Apps that contain mobile ads

Change in Taxation Policy

On December 1st 2021, Amazon is changing the business address for the entity licensing Apps for the Canadian Appstore business (Amazon.com.ca, Inc.). Royalties paid to you on sales through Amazon.com.ca, Inc. will be Canadian sourced and subject to Canada Withholding Tax. This requires any Developers monetizing in Canada (CA) to complete the Canadian Royalty Tax Interview to ensure Amazon applies the appropriate Canadian withholding tax rate to your 2022 payments.

Taxation for International Developers

United States (US) and Canada (CA) tax law requires Amazon to report royalty payments made to entities and persons residing outside the country, and may require Amazon to withhold and remit taxes on such royalty payments to the respective tax authorities i.e. US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Although you may also be required to report and pay taxes to your own government, Amazon is not involved in that process. Consult a tax advisor if you have any questions on these requirements.

Determining Tax Rates for International Developers

For US taxation purposes - The statutory US withholding tax rate applied to US source royalty and service payments made to non-US persons is 30%. If you are a non-US-based developer, and your country/region of residence has an existing income tax treaty with the US, you may be able to claim a reduced rate of US tax withholding on the royalty and/or service payments that you receive by completing an IRS tax form (e.g. Form W-8) in the tax identity interview. Per the IRS, W-8 forms are valid from a period starting on the date the form is signed and ending on the last day of the third succeeding calendar year (i.e. forms signed in 2021 remain valid through December 31, 2024). Once expired, non-US-based developers must retake the US Tax Identity Interview. Payments after the form is expired will be subject to 30% US withholding until a new form is received.

Note that Amazon will provide you and the IRS with an IRS Form 1042-S each year, which provides detail regarding US source payments and associated US tax withholding remitted to the IRS during that year.

For CA taxation purposes - The statutory CA withholding tax rate applied to CA source royalty payments made to non-CA persons is 25%. If you are a non-CA-based developer, and your country/region of residence has an existing income tax treaty with CA, you may be able to claim a reduced rate of CA tax withholding on the royalty payments that you receive by completing the CA Tax Identity Interview. You may be subject to provide additional documents on the basis of your CA tax interview selections. Per the CRA, the forms you complete in the CA Tax Identity Interview (e.g. Form NR301) are valid for three years from the end of the calendar year in which the form is signed (i.e. forms signed in 2021 remain valid through December 31, 2024). Once expired, non-CA-based developers must retake the CA Tax Identity Interview. Payments after the form is expired will be subject to 25% CA withholding until a new form is received.

Note that Amazon will provide you with an NR-4 slip in March each year, which provides details regarding CA source payments and associated CA tax withholding remitted to the CRA during that year.

Taxes for European Marketplace Sales

Amazon does not withhold any taxes from royalty payments made to entities and persons for sales from our EU Marketplaces.

Change in Withholding Tax Rates for AU, JP, MX Appstores

As of January 1, 2023, only royalties earned from the U.S. Appstore are subject to standard U.S. withholding tax. This means that Amazon will no longer withhold royalty payments from non-US developers with respect to sales on the JP, AU, and MX Appstores. However, developers must still submit and maintain a valid Royalty Tax Interview in the Amazon Developer Portal.

Completing the Tax Identity Interview

To comply with IRS tax regulations, the Amazon Appstore requires you to complete the US tax identity interview for apps that are intended to generate royalties or other payments to you from Amazon. If you monetize your apps in CA, you are required to complete the CA tax identity interview as well, to ensure compliance with CRA tax regulations. The tax identity interview is a self-service process that is designed to guide you through entering your required taxpayer information.

Depending on how you plan to monetize your app, there are two separate tax identity interview options available:

  • Royalty Tax Identification Interview: Complete the US Royalty Tax Identification Interview if you plan to monetize your app by charging a download fee or offering items for In-App Purchasing. If you plan to monetize your app in CA, complete the CA Tax Interview as well.
  • Service Tax Identification Interview: Complete the US Service Tax Identification Interview if you plan to monetize your app by displaying ads through the Amazon Mobile Ad Network.

To complete either of the Tax Identification Interviews:

  1. Log in to your developer account on the Developer Console.
  2. Go to Settings > Tax Identity.
  3. Complete your United States and Canada Tax Interview.

In most cases, your tax information will be validated within a few minutes of submission. In rare cases, you may be required to provide additional supporting documentation outlined after completion of the interview. Once submitted, the validation process can take 7-10 business days. Once the validation process is complete, your tax status will show as Complete. Note that you will be unable to make changes to your tax information during the validation process.

Tax Interviews are valid for a period starting on the date that the form is signed and ending on the last day of the third succeeding calendar year (i.e. forms signed anytime in 2021 remain valid through December 31, 2024).

To determine your Tax Identity status, visit the Appstore Developer Console dashboard, select Settings from the top navigation bar, then select Tax Identity. The status values are:

  • In Review: You have submitted your Tax Interview and it is under review.
  • Incomplete: This can signify either of the following states:
    • You are a new developer and have not submitted your Tax Interview.
    • Your current Tax Interview information has expired. You must retake the Tax Interview to avoid additional withholding charges.
  • Completed: You have submitted your Tax Interview and it has been reviewed and accepted.

If your information or circumstances change, retake the Tax Identity Interview.

You can refer to the contextual help available throughout the tax interview, by clicking on the 'i' icon, on the right side of each tax interview question.

Tax Identity Interview for International Developers

International developers are those based outside US for US tax purposes (non-US person or entity) and outside CA for CA tax purposes (non-resident of CA). Even if you are an international developer and pay taxes in your own country/region, Amazon still requires that you provide valid taxpayer information for US and CA. You will need to take the US Tax Identity Interview to complete either an IRS Form W-8 or Form 8233 for US tax reporting and CA tax identity Interview for CA tax reporting. The results of the Tax Identity Interview help with four things:

  • Certifying your non-US status for US tax reporting.
  • Certifying your non-CA status for CA tax reporting.
  • Determining if your payments are subject to tax reporting as per US and CA tax regulations.
  • Determining the rate of US or CA tax withholding (if any) applicable to your payments.

Troubleshooting Your Tax Identity Interview

If Amazon detects that the information that you submitted in your tax identity interview does not match with Tax Authorities i.e. US tax information is not matching IRS records or CA tax information is not matching CRA records, Amazon will reject your tax interview. You will need to retake the tax identity interview by providing valid tax information, to ensure your apps are available for customers to download and purchase.

Note that Amazon is only able to determine that the tax information that you supplied does not match US and CA tax authorities' records. Amazon does not detect why information is invalid and is unable to report a specific issue or solution for your tax data. However, if you need to re-take the tax identity interview, consider some of the most common causes for invalid tax information:

US tax interview

  • Misspelling your name, not including your middle initial or middle name, or entering an incorrect Tax Identification Number (TIN) may cause tax identity information to not match IRS records.
  • Use the name and TIN that appear on your Social Security card [SSN], CP565 notice [ITIN], or CP575A notice [EIN], if applicable.
  • If you are providing an EIN, use the name that appears on the top line of the address header on your CP575A notice from the IRS if you are providing a business name.

CA tax interview

  • Misspelling your name, not including your middle initial or middle name, or entering an incorrect Tax Identification Number (TIN) may cause tax identity information to not match CRA records.
  • Use the name associated with your Canada Tax Identification Number (TIN), if applicable.
  • In your tax identification interview, upload valid and clear documents, if applicable.

For your security, Amazon cannot update your account records if you provide your tax identity over the phone or via email. Amazon also cannot disclose to you the tax identity information that was not valid that you entered in the tax identity interview.

Check your records to confirm your tax identity, and enter this information in the tax identity interview.

Download Your Tax Forms

Follow these steps to download your year-to-date and year-end tax forms. The year-to-date statement contains all settled transactions and applicable withholding tax of your Amazon Appstore account from January 1 through the "Last Transaction Date" noted at the bottom of the statement.

  1. Go to the Developer Dashboard and sign in if prompted.
  2. Select Settings from the top navigation bar.
  3. Select Tax Identity.
  4. Next to Royalty Tax Interview, click Edit information to access the tax dashboard.
  5. On the tax dashboard, under Tax statements, you can download the 1099 or 1042-S form when available.

If you have any questions about your tax statements, Contact Us.

Last updated: Mar 01, 2024