(International) International Taxes

Note: Symphonic is not a legal or tax authority. We do not give legal or tax advice. Symphonic simply reports and provides information as per what we've been instructed to. Please consult a tax professional or legal authority for advice and direction.

Please read this as a resource that explains how taxes work for clients outside of the USA.

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What you need to do:

• Read this notice below in its entirety.
• Update your tax detail on our system *
• Update your account details

As per US tax regulations and treaties between the US and other countries, we are required by law to  withhold a portion of your royalties and pay it to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The portion withheld depends on if the US has a tax treaty established with your country. Every country is different, and there are withholding rates from 0% - 30% (which is the max).. These funds are then paid by Symphonic directly to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [and you may in many cases later claim and receive these funds by working with your government and/or your tax specialist].

Further, it is only based on USA sales or streams. It is not for all territories

Example: Australia Records is a fictional record label based in the country of Australia,  which has a tax treaty with the USA with a 5% tax withholding rate.



Here is a link to the list of countries and their tax withholding rate that is charged on US source income only.

If you are not a US client, and you do not fill out a W8-BEN form, then you will be charged a maximum 30% withholding rate. So, make sure to fill out and submit your W8-BEN!

Please note that every music distributor in the world has to deal with the issue of tax treaties and tax withholding between countries. This is not the fault of Symphonic or any other distributor. This has to do with negotiations between countries. Many countries have higher tax withholding rates than the U.S.

For additional questions and topics, please click here.

The IRS additionally has these resources available to dive deeper on this.

• How to get tax withholding right
• Tax Treaty Labels
  

If any questions, please reach out to us via our Help Desk at: www.symphonic.help

We hope you understand this and please know that we are here to help you!