Note: Symphonic does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. The information provided below is for your reference only. Please consult your legal, tax, or accounting professional as needed for advice. To reference our knowledge base articles related to tax matters, please click here.
Video Walk-through
If you would like to see a video walk-through of the steps below, please click here!
Step by step
1. Log on to SymphonicMS.
On the top-right menu, click on the account name and then select Payment & Tax Details.
2. You will see a navigation window that shows you each step that needs to be filled out. 
3.The first section is your address details.
After that, you will choose your desired payment option depending on your territory. 
After completing that......
4. You will be transferred to a screen where you can enter your Payment and Tax Details. When you arrive at the tax forms, you will choose a tax form based on your situation. You can also get assistance by filling out a questionnaire right inside the system.
For quick reference:
W-8BEN = International (outside of the US) individuals
W-8BEN-E = International (outside of the US) companies/entities
W-9 = Domestic (US) individuals/companies/entities
(The rest of these instructions mainly apply for International. US clients should select the W9, and your process will be slightly different.)
5. After you enter the information, the next screen will ask a few tax-related questions that are very important.
The initial section of the Identification of Beneficial Owner (Part I) asks you for your name, address, and basic information.
For the Identification of Beneficial Owner (Continued) section, International clients (living outside of the United States) should fill out the Foreign Tax Identifying Number. This is your passport, Driver's license, National ID, etc. from your country of residence. This is NOT a US number. If you have a U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number, then please go back and fill out a W-9 form.
In the next section, it is very, VERY important that you enter the country you reside in. This will ensure that our system does not unnecessarily apply 30% tax withholding if you are in a country with a lower rate already negotiated with the U.S. government. Do not click "Continue" here on this next screen; please ensure you enter this correctly!
If your country of residence is not on the list, please leave this blank. This means the United States does not have a treaty in place with your country.
NOTE: Tax withholding is only applied to the USA territory. If your streams on Spotify come from Brazil, there is no withholding on that, only if you are in a country where there is a withholding percentage for USA-sourced income. The withholding is minor in many cases—more on this available here.
After the “Review” screen, you will be asked to do one last bit of Certification (Part III). This is standard double-checking to ensure that everything is in compliance with regulations. If you select each box, you will be able to proceed.
Please note the line "I certify that I have the capacity to sign for the person identified on line 1 of this form." DO NOT CHECK THIS BOX unless you are signing this form on behalf of someone and have a power of attorney to upload.
6. You will then provide a basic explanation for any non-US address. You can state: "I am a client of Symphonic Distribution, residing outside of the United States and Symphonic distributes my music.".
You can also supply either a Passport, Driver's License, or National ID, which will be stored securely to validate payment(s).
After you complete these steps, then you are good to go! If you have any questions or are stuck on anything, the questionnaire at the beginning will assist you.
International Withholding Questions
We've prepped this in-depth resource about international tax-related questions.
Payment Related Questions
For questions regarding requests of payments, how long they take, etc... please click here.
Do I ever have to update my tax details again?
No, not if you don’t move or if your tax status does not change. However, for all territories, we suggest you verify your tax details via the system at least once per year to ensure accuracy.
Do I have to send any tax forms to you in addition to this?
No! Once you have completed this process, you are done.
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