How to avoid paying US tax from Amazon self-publishing (UK)

If you publish your book using Amazon self-publishing (UK), it’s automatically reported to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service – America’s version of HMRC). And as a result, they’ll automatically deduct 30% from your profits. 

Whilst all non-Americans experience this when signed up to Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), it’s important to understand that you don’t have to pay as a UK citizen.

How can I avoid the 30% tax for Amazon self-publishing (UK)?

First, you will need to get ahold of one of these two things:

• An EIN (Employer Identification Number)
• An ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number)

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is used by the IRS to view employer tax accounts. It’s not too difficult to get hold of one and can be done from home.

On the other hand, an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) is a little more difficult to come by – and it takes a lot of admin. 

How do I get an EIN? 

• You’ll have to call the IRS on (1) 267-941-1000 – don’t forget that they are five hours behind us! 🕝
• You’ll need to provide some basic info such as:
  • Your name
  • Your address
  • Details about your self-employed business
• Explain that you’re not a US citizen and that you need to comply with the IRS withholding regulations. Once you’ve gotten your EIN, it will take approximately one month for this to be updated.

How do I remove the 30% withholding tax?

To remove the 30% tax for your Amazon self-publishing (UK) account, you will need to login to your KDP account. You will need to update the ‘Tax Information’ section.

Following this, when you click on Tax Information, enter your EIN where it says, “Do you have a US TIN?”.

If you get an email back from Amazon explaining that it’s not gone through, don’t panic. The lag time from the IRS updating your records can take a while. Just try again in up to two weeks and it should be successful. 

What UK tax do I owe on my Amazon royalties?

This is pretty simple. Self-employed writers declare their income to HMRC by doing what’s known as a Self Assessment.

To do this, you’ll have to register online by 5th October following any given tax year. 

You then pay your tax bill via tax return before the following 31st January. The taxes that you’ll have to pay are:

• Income Tax
• National Insurance

To calculate what you owe, just use our handy tax calculator!