Last reviewed by Robert Prime — October 2026
Quick Answer: You need a W-8BEN, not a W-9. Enter your legal name, UK address, National Insurance number as your foreign TIN, claim the UK–US treaty (Article 12), and select 0% withholding on royalties. No US tax number (ITIN/EIN) required. Full field-by-field answers below.
Table of Contents
- Why the tax interview matters
- Before you start — what you need
- The complete field-by-field walkthrough
- What happens after you submit
- Common mistakes UK authors make
- Frequently asked questions
- Final thoughts
Why the tax interview matters
Amazon is a US company. For non-US authors, Amazon’s help says the default withholding rate on US royalties is 30%. The UK–US Double Taxation Convention reduces that to 0% on royalties (Article 12; the IRS treaty table lists 0% for UK copyright royalties). But you have to claim it, and the claim needs a tax number. Amazon’s words: any reduction of the 30% rate “will not apply until you can provide a TIN”. If you don’t have a US one, Amazon says you may enter the income tax number your own country’s tax authority gave you.
So a tax profile finished without a tax number still leaves 30% of your US royalties held back. For a book earning $500 a month in US royalties, that’s $150 a month.
Before you start — what you need
Have these to hand before you open the tax interview:
- Your legal name (as it appears on your passport — not your pen name)
- Your UK home address (the address HMRC has on file for you)
- Your National Insurance number (format: AB 12 34 56 C)
- Your date of birth
- A device with a webcam or phone camera (Amazon may ask for ID verification)
You do not need:
- A US tax number (ITIN or EIN)
- A US address
- A US bank account
- An accountant
The complete field-by-field walkthrough
Log in to kdp.amazon.com, go to Your Account → Tax Information → Complete Tax Profile. (Amazon’s help pages now call the tax interview your tax profile.) Here’s every screen, every field.
Screen 1 — Tax Identity Information
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Are you a US person? | Select No |
| Tax classification | Select Individual (unless you publish through a UK limited company — then select Company) |
| Do you have a US TIN (tax identification number)? | Select No |
Click Continue.
Screen 2 — W-8BEN Form (Part I — Identification)
This is the actual W-8BEN. Amazon fills some of it from your KDP account; you confirm or correct.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Line 1 — Name of individual | Your full legal name exactly as on your passport. E.g. Sarah Jane Mitchell |
| Line 2 — Country of citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Line 3 — Permanent residence address | Your UK home address. Street, city, postcode. E.g. 14 Beech Lane, Bristol, BS1 4QR, United Kingdom |
| Line 4 — Mailing address | Same as Line 3 (unless your post goes elsewhere). Tick “Same as permanent residence address” if the option appears |
| Line 5 — U.S. taxpayer identification number (SSN or ITIN) | Leave blank. You don’t have one and don’t need one |
| Line 6a — Foreign tax identifying number | Your National Insurance number. E.g. AB 12 34 56 C |
| Line 6b — Check if FTIN not legally required | Leave unticked. You do have a foreign TIN — it’s your NI number |
| Line 7 — Reference number(s) | Leave blank |
| Line 8 — Date of birth | Your date of birth in MM-DD-YYYY format (American format — Amazon enforces this). E.g. 03-15-1985 |
Screen 3 — W-8BEN Form (Part II — Tax Treaty Claim)
This is the screen that drops your withholding from 30% to 0%.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Do you want to claim tax treaty benefits? | Yes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Article and paragraph | Article 12 (this is the royalty article in the UK–US treaty) |
| Rate of withholding | 0% |
| Type of income | Royalties (or “Copyright royalties” if that option appears) |
| Conditions | The resident meets the conditions of the Limitation on Benefits article of the treaty. Tick this box |
| Special rates and conditions | If a free-text box appears, enter: The beneficial owner is a resident of the United Kingdom within the meaning of the UK-US Double Taxation Convention |
Screen 4 — Certification and Signature
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Electronic signature | Type your full legal name exactly as on Line 1 |
| Capacity | Individual (or Director if you selected Company earlier) |
| I certify that I have the capacity to sign… | Tick |
| Under penalties of perjury… | Tick (this is standard US tax language — it’s not as dramatic as it sounds) |
Click Submit.
Screen 5 — Identity Verification (if requested)
Amazon sometimes asks for photo ID verification, sometimes doesn’t. If they do:
- Upload a clear photo of your passport (the photo/details page)
- UK driving licence also works
- The name must match what you entered on Line 1
What happens after you submit
- Status: Under Tax Information, Amazon shows a status of “Complete” once it has validated your tax information.
- Check your rate: Amazon shows the US withholding rate that applies to you in your tax profile. For UK royalties it should match the treaty rate, 0%. If it doesn’t, Amazon says to review the answers you gave.
- It expires: Amazon says the W-8 expires on the last day of the third calendar year after the date you signed it. Its example: signed 30 September 2018, valid through 31 December 2021. Let it expire and the rate goes back to 30%, so update your tax profile before then.
- If rejected: Usually a name mismatch between your KDP account and the W-8BEN. Check that your legal name is consistent across both.
Common mistakes UK authors make
Mistake 1: Selecting “Yes” to “Are you a US person?” This routes you to a W-9 (the US tax form). You’re not a US person. Select No.
Mistake 2: Entering a US TIN they don’t have. Some authors panic and apply for an ITIN (US Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) because a forum post told them to. UK authors claiming treaty benefits with a National Insurance number do not need an ITIN. Save yourself the 8-week wait.
Mistake 3: Leaving the foreign TIN blank. Amazon lets you finish the tax profile without a tax number, but the 30% won’t come down until you provide one. Your National Insurance number is your foreign TIN, so enter it.
Mistake 4: Choosing the wrong treaty article. Article 12 covers royalties. Article 7 covers business profits (different thing). Article 12, 0%.
Mistake 5: Using a pen name on the W-8BEN. The W-8BEN is a US tax document. It needs your legal name. Your pen name goes on the book cover, not on tax forms.
Mistake 6: Letting it expire. The W-8 runs to the last day of the third calendar year after you sign it, so one signed in 2024 expires at the end of 2027. After that the rate goes back to 30%. Don’t wait for a reminder: check your tax profile once a year.
Related: VAT on ebooks and print books for UK self-publishers
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register with HMRC before completing the KDP tax interview?
The KDP tax interview is about US tax, not UK tax. You don’t need to have registered for Self Assessment before completing it. But you will need to register with HMRC separately to declare your royalty income on your UK tax return — see our UK author tax checklist for the full process.
What if I publish through a UK limited company?
Select “Company” as your tax classification. Enter the company name on Line 1, the company’s UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) on Line 6a instead of a personal NI number, and sign as Director. The treaty claim is identical — Article 12, 0%.
Does 0% withholding mean I don’t pay any tax on US royalties?
No. It means the US doesn’t take tax at source. You still declare the income on your UK Self Assessment return and pay UK tax on it. The treaty prevents you being taxed twice — not taxed zero times.
What about royalties from other Amazon marketplaces (Germany, France, etc.)?
The KDP tax interview only covers US withholding. European marketplaces don’t withhold tax from UK authors (you’re in the same post-Brexit treaty framework for royalties). You declare the global income on your UK return.
Can I complete the tax interview on my phone?
Yes. The KDP tax interview works on mobile browsers. The ID verification step is actually easier on a phone — you can take the passport photo directly.
Final thoughts
The KDP tax interview looks intimidating the first time you see it. It’s not. You’re filling in a W-8BEN with your name, address, and NI number, and ticking a box to claim a treaty rate that already exists. Five minutes, and you stop giving 30% of your US royalties to the IRS.
If you’re at the stage where you’re setting up your KDP account, you’re probably also getting your manuscript ready. Once the tax interview’s done, run a free KDP Readiness Score on your formatted file to catch the issues KDP will flag — before the rejection email arrives. Or if you’d rather hand off the formatting entirely, we handle it from £69 with a 24-hour turnaround.
— Robert publishing.co.uk
The W-8BEN settles what Amazon withholds, not what you own. For that side — the copyright page, the contracts that transfer copyright from a designer or ghostwriter, and the legal deposit duty most self-publishers miss — see the UK Author Legal Pack. Six documents, editable Word and PDF, no tax forms. £29.
