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W-8BEN in the Amazon KDP tax profile: where it is and what KDP withholds

Short answer

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) collects your US tax information in a tax profile: sign in, go to Your Account, then Tax Information, and select Complete Tax Profile and enter required details Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. The profile builds a Form W-8 from your answers. KDP's help says the default withholding rate is 30% Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026, and that all non-US Person must complete a tax profile to be eligible to publish books on KDP Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026.

This page is for authors and publishers outside the United States who sell through KDP. It covers three things: where KDP asks for the form, what KDP says it withholds, and which form and tax number it asks for. Each comes from KDP's help pages, read on the date shown in the sources block; Amazon can change its pages, so follow the links before you act. How to answer the questions on the form itself is in the W-8BEN guide.

Where to complete the tax profile

KDP's help gives these steps:

Sign in to your KDP account and complete the two-step verification.
Go to Your Account, then Tax Information.
Select Complete Tax Profile and enter required details Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. KDP says the tax profile page guides you step by step to generate a Form W-8 Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026.
Check the status by going back to Tax Information. KDP says that in a complete status, you will see the date you submitted your tax profile and the applicable withholding rate Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026.

Do this before you publish. In KDP's words: We must receive and validate your tax identity before you can update existing books or publish new books in the Kindle store Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. To change answers later, KDP points you to Update/Review Tax Profile.

Giving the form through KDP's profile is how you give it to the payer, which is what the IRS instructions ask: Do not send Form W-8BEN to the IRS IRS · checked Oct 27, 2026.

What KDP withholds

KDP's withholding page says that for non-US persons, royalty payments for eBook sales on Amazon.com and print book sales on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com.au, and Amazon.ca are subject to 30% US tax withholding Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026, including payments from the KDP Select Global Fund Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026.

KDP's tax profile page adds that you may be eligible for a reduced rate if your country of tax residence has a tax treaty with the U.S. Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. KDP's pages tie the reduced rate to two things: a tax number (next section) and the rate shown in your profile.

Where you see your rate: KDP says the rate will be provided in your tax profile based on your previous inputs on the W-8 form review page Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026.
What to check: KDP asks you to ensure this rate is consistent with the IRS tax treaty rates if you are claiming treaty benefits Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026, and says that if it does not match, you may need to review your previous inputs.

Example (fictional)

Tomás lives outside the US and earns $200 of eBook royalties from Amazon.com in a month. If his tax profile has no treaty claim, KDP's page says 30% US withholding applies: $60. If his country has a treaty with the US, he gives a tax number, and the rate in his profile shows a reduced treaty rate, the withholding may be lower. We do not give treaty rates by country; Tomás checks the rate KDP shows against the IRS treaty tables.

KDP's withholding page also describes withholding on Amazon.com.br and Amazon.in sales under Brazilian and Singaporean rules. Those are separate from US withholding; see KDP's withholding page for them.

Which tax number KDP needs for a treaty rate

KDP sets out which number to give, in this order:

If you have a US number: KDP says that if you have a US tax identification number (TIN), you must provide this number when completing your tax profile Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026.
If you don't: KDP says that if you do not have a US TIN, you may enter the income tax identification number issued to you by the tax authority in your country of residence Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026.
If you have neither yet: KDP says you can complete the questionnaire without one, but any reduction of the statutory withholding tax rate (30%) applicable to your U.S. source payments will not apply until you can provide a TIN Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. If you are applying for a US number, you can submit now and retake the questionnaire once you receive your TIN from the IRS Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026.
If your country does not issue tax numbers: KDP says that if your country does not issue a TIN used for income tax purposes, you may apply for a US TIN Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. How to get an ITIN is covered in the W-8BEN guide.

For the IRS rules on US and foreign numbers, see which tax number to give.

Which form the profile produces

KDP's pages call the result "a Form W-8". Under the IRS rules, a non-US individual's W-8 is generally Form W-8BEN, and a foreign entity's is Form W-8BEN-E. If you publish through a US single-member LLC you own, read W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-9 before you answer the profile's questions.

If your income is effectively connected with a US trade or business, the form is W-8ECI instead. For that case KDP says you are required to provide a U.S. TIN (ITIN or EIN for individuals; EIN for non-individuals) when completing the IRS Form W-8ECI Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. Whether your income is effectively connected is a question for a tax professional (a CPA, an enrolled agent, or a tax attorney).

When to submit again

KDP says your W-8 will expire on the last day of the third succeeding calendar year from the date signed Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026, which matches the IRS rule, and that if you use a reduced treaty rate, it will default back to 30% if you allow the W-8 to expire Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. The changes that end a form sooner are on when a W-8BEN expires.

If something went wrong

Your status says "Incomplete". KDP says you cannot begin publishing or selling books in the Kindle store or update existing books without a complete tax profile Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. Complete or update the profile through Tax Information.
KDP says your US tax information does not match IRS records. KDP says you’ll need to update your Tax Profile within 30 days Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026; otherwise, in KDP's words, we will suspend your ability to publish on KDP Amazon KDP Help · checked Oct 27, 2026. KDP's tax status page lists common causes, such as name format and middle names.
You claimed a treaty but the rate still shows the default rate. Check that you entered a tax number, then compare the rate with the IRS treaty tables and review your inputs, as KDP asks.
Your W-8 expired and the rate went back to the default. Update your tax profile to generate a new form.
Tax was already withheld at the default rate. The KDP pages we read do not describe refunds of earlier withholding. Ask KDP support, and ask a tax professional before you file anything with the IRS.
You moved or your details changed. Update the profile through Update/Review Tax Profile. The IRS rule on how quickly you must do so is on when a W-8BEN expires.