Tax Info
Book Country will mail a Form1099-MISC to each U.S. author who earned more than $10.00 in author earnings (or incurred withholding greater than $0.00) during the calendar year. The income and withholding represent author earnings from Quarter 4 of the previous year through Quarter 3 of the Form 1099-MISC year. The form will be mailed by Jan. 31, and should be delivered to the author in February. This form is required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report author earnings income and withholding. If the author was not paid any monies during the calendar year, then he or she will not receive a Form 1099-MISC. The IRS requires Book Country to have the form mailed/postmarked by Jan. 31, not delivered by Jan 31.
International authors will receive a Form 1042-S instead of a Form 1099-MISC for the author earnings earned and the amount withheld during the calendar year. The Form 1042-S will be mailed by March 15.
The IRS requires Book Country to have a Form W-9 or Form W-8BEN on file for each author who may earn author earnings. The tax form must include the individual or company’s U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number (SSN, EIN, or ITIN). If the author refuses to provide the form or the digital equivalency, Book Country will begin withholding taxes at the rate of 28% for U.S. citizens (or resident aliens) or 30% for nonresident aliens living outside the U.S. in accordance with U.S. tax law.
General Tax Information FAQs
What tax information can Book Country provide for me?
When does Book Country mail the 1099-MISC or 1042-S?
Why didn’t I get a 1099-MISC this year?
If I was paid under $10.00 in author earnings, do I have to report it on my income tax?
Why is the income stated on my 1099-MISC or 1042-S form not equal to the sum of my author earnings payments for the calendar year?
When will Book Country post Quarter 4 author earnings so I can complete my income tax return?
Tax Form Submission FAQs
I submitted a Form W-9 or a Form W-8BEN in the past. Why am I being asked for it again?
I opted out of submitting my tax information. Why does Book Country continue to request my tax information?
If my company should receive the author earnings instead of me, as the author, what do I need to do?
My company’s W-9 was accidentally added to my individual account (or vice versa). How can I correct this?
International Author FAQs
I am an international author, what do I need to do regarding the tax forms and ID numbers?
How do I know if my country has a tax treaty with the United States that allows me to claim a lower rate of withholding?
What if I don’t have an ITIN?
What if I don’t have an EIN?
How do I file Form W-7 with the IRS (to obtain an ITIN)?
1099-MISC FAQs
What is a 1099-MISC form?
Who will receive a 1099-MISC form?
What if there is an error on the 1099-MISC form? Is it too late to make changes?
The amount on my 1099-MISC form doesn’t match my checks; what is wrong?
One of my checks was not received during the tax year. May I request a corrected 1099-MISC?
Why isn’t there a “Recipient’s Identification Number” on my 1099-MISC form?
The “Recipient’s Identification Number” on my 1099-MISC form is incorrect; what do I do?
The “Recipient’s name” on my 1099-MISC form is incorrect; what do I do?
The “Recipient address” on my 1099-MISC form is incorrect; what do I do?
I cannot locate my 1099-MISC form; how can I request a copy?
General Tax Information FAQs
What tax information can Book Country provide for me?
Book Country will provide a Form 1099-MISC or Form 1042-S stating author earnings earned during a calendar year and the amount of withholding, to assist you in accurately reporting your author earnings income. For further information please consult your professional tax consultant.
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When does Book Country mail the 1099-MISC or 1042-S?
By law Book Country is required to mail the previous year’s Form 1099-MISC by Jan. 31 of the current year. For non-U.S. persons, the previous year’s Form 1042-S will be mailed by March 15 of the current year.
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Why didn’t I get a 1099-MISC this year?
If you were paid less than $10.00, and did not have withholding in the previous calendar year, you will not receive a 1099-MISC.
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If I was paid under $10.00 in author earnings, do I have to report it on my income tax?
For any questions on reporting your income to the IRS, please consult your professional tax consultant.
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Why is the income stated on my 1099-MISC or 1042-S form not equal to the sum of my author earnings payments for the calendar year?
The tax form reports the total author earnings income earned over the calendar year and taxes withheld. “Author earnings income earned” is the amount of your checks before withholding. Your payments equal the difference between your total income on the form and any taxes withheld.
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When will Book Country post Quarter 4 author earnings so I can complete my income tax return?
Quarter 4 author earnings will not be paid to you until the following calendar year; therefore, Quarter 4 author earnings will be included on the Form 1099-MISC or 1042-S you receive the following year. Please refer to the Form 1099-MISC or 1042-S you may receive from Book Country to learn the amount of money that has been reported as author earnings income (and withholding) for tax filing purposes. Form 1099-MISC will be mailed by Jan. 31of the current year, and Form 1042-S will be mailed by March 15.
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Tax Form Submission FAQs
I submitted a Form W-9 or a Form W-8BEN in the past. Why am I being asked for it again?
If you receive a request from Book Country to submit your tax information, then we do not have your Form W-9 or W-8BEN in our system, and we need you to resubmit the appropriate form. We may not be able to assign a received tax form to your account due to an issue with matching your tax form with your author account, the tax form may include an incomplete address, or it could be another reason.
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I opted out of submitting my tax information. Why does Book Country continue to request my tax information?
The IRS requires that we have a complete tax Form W-9 or W-8BEN on file even if an author has opted out of submitting tax information. We are required to request the tax form annually.
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If my company should receive the author earnings instead of me, as the author, what do I need to do?
First, an account for your company must be created in our system. To have an account created for the company, speak to customer support about a reassignment of rights. Second, a Form W-9 needs to be filled out for the company using the company EIN for the tax ID. Third, the company’s W-9 must be submitted either online through the company’s Book Country account, or by mail (be sure to reference the company’s Book Country account number).
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My company’s W-9 was accidentally added to my individual account (or vice versa). How can I correct this?
If your company’s W-9 was added to your individual account, please correct by submitting your individual W-9 and referencing your individual Book Country account. Also, make sure that your company’s W-9 is connected to your company’s account. If your individual W-9 was added to your company’s account, please correct by submitting your company W-9 and referencing your company Book Country account.
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International Author FAQs
I am an international author, what do I need to do regarding the tax forms and ID numbers?
You will need to submit a Form W-8BEN to Book Country. When filling out the form, please remember to include your IRS issued U.S. taxpayer identification number (ITIN for individuals, EIN for companies), your author account number, your country of citizenship, and claim to a lower tax treaty rate (if applicable). Even if you don’t have a U.S. taxpayer identification number yet, you should still submit an initial Form W-8BEN to establish that you are not a U.S. person. Submit the Form W-8BEN once you have a U.S. taxpayer identification number in order to claim a reduced rate or exemption from withholding if your country has an income tax treaty with the United States.
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How do I know if my country has a tax treaty with the United States that allows me to claim a lower rate of withholding?
If applicable, you may claim a reduced rate of withholding as a resident of a foreign country with which the United States has an income tax treaty. See the Tax Treaty Tables within Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publication 515 (See the helpful IRS links at the bottom of this page.), “Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities”, under “Copyrights” for your country’s tax treaty rate. Submit Form W-8BEN when requested by Book Country whether or not you are claiming a reduced rate of withholding.
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What if I don’t have an ITIN?
If you do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) and are not eligible to get one, you must obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to claim your country’s reduced tax treaty rate (if applicable). To apply for an ITIN, file Form W-7, “Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number” (see helpful links below) with the IRS. It usually takes four to six weeks to receive an ITIN from the IRS.
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What if I don’t have an EIN?
Companies may apply for a U.S. Employer Identification Number (EIN) by filing a Form SS-4 with the IRS.
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How do I file Form W-7 with the IRS (to obtain an ITIN)?
The W-7 tax form needs to be submitted by you, the author, to the IRS directly. This form is not processed or submitted by Book Country. Book Country can supply you with a support letter that will need to be submitted with Form W-7. Once this process is completed, the IRS will supply you with an ITIN. The ITIN will need to be included on the W-8BEN form that can be completed online through your secure author account or sent to Book Country directly. If you require a W-7 support letter, please make the request with customer support and be sure to include your author account number, legal name, and mailing address.
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1099-MISC FAQs
What is a 1099-MISC form?
Form 1099-MISC is used to report author earnings income and backup withholding. The form is for each person who earned at least $10 in author earnings during the past calendar year or anyone who was paid and had any amount of backup withholding regardless of the $10 minimum.
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Who will receive a 1099-MISC form?
Authors who have been paid at least $10 in author earnings or who have had any backup withholding during the past calendar year will receive a 1099-MISC form. Form 1099-MISC applies to U.S. residents and U.S. resident aliens ONLY and is not sent to nonresident aliens or foreign persons. Nonresident aliens and foreign persons receive Form 1042-S.
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What if there is an error on the 1099-MISC form? Is it too late to make changes?
1099-MISC forms are not due to be filed with the IRS until March 31, so we still have time to make changes if necessary. Even after that, we can still file corrected forms with the IRS, so do not panic if something might be wrong.
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The amount on my 1099-MISC form doesn’t match my checks; what is wrong?
The amount of author earnings reported on the 1099 is the gross amount of author earnings paid before any backup withholding. The author earnings amount should match the amount of author earnings on your statements from Q4 of the previous year to Q3 of the 1099 year, plus any paid or offset distribution author earnings wherever applicable. Subtracting the withholding (box 4) from the author earnings income (box 2) should equal the total monies paid to you during the 1099 year. If after careful analysis, you still believe there is an error, please contact customersupport@publish.bookcountry.com.
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One of my checks was not received during the tax year. May I request a corrected 1099-MISC?
If the check was sent to the address on file during the tax year, the 1099-MISC must include the income (and withholding if applicable) associated with the payment. If the check has still not been received, please contact customersupport@publish.bookcountry.com and request a re-cut.
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Why isn’t there a “Recipient’s Identification Number” on my 1099-MISC form?
The “Recipient’s Identification Number” is the box that should include your U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). U.S. persons should submit a Form W-9 to Book Country to report their Social Security Number (or EIN for a business). If we receive the update before the IRS filing deadline, March 31, we can guarantee that the updated form with the new identification number will be submitted to the IRS. We encourage online submission of the Form W-9 through your secure author account.
Please note: authors may incur a penalty from the IRS for failing to report their TIN or for providing an invalid TIN.
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The “Recipient’s Identification Number” on my 1099-MISC form is incorrect; what do I do?
Submit a Form W-9 to provide Book Country with your corrected Social Security Number (or EIN for a business). If we receive the update before the IRS filing deadline, March 31, we can guarantee that the updated form with the new identification number will be submitted to the IRS. We encourage online submission of the Form W-9 through your secure author account.
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The “Recipient’s name” on my 1099-MISC form is incorrect; what do I do?
The recipient name on your Form 1099-MISC is the person or entity who earned author earnings income during the tax year. In most cases, the name must remain unchanged.
However, if you were the recipient of the author earnings income during the year and there is a spelling error with the last name, then we may be able to issue a correction before filing with the IRS on March 31. To request a 1099-MISC name correction, please email us at Book Country customer support.
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The “Recipient address” on my 1099-MISC form is incorrect; what do I do?
The IRS does not match addresses. If you have received the form, then there is no need to request a new form with an updated address. If you would like to update your address for future mailings, please contact customersupport@publish.bookcountry.com.
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I cannot locate my 1099-MISC form; how can I request a copy?
Please email us at Book Country customer support and request a copy of your 1099-MISC form. Be sure to indicate the tax year. The copy can be e-mailed with the Taxpayer Identification Number masked, or sent by post if necessary.
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Helpful Links
Where can I find more information about my tax forms?
Check out these helpful links:
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