Due to US regulatory requirements, this year we will soon begin collecting Tax documentation (ie: W-9, W-8BEN, etc.) from our artists and labels in order to be paid so that we can file your 1099s/1042s with the IRS as well as potentially withhold a certain percentage based on those tax regulations and remit that withholding to the IRS.
For foreign accounts (Non-US accounts) we are required by U.S. law to withhold a portion of the payment and remit it to the IRS unless the recipient's country is a party to any beneficial treaties with the United States as determined by the W-8BEN that you will soon be required to submit to Catapult to receive payment.
Your account was determined to be a Non-US account, and since we do not know your tax status at this time, we are required by US law to withhold a minimum of 30% of your payment for reporting and remittance to the IRS.*
Since we did not withhold the required amount when January 2025 payments were issued, we have deducted this withholding from your February 2025 payment along with the withholding amount that would now normally be withheld from your February 2025 payment (ie: We withheld twice, once for January 2025 and once for February 2025 that were then deducted from your February 2025 payment).
Example:
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For example purposes only, if you were already paid $1,000 in January 2025, and then were to be paid another $1,000 in February 2025, we have withheld 30% of January's payment and 30% of February's payment and deducted it from your February payment so your February payment would now be $400. January Report = 30% of $1,000 = $300 February Report = 30% of $1,000 = $300 February Payment = $1000 - $300 - $300 = $400 |
We will soon be launching a new system in your dashboard which will allow you to upload your tax documents (DO NOT EMAIL THEM TO US). Once this process is completed and you have uploaded your tax documents, it will then be determined whether you are excluded from withholding.
IMPORTANT: At that time, if it is determined that withholding should not have taken place or should have been withheld at a different percentage rate based on any potential beneficial treaty your country has with the United States, a refund will be issued to you at the end of the next month for any amounts that have been withheld.
No action on your part is required at this time, but soon you will be required to submit your W-9 (US Accounts) or W-8BEN (Non-US Accounts) via your Dashboard at Catapult. As soon as the transition is completed we will notify all of our users via email to login and complete this process.
*If you are US citizen or resident alien of the United States and we withheld 30% incorrectly believing your account was foreign, we will correct this at the time we launch the ability for you to upload your tax documents verifying your tax status. It's still possible (though rare) that a US person or entity is not excluded from withholding, but that will be determined by the tax document you submit.
U.S. federal tax law requires us to collect tax information through an IRS Form W-9 or W-8 series and report on certain income paid. Disclaimer: While we do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, we will do our best to provide you with the information you need to make your own decision about how to comply with applicable U.S. tax laws. If you still have questions after reviewing the information provided by the IRS, please contact your own tax, legal and/or accounting advisor prior to completing a U.S. Tax Form.