How to Fill In the KDP Tax Interview If You Don't Live in the US

KDP’s tax interview is a set of questions that ends with a Form W-8, the document that tells Amazon you are not a US person and which country you pay tax in. If you don’t live in the US, you fill it in once before you can publish, and again when it runs out. This post goes through what it asks and what each answer means, using KDP’s help pages and the IRS instructions, because the details change and I am not a tax adviser.

Where do I find the tax interview?

Per KDP’s tax questionnaire page, you sign in at kdp.amazon.com and complete the two-step verification. Then go to Your Account, then Tax Information, then Complete Tax Profile. The profile walks you through the questions and generates the form.

Do this early. KDP says: “We must receive and validate your tax identity before you can update existing books or publish new books in the Kindle store.” If you want the whole setup in order, how to self-publish on Amazon from outside the US puts the ID check, tax profile, bank account and ISBN in the order I use them.

What is the form KDP makes for me?

KDP says the profile is used to generate a Form W-8. It does not name the W-8BEN on that page. The IRS instructions for Form W-8BEN say a foreign person uses it to establish that they are not a US person and to claim beneficial ownership of the income. So for an individual outside the US, the W-8BEN is the form behind the screens. You answer questions, and KDP fills in the form.

What does it ask, and what does each answer mean?

The screens differ a little by account, so read yours. These are the points that trip people up, each with the page that explains it:

• Are you a US person? If you live outside the US and are not a US citizen or resident, you are not. US citizens living abroad are a separate case, covered below.
• Your country of tax residence. This is where you are a resident for income tax purposes, not necessarily where you were born or where your passport is from. If you are unsure which country that is, ask a tax adviser.
• The tax identification number. This is the question that stalls most people, so it gets its own section below.
• Treaty benefits. On the W-8BEN this is line 9, where you “identify the country where you claim to be a resident for income tax treaty purposes,” according to the IRS instructions. If you claim a treaty rate, the form may also ask about special rates and conditions (line 10), which the IRS says is only for treaty claims that carry extra conditions.
• Signature. The IRS says the form must be signed and dated by the beneficial owner, which for you is you.

What do I enter as my tax number?

KDP lists three types: your country’s tax identification number, a US Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for a business. Most authors outside the US use their own country’s number. The IRS instructions call it the foreign tax identifying number (FTIN) and say it goes on line 6a.

What if my country doesn’t issue a tax number?

There are two things to check.

1. The IRS list. The instructions say residents of jurisdictions on the IRS’s List of Jurisdictions That Do Not Issue Foreign TINs don’t have to give an FTIN on line 6a. Line 6b is a box for when you are “not legally required to obtain an FTIN” from your jurisdiction of residence. Whether either applies to you is a question for the IRS instructions and a tax adviser, not for me.
2. A US number. KDP says that if your country has none of the three types, you can apply for a US TIN on the IRS website, which “can take up to seven weeks.” KDP also says a new TIN can take up to 60 days to process before it shows in the IRS database. Plan for that wait before your launch date.

Why does it still say 30%?

KDP’s tax withholding page says non-US persons are subject to 30% US withholding on eBook sales on Amazon.com and on print sales on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com.au and Amazon.ca. A lower rate may apply if your country of tax residence has a tax treaty with the US. If your profile still shows 30%, these are the reasons KDP’s pages give or point to:

• You did not claim a treaty rate, or your country has no treaty. The IRS keeps a list of US income tax treaties by country, and the IRS publishes treaty rates in its tax treaty tables. The IRS notes that “the rates applied are not bilateral, and the other country could apply a different rate”, so read the table for your country.
• The rate does not match. KDP says that if you claim treaty benefits, the rate in your profile should match the IRS treaty rates, and “if the rate does not match, you may need to review your previous inputs.”
• Your W-8 expired. KDP says the rate “will default back to 30%” if you let it lapse.

If your country has a treaty but KDP’s form does not offer the benefit, I can’t tell you why. Check the IRS list first, then write to KDP support and ask a tax adviser who knows your country. I won’t tell you how to get a lower rate, because it depends on your situation and that is tax advice.

When do I have to update my W-8?

KDP says your W-8 “will expire on the last day of the third succeeding calendar year from the date signed.” So if you sign in June 2026, it runs to 31 December 2029. When it expires, you go to Update/Review Tax Profile and generate a new one. The IRS adds that if anything on the form becomes incorrect, for example after a move, you must tell the payer within 30 days and give a new form, so update your tax profile then too. If KDP sends you a message about your W-8, the page’s instruction is the same: update your tax profile.

What if I’m a US citizen living abroad, or I publish as a company?

The IRS instructions say US persons, including US citizens living abroad, use Form W-9, not the W-8BEN. Answer the US status question honestly, and the profile will follow the right route. Foreign companies use the W-8BEN-E instead. Both are tax questions for an adviser.

What I do about it

Do the tax profile the day you open the account, then put the expiry year in your calendar. I would also have a tax adviser who knows both your country and the US look over the answers once, because an adviser can see things these pages can’t. My own tax set-up comes from publishing from Norway, and what works there may not work where you live. For the whole sequence of steps, my free 12-step self-publishing checklist has them in order.

For the 30% default and a general look at how royalties and tax fit together, I have one section on it in how self-publishers handle finances.

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