W8-BEN Tax form No response from Zazzle

[Spark]

Hello to everyone! I have not been able to resolve the problem with W 8BEN-form for more than six months. Z-Support does not respond. Can anyone help me or give me advice what i need to do? 

On April 11, 2024 I received a letter from Z-support saying that my address in my Zazzle Payment settings has duplicate postal code and my form does not, and I need to fix it. Then I fixed it, attaching a new W 8BEN-form and send it to zazzle support. But there was no response… The last time I sent my form again was 10 May 2024 to this email address: Zazzle-w8@Zazzle.com and there is still no answer. Who can solve my problem or who did you personally contact for submitting and accepting W 8BEN-form? 

[AvisNoelle]

Hi Spark! I'm glad it's moved on too! I still of course will have to wait until form is approved, but Lily says she'll expedite it, so I'm hopeful it won't be long before I hear a positive outcome? She said too that she's going to monitor it so that made me feel seen, and so much better!
Did yours get officially approved I did ask, but got no reply, so figured you'd moved away from forum?
I couldn't post in the forum until today as it has the reply button greyed out and a vague message at bottom says 'I'm not allowed to post in this discussion' which I thought was weird?? Am I causing trouble of some kind? No, only asking questions and replying to others here. So maybe they have some kind of limit imposed, idk?

[Spark]

Hi Avis! First of all I don't know why you not allowed to post in this discussion))), but I think it was some kind of bug. Well, I haven't had any news all this time. I'm sharing the news with you now: In short, I was waiting for July 15th to check the withdrawal of money to paypal and then write to you about it. Yes, my form has been approved and the payment settings in my account have indeed been updated. But on the day of withdrawal, the "cancel" status lit up red and the money was returned to the account…I don't know what the problem is, but I couldn't withdraw the money.

[chuamishael]

We need to have a petition to tell zazzle to automate this process, just like other site, other platforms pretty much just let you fill up the online form easily. I'm surprise that zazzle still doesn't have this and they need individual reviewers to review W8form. 

Imagine if there are 10,000 forms submitted and there are only 3 of them reviewing. how long will they finish this process right?

I would suggest that the review team should just do a standby back up support if anything happens to the automate system. this would make things easier for everybody.

[Spark]

Update 3: Despite the fact that my W 8BEN form was approved and the withdrawal of money to paypal was requested, on July 15, the withdrawal of money changed to the status of 'cancelled'. And the money was returned back to my zazzle store's account(((

[hellocookies1]

why is so complicated in zazzle 😮‍💨, i might consider close my account somehow.

[AvisNoelle]

Hi Spark, Awww... that's so disappointing after all this! That sounds like what was happening to @Lilypaperdesign she had 5 payments cancelled I think? I hope you get that sorted out! I've just taken my payments off of hold so I didn't get a payment this month as they approved my form on the 15th, but hope this doesn't happen to me! I think Lily got hers sorted out.

[Spark]

🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[Jo]

Still waiting…….feeling sad for everyone, not sure where or what to do from here

[AvisNoelle]

Hi Jo, just wondering if anyone reached out to you yet? Hope so...

[Jo]

Finally approved my form, had the same person working on it and he did an amazing job, will let you know if I get paid this month, fingers crossed!

[AvisNoelle]

WoooooHoooo! Happy for you Jo! I suggested they have one dedicated person to work on a form and this is what happened to me too and it worked well! Continuity and communication is key. Hope you get your payment soon, I had a glitch with one of my payments and they say it's sorted now so we'll see when the payment date arrives. What a relief eh? I don't think they realize the stress this causes all of us. Better days ahead I hope! 🙏😊

[Spark]

Hi there. On July 15, 2024, I did not receive a payment on paypal. The payment status was "pending" and after 1 day the status changed to "cancelled". I don't understand what's going on. Can someone help me? Or maybe someone had a similar story?

P.S: my W-8BEN form was successfully approved. The information on my W-8BEN form and the info on my payment settings account IS MATCH. What else do I need to do to receive my money? (I attached screenshot from my account payment settings and screenshot of payment history) 

[Spark]

????????????

[hellocookies1]

do they reply you why the payment cancelled?

[Spark]

No(((😕 No one answered.

[James]

Hi @Spark ,

We will have someone reach out to you via email shortly. Thanks for your patience. 

[Spark]

Hi! Ok, I'm waiting. Thank you, James.

[hellocookies1]

 

[malinavojvodic]

Hello,

I have sent my w8 form few weeks ago and didn't received any message either.......

[alalita]

Hello everyone. I started in February 24 with zazzle and since then I am trying to get my W8-BEN approved. It is an unerving back and fourth and everytime I submit another version the wait is nearly 2 months. Only to say that my "wording" isn't quite right. Does anyone know what exactly you have to put in line 10 in the additional conditions, when you are in a country that has a tax treaty with the US for 0% taxrate on royalties? Heck - I am not even sure if I have to put "Royalties" or "Copyrights" and Zazzle does not even tell you what the earnings on their page are called. I think it is unacceptable to have to go through this kind of complication, when on other pages they do not even require that form and are capable of admitting you based on the information they ask you to fill in on their page. After reading this I am afraid that after I finally get the form through I won't even be paid. Does it really have to be so complicated? Please someone help and tell me what exact wording I have to put in part 10! Now I had "Beneficial owner is a resident of Spain subject to 0% withholding for art related royalties under US/Spain tax treaty terms" - I got this exact phrase from someone from Canada that got accepted like that...

[Sara_H]

@alalita 

https://community.zazzle.com/t5/share-your-tips-tricks/w-8ben-links-to-irs-documents-and-tips-for-fo...

A fabulous thread by the wonderful @Fiorenzo 

Or if you're on Facebook there's a private group there that can help and I'm sure there's probably someone from Spain in that group

Search International Zazzlers United https://www.facebook.com/groups/456252351220004

[alalita]

Thank you Sara, I did find that thread and many thanks to @Fiorenzo indeed!!! I now put in that problematic line: "Creation of artistic works (designs) sold on Zazzle online web stores on a range of goods." as of his suggestion and now I keep my fingers crossed it will finally work! I'll also check out the facebook group - it is actually good to be able to communicate with people going through the same obstacles. Thanks again!!

[Sara_H]

@alalita 

Good luck!

[Fiorenzo]

Always welcome. Went through the same hassles back then. After that initial struggle, I always used the same wording on renewals and never had issues again.

If my wording doesn't work, browse the thread for alternative phrases by other designers that also got accepted. I will have to renew my form again next year (all 3 years), so I'll see if my variant still works.

Good luck!

[alalita]

Thank you so much! It really is so frustrating. I stopped posting and just focused on other platforms in the last months because if in the end they will keep 30% tax I don't want to put any more work into it. So I hope it goes through and I can grow my store finally. good to know that there is such a great community here - I should have looked for help much earlier 😉 - I'll post it here if it worked or not, so you know when it's your turn.

[Fiorenzo]

Yes, it's frustrating but in the end, it always works out and Zazzle is worth the little hassles you have to go through every now and then for quite a few reasons:

1. The best designer tools
2. Many international domains covering the most important countries, which  is a big plus for international customers not having to deal with customs
3. One of the best ratings on Trust Pilot
4. Huge assortment of products
5. Nice and helpful community

If you're not here for mass publishing and the infamous "quick buck" (which doesn't exist anyway) but want to provide your customers with a wide range of nice products with your art printed on them, it's the best place to be.

[alalita]

Dear @Fiorenzo Good News!

I just got approved - thanks to the line of yours: Creation of artistic works (designs) sold on Zazzle online web stores on a range of goods."

So it seems it still works. Thanks again!!

[Fiorenzo]

Cool, happy, it worked out. Good luck!

[dwyne]

Hello everyone, I am also experiencing problems with my w8ben-form which has not been collected by Zazzle so that until now I have stopped uploading and even want to give up, for almost 2 months there has been no confirmation from Zazzle.

[Fiorenzo]

Usually no news = good news. If something is wrong with your form, you get a notice via email. Hassles with the form aren't a good reason to give up, Zazzle is a good place to be if you are dedicated and aren't looking for a get-rich-overnight myth. Try to contact Zazzle's support team again. If you get a negative answer regarding the form, check out my following post. Good luck!

https://community.zazzle.com/t5/share-your-tips-tricks/w-8ben-links-to-irs-documents-and-tips-for-fo... 

[dwyne]

Thank you so much for your response to my problem. I have chatted with Zazzle customer service but there has been no response. If there is an error with my form, they did not inform me. Actually I am very comfortable on this platform than others from the rating too, but if I still can't get paid I feel like giving up from here

[Fiorenzo]

You're welcome. Zazzle is always extremely busy during Holidays, so things need more time than usual. If you post a screenshot of the infamous part II/10 of your form, I can have a quick look to see if the texts are OK. This is the part that usually gives issues. I can't guarantee anything but if there are missing or wrong parts I can tell you so you can submit a revised one, and if things look OK you can have some peace of mind and just wait. Blacken out your personal data before you post the shot.

[dwyne]

Is this the part that you can examine to see if there is anything that is not quite right?

[Fiorenzo]

You need to redo your form. Tax rate and paragraph are wrong and the texts aren't optimal.

For Indonesia, the tax rate is 15%, and the paragraph/article are 13(2) and 13(3)(a). try with 13(2),(3)(a) (not 100% sure if the expression is correct, never had to mention 2 separate articles before). 

For type of income write Royalties for the use of copyrights of artistic works (using similar wording as in Indonesia treaty).

For the additional conditions try my default text (if it doesn't work, try variants suggested by other designers in my thread): Creation of artistic works (designs) sold on Zazzle online web stores on a range of goods.

Adjust and resubmit and in case of issues reply again. Good luck!

IRS Treaty screenshot:

[dwyne]

Hi Fiorenza, sorry to ask again. Yesterday I tried to send it, but Zazzle sent an email that the revision of the Article and Paragraph references was in Part II, line 10. And they also sent this link. I've read it but I didn't find it.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-lbi/tax-treaty-table-1.pdf

[Fiorenzo]

Checked the IRS tax treaty table linked by Zazzle. Strangely, they list royalties at 10% while the treaty itself (see my previous screenshot) suggests a rate of 15%. Whatever. If Zazzle sent you this list, enter exactly what the list displays, so 10% as the rate (as you did) and 13(2) / P34 as the article/paragraph.

 Adjust both texts as I suggested and send the form again.

This is all in Part II Line 10.

Edit: with both texts I mean these ones:

For type of income write Royalties for the use of copyrights of artistic works (using similar wording as in Indonesia treaty).

For the additional conditions try my default text (if it doesn't work, try variants suggested by other designers in my thread): Creation of artistic works (designs) sold on Zazzle online web stores on a range of goods.

Hope this will work out.

[dwyne]

Thanks, currently Zazzle has collected my form, so I'm still waiting for the results in a few weeks to see whether it was accepted or not.

[chuamishael]

this is my always advice to newbies now, don't upload anything to zazzle until they approve your W8ben. this whole thing can sometimes feel like an initiation. newbies always have trouble getting their w8ben approve, they should automate this process, but they didn't. There are already a lot of creators already move to another platform because of this problem.  

[dwyne]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I will still try maybe there is still hope on this platform.