Did you get an email that you need to confirm that you are performing your work on Upwork outside the United States?
How to confirm:
- Go to Settings > Tax Information > Tax identification number
- Select the ✎ edit icon and then select Update
- Review the Tax Certification and Confirmation of Unchanged Status and Affidavit of Unchanged Status information, which now includes confirmation that you are not doing work in the U.S., and sign with your electronic signature to certify
- Read and sign the Affidavit of unchanged status, then choose Save
Please note that all labels will appear as “Completed” when you first navigate to the Tax information page if you have previously completed your W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E. If you follow the steps above, and all labels remain “Completed,” you are good to go.
It is a statement about where a business's money came from or where work was completed to generate funds. In this case, you are confirming that you are not doing work withing the U.S.
We need you to confirm your services on Upwork are being physically performed outside the U.S.. This important confirmation is currently missing from your W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E and needs to be updated.
If you do not complete the Statement of source information to confirm that you are working outside the U.S, we may have to withhold up to 30% of your earnings on Upwork and send the withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service.
If you were able to read and re-sign the W-8BEN certification and affidavit of unchanged status, you're all set! We plan to email everyone who has an incomplete status in December, so if we notice any needs, we'll send you an email at that time.
Please note that all labels will appear as “Completed” when you first navigate to the Tax information page if you have previously completed your W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E. If you follow the steps above, and all labels remain “Completed,” you are good to go.
The W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E are U.S. tax forms for non-U.S. Persons. We and the IRS use them to determine whether you live in the U.S. and what taxes, if any, we need to collect from your earnings on Upwork. You must have this form on file before you can withdraw earnings from Upwork.
Without these forms as proof that you are a non-U.S. Person, Upwork will be required to withhold up to 30% of your future earnings on Upwork and send that withholding tax to the IRS. As long as a valid W-8BEN/W-8BEN-E form is filled out completely, we are not required to withhold U.S. income tax.
To complete the W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, you’ll need to complete three cards in the Tax Information section of your settings.
1. Tax residence: ensure you have a tax address on file
Whether you are completing your W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E as an individual tax filer or as an entity, you need to ensure that you have a tax address on file first. You can enter or update your tax address by going to Settings > Tax Information > Tax residence.
When you complete the W-8BEN, you are indicating that you are a non-U.S. taxpayer and cannot select the U.S. as your tax residence.
To edit your tax address after you’ve entered it, select the✎ edit icon and then select Update. Enter your updated information and choose Save.
2. Taxpayer identification: start Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E as an individual, corporation, or partnership
- Go to Settings › Tax Information › Taxpayer identification
- Confirm that you are a non-U.S. taxpayer
- Enter your legal name
- Select your federal tax classification from the drop-down box
- Enter your date of birth and country of citizenship if you are filing as an individual, or your country of incorporation if you are filing as a corporation or partnership
When you complete the W-8BEN, you are indicating that you are a non-U.S. taxpayer and cannot enter the U.S. as your country of citizenship or incorporation.
To edit your tax identification information after you’ve entered it, select the✎ edit icon and then select Update. Enter your updated information and choose Save.
3. Tax identification number: finish and certify Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E as an individual, corporation, or partnership
- Go to Settings > Tax Information > Tax identification number
- Provide your Tax identification number. This is the number you use for reporting taxes in your country and may be referred to by a different name, such as a PAN number in India, for example. Some countries may also use a National ID number
- Read the Tax Certification, Statement of Source, and Confirmation of Unchanged Status, which includes reviewing the information you have provided, shown in the text box, and the Statement of Source Information. For the Statement of Source, you are confirming that the work you do is outside of the U.S. If you are performing work while physically located in the U.S., please complete a W-9. Per U.S. tax law, you must also let Upwork know if anything has changed on your W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E since you started working on Upwork by updating your W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E
- Electronically sign with your legal name (the date will always default to the date you sign)
- Check the confirmation box at the bottom of the page
- Additionally, please sign the affidavit confirming your status has not changed, with your legal name, and again, the date will also auto default to today’s date
When you complete the W-8BEN, you are indicating that you are a non-U.S. taxpayer and cannot enter the U.S. as your country of citizenship or incorporation.
To edit or update your tax identification number or certification
- Select the✎ edit icon in the Tax identification section and then select Update
- Enter your updated information, if needed
- Review the Tax Certification and Confirmation of Unchanged Status and Affidavit of Unchanged Status information, which includes confirmation that you are not doing work in the U.S., and provide your electronic signature.
- Read and sign the Affidavit of unchanged status, then choose Save
Note:
Once you complete and submit your information in the Taxpayer identification and Tax identification number, you’ll see “Completed” in the capsule beside each section’s title. If you haven’t done so yet, the capsule will say “Not completed”.
For any other tax classification, please provide Upwork with your Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E — you will not be able to fill out the form on Upwork
Please fill out a complete W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E form along with signature, and send it to the Upwork tax team if you are:
- An entity type other than individual, corporation, or partnership (for a full list, please look at the types provided on the IRS form W-8BEN-E), or;
- An individual or corporation claiming treaty benefits;
For users that fall into these categories, you will have the option to select that you are an “other entity type or claiming treaty benefits”. This option will provide further instructions with more information about these forms and how to submit the signed and completed form to Upwork.
Please consult a local tax professional if you have questions about your tax situation or circumstances. U.S. persons are required to file a Form W-9.
If you cannot complete the certification on the W-8BEN, contact Upwork Support by choosing the Get Support button at the bottom of any Help page.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Form W-8BEN is completed by non-U.S. individuals
- Form W-8BEN-E is a more detailed version of the W-8BEN that is required for non-U.S. entities (i.e. corporations and partnerships)
- Form W-9 is completed by U.S. Persons
These forms document taxpayer information that the IRS requires us to collect for people and businesses receiving payments through our platform.
All non-U.S. individual taxpayers who receive payments on Upwork must complete the W-8BEN form to verify that they are not a U.S. Person, and are performing services outside of the United States.
- Please make sure you fill out your Tax residence card along with filing a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, under Settings › Tax Information > Tax residence
- If you completed a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E prior to December 2022, you will need to complete a new Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E
If you are representing an entity, you must complete a Form W-8BEN-E instead of the W-8BEN.
Without this form as proof that you are based outside the U.S., we’ll be required to withhold up to 30% of your future earnings on Upwork and send them to the IRS. As long as a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E form is correctly filled out and valid, we are not required to withhold at this rate.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the U.S. government’s national tax collection and enforcement agency.
This is the number that your country uses for collecting your tax information and may have a different name, such as PAN in India, for example. Some countries may use a National ID number. You may be able to find information about your country’s TIN here. If you have questions about your number, you will need to consult a tax advisor in your country or contact your local tax authority.
Address alone does not confirm that you’re not a U.S. Person. For example, U.S. citizens living abroad are still subject to U.S. income tax (and must provide us a Form W-9).
Without the Form W-8BEN, U.S. tax law requires us to withhold up to 30% of your future earnings on Upwork and send the withholdings to the IRS. The W-8BEN confirms that you are not a U.S. taxpayer and not subject to U.S. tax on your earnings.
If you have not completed or updated your Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E yet, we urge you to complete a new form as soon as possible.
You will not be able to withdraw your earnings from Upwork until you complete the form. Also, if you do not complete the required form, we will be required to withhold up to 30% of your future earnings on Upwork and send them to the IRS. We will not be able to provide refunds on the withheld funds submitted to the IRS, even if the forms are later completed.
Any entity other than an individual is required to complete Form W-8BEN-E. You can fill out the W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E on Upwork if you are an individual or corporation — other entities will need to submit a completed form to Upwork. For instructions and information on how to complete a W-8BEN-E, please see the IRS website for the full form and instructions (link).
No, we send the taxes we withhold from you to the IRS and cannot provide a refund once they are withheld and submitted.
We only use the form to confirm that you are not a U.S. Person and that we are not required to withhold taxes from your earnings for the IRS. This includes providing this information to the IRS if they request it.
We take all commercially reasonable steps to help protect your information, including encrypting access to our site and the transmission of information. To learn more about how we protect your personal information, please review Upwork’s Privacy Policy in our Terms of Service.
We do not have the completed form set up for viewing on Upwork, but we hope to have this available soon.
When your client pays you on Upwork, they actually pay Upwork Escrow Inc., which is our licensed escrow subsidiary. Upwork Escrow Inc. acts as a “third-party settlement organization” under Internal Revenue Code Section 6050W. This means we (not your client) are required to report the payments we remit to you to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
For the W-8BEN and Tax Identification sections, you’ll see “Completed” in the capsule beside the section’s title once you’ve completed and submitted your information. If you haven’t done so yet, the capsule will say “Not completed”.
We need you to confirm your services on Upwork are being physically performed outside the United States. This important confirmation is currently missing from your W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E and needs to be updated.
We need you to confirm your services on Upwork are being physically performed outside the United States. By completing this certification right away, you can help ensure that we will not have to withhold U.S. taxes from your earnings.
If you do not complete the Statement of source information, we may have to withhold up to 30% of your earnings on Upwork and send the withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service.