Understanding Tax Requirements

When you submit an expense on Open Collective, you may be asked to fill in a tax form relevant to your location.

After you have submitted an expense, you may be asked to supply additional information for tax purposes. The information required will vary based on your location and the location of the Fiscal Host.

If you submit expenses for multiple profiles, such as your individual and company profiles, you will need to complete a separate form for each. You may also need to complete separate tax forms for each Fiscal Host you expense.

You need to submit this information for your expense to be paid.

Submitting expenses to a Collective with a US-Based Fiscal Host

If you submit expenses totaling $600 or more in a year to a US-based Fiscal Host, it is required by US law to collect certain information. This applies even if you are based outside the US.

This $600 threshold only applies to invoice expenses, not expenses such as payroll, grants or reimbursements.

Once your expenses to a particular US-based host exceed $600 in a year, expect to be contacted by the Fiscal Host and asked to fill out a tax form.

Which form will I be asked to fill in?

If your Fiscal Host is US-based, you will be asked to fill in either a:

  • W9 form (for US persons)

  • W-8BEN (for non-US-based individuals)

  • W-8BEN-E (for non-US-based entities, such as companies)

If you are not a US-based person, you will only be subject to income tax in your home country, and will not be taxed in both locations.

US persons filing their taxes

If you are a US person who has submitted a W-9 form, the Fiscal Host in question will issue you a 1099 form by the end of January. They will need you to fill in this information for them to complete their taxes.

Visit this page for an explanation of how W9s work for independent contractors, and this page for information on what a 1099 is.

A Fiscal Host will generally not ask you to fill out a 1099 form if:

  • You are a corporation (1099s are generally issued to contractors and service providers)

  • You are a PayPal payee (PayPal tends to issue 1099s to payees itself if required, so the Fiscal Host will not need to do it)

  • You are submitting a reimbursement (reimbursement expenses do not require you to fill out a tax form, only invoices)

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