Amazon Affiliate Taxes and Paperwork: The W-9 or W-8BEN, 1099s, and What Counts as Income
The Associates application ends with a tax interview, the first January brings a form or doesn't, and somewhere in between most affiliates realise they don't know what Amazon reports, to whom, or what they're supposed to do with the number.
None of it is complicated. It is specific, it differs for US and non-US affiliates, and it's the kind of thing that's much easier to get right in month one than to untangle in year three.
This post covers the tax interview and which form you're completing (W-9 or W-8BEN), when a 1099 arrives and what the threshold is now, withholding for non-US affiliates and the treaty question, what counts as income (all of it, including gift cards), how the 60-day payment delay interacts with the tax year, and the records worth keeping.
It's a plain-language description of what Amazon asks for and why; it isn't tax advice, and the two questions that actually need an accountant are flagged as such. The payment post covers the money arriving; this is the paperwork around it.
The short answer
Complete the tax interview truthfully: W-9 details if you're a US person, W-8BEN if you're not. US affiliates above the threshold get a 1099-MISC in January ($2,000 for 2026 payments, indexed after); below it, no form, same tax.
Non-US affiliates have withholding decided by the W-8BEN and any treaty. Every commission is income in the year Amazon paid it, whatever the payout method. Keep the monthly reports and the payment statements. Ask an accountant about self-employment treatment and the treaty rate.
The tax interview
| You are | Form Amazon collects | What it establishes | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| US citizen or resident, individual | W-9 (collected online) | US person; no withholding; 1099 reporting | SSN or EIN, legal name, address |
| US business (LLC, corporation) | W-9 as the entity | Same, reported to the entity | EIN, entity name and type |
| Non-US individual | W-8BEN | Foreign status; treaty claim if any; withholding rate | Foreign tax ID, country of residence, treaty article if claiming |
| Non-US company | W-8BEN-E | Same, for an entity | Entity details and classification |
Amazon won't pay until the interview is complete, and it asks again if your address, entity or status changes. Getting the entity right at the start matters: switching from individual to a company later means a new interview and, in some cases, a new account. The requirements post covers the rest of the application.
The 1099 and the threshold
US Associates whose commissions in a calendar year exceed the federal reporting threshold receive a Form 1099-MISC from Amazon, available in Associates Central around the end of January, with a copy filed to the IRS.
For payments made in 2026 the threshold is $2,000, up from the long-standing $600, and it's indexed for inflation from 2027. Check the current figure each year; it's now a moving number.
Two things the threshold doesn't change. Income below it is still taxable; the form is Amazon's report to the IRS, not the definition of what you owe. And the year is the year Amazon paid, not the year the sale happened: a December sale is paid in February and lands in the next tax year, which is the 60-day delay showing up in the paperwork.
Non-US affiliates: withholding and treaties
Commissions from amazon.com are US-source income to a non-US person, and the W-8BEN is what tells Amazon how to treat them. Without one, Amazon withholds at the default 30%.
With one, and a claim under a tax treaty between your country and the US, the rate is whatever the treaty sets for that income type, which for many countries is reduced substantially or to zero. Amazon applies the rate at payment and reports it on a Form 1042-S each year.
Whichever rate applies, the income is reportable where you live, and any US tax withheld is usually creditable there. This is the first of the two accountant questions: which treaty article applies to affiliate commissions, and how to claim the credit at home. The international stores post covers that each store's program pays separately, which means separate forms per store.
What counts as income
- Every commission Amazon pays, by direct deposit, cheque or gift card. The payout method doesn't change the character of the income.
- Bounties (Prime trials, Audible and the rest): same as commissions.
- Commissions from other stores' programs: income from each, reported by each.
- Not income: the amount Amazon reversed for returns, which never reached you and isn't on the form.
For most US affiliates the commissions are self-employment income, which brings self-employment tax and the ability to deduct the site's costs (hosting, tools, the laptop share). This is the second accountant question: whether to treat the site as a business, what to deduct, and whether an entity is worth it at your income level.
Records to keep
- The monthly Earnings and Payment reports from Associates Central, downloaded each month. Amazon's history isn't unlimited.
- The annual form (1099-MISC or 1042-S) when it arrives.
- Payment statements from your bank or the gift card records, matched to the reports.
- Expenses with receipts: hosting, domain, tools, any paid promotion.
- The tax interview confirmation, and a note of when you last updated it.
A spreadsheet with a row per month (paid, withheld, expenses) takes five minutes a month and answers every question an accountant will ask in April.
Doing it with AffSERP
AffSERP has no part in your tax paperwork; the Associates account, the reports and the forms are Amazon's and yours. Where it touches the records is the expense column: a per-word cost is a clean line in the spreadsheet, and the guides it writes are the thing the income on the other side of the sheet comes from.
FAQ
Does Amazon send a 1099 to affiliates?
To US Associates who earned above the reporting threshold in the calendar year, yes: a Form 1099-MISC, usually available in Associates Central by the end of January. For payments made in tax year 2026 the federal threshold rose from $600 to $2,000, indexed for inflation from 2027. Below the threshold no form arrives, and the income is still taxable; the form is a report, not the trigger.
What is the Amazon Associates tax interview?
The questionnaire Amazon runs at signup (and reruns when details change) to decide which form applies to you. A US person completes the equivalent of a W-9 with a Social Security or employer identification number; a non-US person completes a W-8BEN (or W-8BEN-E for a company), which establishes foreign status and, where a tax treaty applies, the withholding rate on US-source income. Payments don't start until it's complete.
Do non-US Amazon affiliates pay US tax?
Commissions from amazon.com are US-source income, and without a valid W-8BEN Amazon withholds at the default rate (30%). With a W-8BEN and a treaty claim, many countries' residents have withholding reduced, often to zero, depending on the treaty and the income type. Either way the income is reportable in your own country. The treaty question is the one to take to an accountant who knows both sides.
Are Amazon gift card payments taxable?
Yes. Choosing the gift card payout doesn't change what the commission is; it changes how it's delivered. Amazon reports it the same way, and it's income in the year it was paid. The gift card option exists for convenience and the lower minimum, not as a way around reporting.
AffSERP's per-word cost is a tidy entry in the expenses column; the buyer guides it writes, built from live Amazon data, are the other side of the sheet.
Start with free wordsKeep reading
