This page provides tax basics for Adobe Stock contributors who are US citizens or registered aliens.
Tax overview
Licensing creative content is an economic activity. As an Adobe Stock contributor, income derived from your sales in the US is subject to US IRS (Internal Revenue Service) withholding tax.
The IRS is the US government agency responsible for tax collection and tax law compliance. As a US company, we—and our contributors—must comply with US tax law and provide the IRS with the appropriate withholding tax form. Such tax forms are specific according to a contributor’s situation and are necessary to determine if US withholding tax is applied on your income.
The information below helps you determine which tax form is applicable to your situation. We encourage you to follow the steps below and to contact a tax/legal advisor for definitive advice.
We have provided the information below as general guidelines and cannot provide tax advice. Without an approved form, all contributor revenue is subject to maximum tax withholding of 30%.
Review your profile
Ensure that all your information is up to date by reviewing your profile on your Contributor Account page. False information results in the non-validation of your form and subjects you to withholding taxes on your income.
Submit your tax forms
Tax forms must be filled out and signed digitally on your Contributor Account page. Forms must be updated following any life event that affects your taxes, such as marriage, name change, divorce, or creating or dissolving a company. The system leads you through a series of options to help you choose the right form. Then you can fill it out and submit it directly through the Contributor portal.
Individuals and LLC, partnerships, or corporations
W9 form: You typically submit a W-9 so that we don't withhold taxes on your Adobe Stock income. For contributors residing in the US, a valid Form W-9 requires a US SSN, EIN, or ITIN.
End of year
At the end of each year, we are required to report all income derived from US sales from that year to the IRS. We supply individuals who have earned more than $10 with a 1099 form that specifies your earnings. We do not supply a 1099 to corporations. Earnings are reported and taxable regardless of whether you have requested a payout. You only pay taxes on this income once, you do not need to pay a second time when you withdraw the funds.
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