Tax forms
W-9 (U.S.), W-8BEN (non-U.S. individual), W-8BEN-E (non-U.S. business), and where each is collected depending on your payout rail.
How your tax info is collected depends on your payout rail, which is set by your country (see Supported countries). The short version: if you are paid on Stripe Express, Stripe collects and holds your tax form during onboarding, and there is nothing to upload to Rekomi. If you are paid on the PayPal rail (rolling out), you upload your W-8 form directly to Rekomi.
Which form, and who collects it
| Your situation | Form | Collected and stored by | You upload to Rekomi? |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S., paid via Stripe Express | W-9 | Stripe (during Express onboarding) | No |
| Non-U.S., paid via Stripe Express | W-8BEN (individual) or W-8BEN-E (business) | Stripe (during Express onboarding) | No |
| Non-U.S., paid via PayPal (rolling out) | W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E | Rekomi (you upload at /a/settings) | Yes |
The U.S. always routes to Stripe Express, so U.S. affiliates always provide a W-9 through Stripe, not through Rekomi.
If you are paid via Stripe Express
Stripe collects your tax form as part of Express onboarding, alongside your identity and bank details. There is nothing else to upload to Rekomi. Stripe holds the form; Rekomi never sees your SSN, ITIN, or full tax document.
- U.S. residents provide a W-9 (your SSN or EIN).
- Non-U.S. residents provide a W-8BEN (individuals) or W-8BEN-E (businesses), which certify foreign status.
If a brand specifically asks you for a copy of a W-8, you can still upload one to Rekomi at /a/settings, but for the Stripe rail this is optional; Stripe already has your form.
If you are paid via PayPal (rolling out)
The PayPal rail does not collect tax forms the way Stripe Express does, so foreign affiliates on PayPal upload their W-8 directly to Rekomi. This rail is rolling out; until it goes live you can still sign up, join campaigns, and earn, and you can add your form ahead of time.
/a/settings has the "Tax forms" widget. Pick your type:
- W-8BEN: non-U.S. individuals
- W-8BEN-E: non-U.S. business entities
The widget has three parts:
- PDF picker: upload the signed form. You fill out the IRS form on your end (or use a tax-form generator), download as PDF, and upload here. Max 10 MB.
- Canvas signature: sign with your mouse, trackpad, or touchscreen. The signature is saved as an SVG path alongside the form.
- Submit: stores the form privately and updates your status.
Private storage
The PDF is stored on DigitalOcean Spaces under a private path. The persisted URL is an opaque marker (spaces-private://{key}), not a directly-servable URL. When you or an authorized admin requests the form, the server mints a short-lived pre-signed URL (5-minute TTL) and returns that.
This means:
- Your SSN or ITIN never lands in a publicly accessible URL.
- The form is not in any CDN cache.
- If a URL is leaked, it expires in 5 minutes.
Retention
Prior uploads are retained for 7 years per IRS requirements, then deleted automatically by a scheduled retention job (it removes the stored file first, then the record).
The $600 threshold and the 1099-NEC
If you earn more than $600 from a single brand in a U.S. calendar year, that brand files a 1099-NEC for you. At year-end the brand exports a 1099-NEC candidate CSV from their dashboard, which pulls your tax-form details and your earnings, and files it with the IRS through their accountant or a service like Track1099 or Tax1099. They send you a copy in January.
Rekomi does not file 1099s with the IRS itself today; direct filing on the brand's behalf is on the roadmap.
To avoid a hold on earnings above the threshold, provide your tax info before you cross it. Reminder emails fire automatically as you approach $600.
Status
Your tax-form status on /a/settings (for the PayPal-rail upload) can be:
- None: nothing uploaded.
- Submitted: uploaded, awaiting any verification.
- Approved: ready for use in 1099 generation.
- Rejected: a brand flagged the form as invalid and will message you with the reason.
For Stripe-rail affiliates, your tax status is part of your Stripe Express account standing rather than a Rekomi upload status.
Updating your form
You can upload a new form at any time; the new upload supersedes the prior version, and brands always see the latest. Common reasons to re-upload: your tax classification changed (individual to LLC, sole prop to S-corp), your address changed, or there was a typo on the first upload. For the Stripe rail, update your details in Stripe Express instead.
Non-U.S. residency and withholding
Filing the right W-8 certifies your foreign status and, depending on your country's tax treaty with the U.S., can lower or eliminate U.S. withholding. Without a W-8 on file, default 30% U.S. withholding may apply to your payouts. With a W-8 and a treaty country, withholding can be reduced, often to 0-15% depending on the treaty.