Set up commercial marketplace payout and tax profiles in Azure

After you've set up your account and accepted the Publisher agreement, there are two things you need to do in Partner Center before you can publish a transactable offer in the commercial marketplace:

• Set up your payout account

• Fill out your tax forms

Create a payout profile

To create a payment profile:

1. Sign in to Partner Center and select the Settings (gear) icon on the top right.

2. Select Account settings, then under the Payout and Tax heading, select Payout and Tax Profile Assignment.

3. Select the program and seller ID combination on the Payout and tax profile assignment page for which you want to configure information, and then select Edit.

4. A fly out appears to the right. Select an existing tax profile, and select Edit under the payment profile section.

5. Select the payment method (either Electronic Bank Transfer or PayPal if available), and then select an existing profile or select the Create a new payment profile button to create a new profile.

6. A message might appear, displaying the message "You'll be redirected to another Microsoft site to complete your details", select Continue.

Create a bank-based payout profile

If you elected to use a bank account to receive payouts, you must complete the following process to configure your bank account.

To create a bank-based payment profile:

1. On the Bank Profile page, provide the required information about your bank.

2. Provide your bank account details. (Only alphanumeric characters are accepted for bank account details.)

3. Provide beneficiary details.

4. Back on the Profile assignment page, select the currency you want Microsoft to use when issuing payouts.

   Warning

   Make sure that your bank accepts the payout currency that you select.

   You must select a payment profile for each program you participate in. However, you can use the same profile for multiple programs.

5. Select Submit to save your changes.

   Note

   It can take up to 48 hours to validate the information in your profile. When verification is complete, your verification status will display Complete.

To ensure that your payout is successful, make sure that:

• The Account holder name that you enter for your payout account is the exact same name associated with your bank account. For example, if your bank account name includes a middle name, include that middle name in Account holder name.

• Payouts are transferred directly from Microsoft to your bank or PayPal account in the currency you specify on the profile assignment page.

Create or update your tax profile

You must fill out United States tax forms to sell any transactable offer or add-ons through the commercial marketplace, regardless of your country/region of residence or citizenship.

You can fill out the required forms online when you complete your tax profile. You usually don't need to print and mail any forms.

• Publishers who satisfy certain United States residency requirements fill out a United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) W-9 form.

• Other publishers outside the United States fill out an IRS W-8 form.

To create or update a tax profile in the Partner Center, use the following steps:

1. Sign in to Partner Center and select the Settings (gear) icon on the top right.

2. Select Account settings, then select Payout and Tax Profile Assignment on the left navigation menu located at the bottom.

3. Select the program and seller ID combination on the Payout and tax profile assignment page for which you want to configure tax information, and then select edit.

4. A flyout appears to the right. If you want to use an existing tax profile, select it from the dropdown. Otherwise, select Create a new tax profile.

5. A message might appear, displaying the message "You'll be redirected to another Microsoft site to complete your details." Select Continue.

6. Select the appropriate Permanent residence country/region and account type, and then select Next.

7. Depending on your selections in step 6, you're prompted to provide the tax information required for your country/region. After completing the business profile details and selecting next, you must launch the tax form option in the tax form section.

8. After completing the tax form, a confirmation page opens where you can save a .PDF of the tax form for your records. After saving, you must select "Finish" on the top right first, and then select the Complete button at the bottom left.

9. After the tax profile is submitted, an email notification is sent to the account owner, indicating that the tax profile has been updated, and the status of the tax profile status in Partner Center will show as Pending Microsoft Validation. When the tax profile submission is complete and valid, the status changes to Complete. If the Tax profile submission fails, the status updates to "Action Required."

10. A Tax profile submission can take up to 48 hours to validate. If the tax profile status of "Pending Microsoft Validation" remains for more than 48 hours, you can submit a support ticket.

Withholding rates

The information you submit in your tax forms determines your tax withholding rate.

Withholding applies only to sales that you make into the United States. Sales made into non-US locations aren't subject to withholding.

Withholding rates vary, but for most publishers registering outside the United States, the default rate is 30%. You have the option of reducing this rate if your country/region has agreed to an income tax treaty with the United States.

Tax treaty benefits

If you are outside the United States, you might be able to take advantage of tax treaty benefits. These benefits, which vary from country/region to country/region, might allow you to reduce the amount of taxes that the commercial marketplace withholds.

You can claim tax treaty benefits by completing Part II of the IRS W-8BEN form.

We recommend that you communicate with the appropriate resources in your country or region to determine whether these benefits apply to you.