30% withheld unless a treaty applies
KDP withholds 30% on US-source royalties unless you claim a treaty rate.
Cleared by the LLC
Built for · Self-publishing
A US LLC for KDP authors and self‑publishers outside the United States
Book royalties are the one kind of income where the tax treaty matters more than the company. A US LLC helps an author with payments, an imprint and a business to grow, but it doesn't change the withholding.
01 · Why a US company
What it does for KDP authors and self-publishers.
Authors form a US company for an imprint that can publish other writers, a bank account that receives royalties in dollars without converting each payment, a Stripe account for direct sales and courses, and a business kept separate from them.
Read the full explanation
Authors form a US company for an imprint that can publish other writers, a bank account that receives royalties in dollars without converting each payment, a Stripe account for direct sales and courses, and a business kept separate from them. KDP pays individuals in most countries already, so the company is a choice, not a requirement.
- 01
Royalties in dollars
Royalties land in a dollar account, without a conversion each time.
March payout+1,320.00 USD - 02
A publisher in its own name
The company can be an imprint that publishes other writers.
PublisherAster Press LLC - 03
Books and courses on Stripe
Selling directly needs a processor, and a US company is on Stripe's list.
ProcessorStripe · US - 04
The business, apart from you
Contracts and royalties belong to the company, apart from your own money.
Imprint · YouSeparate accounts
02 · What stands in the way
Three things in the way, and one way through.
Books and courses need a payments account
Selling books and courses directly needs a payments account that works for you.
Cleared by the LLC
Dollar royalties without conversions
Royalties from Amazon, IngramSpark and other platforms arrive in dollars, ideally without a conversion each time.
Cleared by the LLC
A US LLC, with its EIN and a US bank account.
One set of documents the platforms, a processor and the bank all accept.
Start a company03 · Your options
Three ways to publish on Amazon from abroad.
The withholding on US royalties is the same in all three, set by your country's treaty. What changes is the name on the book and what you can sell beside it.
| You, as yourself | Your company at home | A US LLCWhat we set up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withholding on US royalties | Neutral: 30%, or your treaty rate | Neutral: 30%, or the company's treaty rate | Neutral: 30%, or your treaty rate |
| Publisher on the book | Neutral: Independently published, or your imprint | Works in your favour: Your company's imprint | Works in your favour: The LLC's imprint |
| Selling direct: books, courses | A cost or a limit: Depends on your country | A cost or a limit: Depends on your country | Works in your favour: Stripe, as a US business |
| Royalties paid to | Neutral: Your bank | Neutral: The company's bank | Works in your favour: A US account, in dollars |
| Publishing other writers | A cost or a limit: As you, personally | Works in your favour: Through your company | Works in your favour: Through the LLC |
| Yearly US filing | Works in your favour: None | Works in your favour: None | A cost or a limit: Form 5472, and Wyoming's report |
Works in your favourNeutralA cost or a limitLook up your country's royalty rate in the IRS's treaty tables before anything else. If there's no treaty, 30% stays 30% with or without a company.
You, as yourself
- Withholding on US royalties
- 30%, or your treaty rate
- Publisher on the book
- Independently published, or your imprint
- Selling direct: books, courses
- Depends on your country
- Royalties paid to
- Your bank
- Publishing other writers
- As you, personally
- Yearly US filing
- None
Neutral:
Neutral:
A cost or a limit:
Neutral:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favour:
Your company at home
- Withholding on US royalties
- 30%, or the company's treaty rate
- Publisher on the book
- Your company's imprint
- Selling direct: books, courses
- Depends on your country
- Royalties paid to
- The company's bank
- Publishing other writers
- Through your company
- Yearly US filing
- None
Neutral:
Works in your favour:
A cost or a limit:
Neutral:
Works in your favour:
Works in your favour:
A US LLCWhat we set up
- Withholding on US royalties
- 30%, or your treaty rate
- Publisher on the book
- The LLC's imprint
- Selling direct: books, courses
- Stripe, as a US business
- Royalties paid to
- A US account, in dollars
- Publishing other writers
- Through the LLC
- Yearly US filing
- Form 5472, and Wyoming's report
Neutral:
Works in your favour:
Works in your favour:
Works in your favour:
Works in your favour:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favourNeutralA cost or a limitLook up your country's royalty rate in the IRS's treaty tables before anything else. If there's no treaty, 30% stays 30% with or without a company.
04 · Step by step
From manuscript to an imprint of your own, in seven steps.
Fix the tax interview first. The imprint and the company come after.
Step 1: Claim your treaty rate in KDP
In KDP's tax interview, a W-8BEN in your own name with your country's treaty article for royalties. Without it, US royalties are withheld at 30%.
TodayYouStep 2: Form the Wyoming LLC
For the imprint, direct sales and other writers' books. Wyoming approves an online filing the same day it is filed.
Same dayWe do itStep 3: Get the EIN
Without a Social Security Number the IRS issues it by fax, which is the slowest step. The expedited EIN, $199, has us file the day the company exists and chase it.
The longest waitWe do itStep 4: Get ISBNs for the imprint
A free KDP ISBN lists the book as "Independently published" and can't be used elsewhere. Your own ISBNs list your imprint, and KDP checks the imprint name matches the ISBN agency's record. ISBNs come from the agency where the publisher is located.
Before you publishYou, with the ISBN agencyStep 5: Price for the royalty you want
KDP pays 35% of the list price, or 70% less a delivery cost of about $0.06 on average, for eligible ebooks in the 70% territories. The 70% option has its own price range on KDP's list price page.
Each bookYouStep 6: Sell direct as the company
Signed copies, bundles and courses through Stripe in the LLC's name, with royalties from Amazon and IngramSpark arriving in the same US account.
When you're readyYouStep 7: Diary the filings
Form 5472 is due each 15 April, and Wyoming's annual report on the first day of the month the LLC was formed in. KDP's tax interview asks to be renewed; keep it current.
Every yearOn your calendar
05 · The honest part
What to know before you order.
What sets the withholding on my royalties?
Royalties, withholding and the treaty
Royalties from sales to US readers are US-source, and the platform withholds 30% unless a tax form claims a treaty rate. A single-member LLC owned by someone abroad is looked through to its owner, so the form is a W-8 and the rate is your country's treaty rate: 0% for the United Kingdom, Germany and many others, 15% for India, and 30% where there's no treaty.
Read more
Forming a US LLC doesn't change that number. The treaty does.
What does the LLC file every year?
Form 5472
A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even a year with no income. It reports what moved between you and the company, and missing it carries a $25,000 penalty.
Sources: KDP Help, ISBNs for paperbacks and hardcovers; KDP Help, eBook royalties; Bowker, buy ISBNs; IRS, tax treaty tables; IRS, Instructions for Form W-8BEN; IRS, Instructions for Form 5472.
06 · What it costs
What it costs, line by line.
Amazon's from KDP's help, ours from our price list.
| Cost | Amount | When | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| KDP royalty | 35% or 70% | Each ebook sale | 70% less a delivery cost, about $0.06 a unit on average, for eligible books in the 70% territories. |
| Withholding on US royalties | 0 to 30% | On US sales | Your country's treaty rate, claimed on a W-8BEN. The same with or without the LLC. |
| Launch, with Wyoming's feeOptional | $351.40 | First year | $249 to us and $102.40 to Wyoming, at cost. For the imprint and direct sales. |
| Stripe, for direct salesOptional | 2.9% + 30¢ | Each sale | A US card. |
| From the second yearOptional | $309 | Every year | $249 for Launch and Wyoming's $60 minimum. Form 5472 is an accountant's fee on top. |
ISBNs cost what the agency where the publisher is located charges; in some countries they're free.
The plan that fits
Launch, usually.
An author's company is simple to run.
Launch
Fits authorsFor your first company, when it needs to exist and nothing more yet.
What it covers
- Your Wyoming LLC, filed, with the state fee at cost
- The EIN for the imprint and the platforms
- Form 5472 and the annual report on your calendar
The withholding rate is your country's treaty rate, with or without a company.
07 · Questions
Questions from KDP authors and self-publishers.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
It's what KDP lists as the imprint when you use a free KDP ISBN. With your own ISBNs, the book lists your imprint instead, and KDP checks that name against the ISBN agency's record.
35% of the list price, or 70% less a delivery cost of about $0.06 a unit on average, for eligible ebooks sold in the 70% territories. US royalties are then withheld at your treaty rate, or 30% without one.
For an imprint, a dollar bank account, a Stripe account for direct sales, and a business kept separate from you. Not for the withholding.
A Wyoming LLC on Launch is $351.40 for the first year: $249 for Launch and $102.40 to Wyoming, at cost. After that it is $309 a year, $249 to us and $60 to Wyoming.
Ready when you are
Answer the questions. We do the filing.
It takes about four minutes. You see the whole order, Wyoming fee included, before anything is charged.
Step 1 of 10 · About four minutesNothing charged yet
You're startingLLC · WY
Start a companyLaunch · $351.40 · Wyoming fee included