What about taxes?

Bandcamp is responsible for calculating, collecting, and remitting sales taxes (including VAT, US state sales tax, GST, or other sales taxes as applicable) for certain transactions in the following countries and US states, based on the relevant territory’s tax rules for digital and physical sales. Bandcamp automatically determines your buyer’s location and, when appropriate, adds the proper amount of tax to the transaction, which will be noted in your seller receipts and sales report.

Countries

Note: EU, UK, NZ, CH, and NO taxes on physical items are not applicable if both seller and buyer are located in the same territory. Sellers may collect these taxes directly by enabling the option on the Profile page.
Sales on physical items imported into Canada are not taxed.

US State Taxes

Details

For digital items, the applicable sales tax will be applied at checkout, and Bandcamp will collect and remit the taxable amounts directly to the appropriate tax authorities. 

For physical items, the applicable sales tax will be applied at checkout for merch sold by artists or labels using Enhanced Payments (where Bandcamp serves as the payment processor), and Bandcamp will collect and remit the taxable amounts directly to the appropriate tax authorities. In some jurisdictions, Bandcamp must collect and remit sales tax to be paid not only on a product’s sale price, but also on any applicable shipping costs. This amount will be collected separately and is labeled “shipping tax” in any related receipts and reporting.

IOSS & Other VAT IDs

Items entering the EU, UK, New Zealand, Switzerland, or Norway will require Bandcamp's relevant VAT IDs to clear customs. In some cases these IDs must be submitted electronically so you'll want to check with your carrier before shipping. These IDs can be found in your seller receipt, in your packing slips–located within the "print label" tool, and from the 'Tax IDs and business information' link on your Merch Orders page.

Failure to fill out the proper customs forms or submit the tax IDs correctly may incur a second tax charge on the fan when the item is delivered.

Additional Information

Tax amounts for all items are calculated based on the minimum asking price. If the "pay what you want" setting is enabled for a release on your page, for tax purposes, any additional fan contribution paid above the minimum price is considered a "gratuity." For this reason, they are not subject to marketplace taxes.

For artists or labels using Standard Payments (where Bandcamp does not serve as the payment processor, and the payment from the fan is made directly to the artist’s PayPal account), the seller is responsible for processing any applicable taxes or customs related to the sale of merch. Though most import taxes will be charged to the buyer upon delivery.

In all other territories, it is your responsibility to collect and remit the appropriate taxes to the relevant tax authority. We recommend that you consult a tax advisor regarding the best approach.

Required Tax Information

Why am I being asked for my tax information?

Marketplaces like Bandcamp are required by US tax law to issue tax forms to artists and labels who earn over $5,000 USD in sales in 2024. In order to provide you with the appropriate forms, Bandcamp will need to collect certain tax information from you. This information will need to be collected from you even if you are based outside the United States.

How do I provide my tax information?

To add your tax information, you will need to complete the form hosted by our secure third-party tax service. We will email you a link to this form if your account has already exceeded the tax threshold in annual sales, or likely will before the end of the year. It is a short process (usually 10 minutes or less) that must be completed by the legal owner of the account. Please do not email your tax information to us.

Why do I have to do this? 

As of January 1, 2024, the IRS requires marketplaces like Bandcamp to collect tax information and issue the relevant tax forms to sellers who earn over $5,000 USD in a given calendar year. For more information about this change, please visit the IRS website.

I’m not located in the US, does this still apply to me?

Yes, we are required to collect tax information and issue the relevant forms for sellers in any location. If you are not based in the US, you will still need to provide valid tax information.

I have multiple Bandcamp accounts. Do I need to provide tax information for each account?

If you have multiple accounts that pay the same PayPal email address, you will only need to complete the tax form process once for all accounts. If you operate multiple accounts that pay different PayPal email addresses, you will need to add tax information for each account individually. 

Who should provide tax information for accounts with multiple owners?

Tax information must be provided by the legal owner of the account. If you aren’t sure who that is, you will need to consult with a tax professional.

What happens if I don’t provide valid tax information?

If you have exceeded $5,000 USD in sales in a given calendar year and have not provided valid taxpayer information, we will notify you via email and your payments may be blocked. Once you provide valid tax information, blocked payouts should typically be released within 24-48 hours.

How does Bandcamp store my tax information?

Bandcamp uses a secure third-party service in order to collect, store, and process your tax information.

After I’ve added my tax information, what happens next?

Once our third-party tax service validates your tax information, the relevant tax form will be issued and sent directly to both you and the IRS, before the corresponding form’s due date the following year. Please note the tax form you receive will reference Songtradr, Bandcamp's parent company.

Where can I find advice about how this applies to my specific tax situation?

For specific guidance, please contact a tax professional. We are unable to advise on specific tax situations. 

For details regarding tax forms, please check our article, Will Bandcamp issue a form for taxes?