Taxes FAQ (Steamworks Documentation) (2024)

Steamworks Documentation > Finance > Taxes FAQ

Reporting

• Q. What annual tax reporting of our earnings will Valve provide to partners?

  A. The answer depends upon a number of factors including the type of income and the information you provided to us through the tax interview, but revenue share payments are classified as a royalty and reported as follows:
  • If you submitted a W8 as a non-US tax payer, you will receive a 1042-S showing your US Source income and the amount of Withholding Tax paid by Valve on your behalf.
    
  • If you submitted a W9 as a US Tax payer, you will receive a Form 1099 unless you are a C or S Corporation (or LLC filing as a C or S Corporation.) We are not required by the IRS to provide Corporations with a Form 1099 for royalty payments. In prior years, we provided a Form 1099 to all US partners, but starting with the calendar year 2018, we no longer will send 1099s for C or S Corporations. To calculate your earnings, please refer to your payment history in Steamstats reports. See instructions under the "Reporting" section on how to navigate to your payment history: https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/finance/payments_salesreporting

• Q. When should I expect to receive these annual tax forms?

  A. We provide annual tax forms to partners in accordance with the IRS’ deadlines. The IRS requires us to send 1099 forms by January 31st and 1042-S forms by March 15th. If you elected electronic delivery of your tax forms, they will be emailed to you. If not, they will be physically mailed to you. We encourage the use of email for faster, secure and more efficient delivery. Please ensure that we have a valid, working email in our system and update your mailing address as needed.

  Please watch for an email from

  taxsupport-valve@taxidentity.com with the subject line "MESSAGE FROM VALVE - [1099 or 1042S] DOCUMENTATION ENCLOSED". Please check your spam/junk folders if you cannot locate it. Please do not delete this email. If you do not receive this email, you may contact us at financevalve@valvesoftware.com.

Withholding Taxes

• Q. How much withholding taxes will be deducted from my payments?

  A. At the conclusion of the tax interview, the withholding rate % will be provided to you. The withholding rate may range from 0% to 30% withholding on U.S. source income, based on the information you provided during the tax interview. If your withholding rate is 30% and your country of residence has a tax treaty with the U.S., you may want to retake the tax interview and provide a U.S. or foreign TIN in order to reduce the withholding rate. Countries that have tax treaties with the U.S. can be found here:

  http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/International-Businesses/United-States-Income-Tax-Treaties-A-to-Z

• Q. What happens if there is no income tax treaty between my country of residence and the United States?

  A. We will be required by the IRS to withhold 30% of your revenue share payment and remit these taxes to the IRS. You may want to consult with your tax advisors on whether you can recover these taxes as a foreign tax credit on your tax return.

• Q. Why does my tax information show two withholding rates - one for royalty copyright and one for royalty film?

  A. These are separate tax rates that are applied depending on the content type of your sales. The royalty copyright rate will apply to US sourced sales on games and related DLCs. The royalty film rate will apply to US sourced sales on film and video. These rates do not accumulate for a higher rate of withholding and only one rate will be applied depending on the type of sales.

• Q. If I update my tax interview to include a US or foreign TIN and reduce my withholding rate will Valve refund previous amounts that have been withheld from my payments?

  A. No, Valve does not refund withholding taxes when there is a rate change triggered by providing a TIN, as Valve would have already remitted those taxes to the IRS. You will need to consult with a tax specialist to understand if / how you will be able to recoup these funds.

• Q. What is the meaning of "US Share" on my monthly report?

  A. This is a memo column that represents the portion of your payment that is derived from sales made in the US - or the U.S. source income. This is used to calculate your withholding tax, if applicable, by multiplying the US Share by the appropriate withholding tax rate.

• Q. How do I see what my withholding rate is?

  A. Please login to your partner account to see the results of your tax interview including the withholding tax rate we will use. Your tax information is at the bottom of the page under Users & Permissions/Company Details. Please note that you must have Actual Authority permissions to access this information.

US TINs

• Q. Why do I need to obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)?

  A. Generally, a foreign person is subject to U.S. tax on its U.S. source income. Most types of U.S. source income received by a foreign person are subject to a U.S. tax rate of 30%. A reduced rate, including exemption, may apply if there is a tax treaty between the foreign person's country of residence and the United States. In order to exercise the benefits under the tax treaty, you will need to complete a Form W-8BEN and that requires either a foreign TIN or a US TIN. Countries that have tax treaties with the U.S. can be found here:
  http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/International-Businesses/United-States-Income-Tax-Treaties-A-to-Z

• Q. Does applying for a TIN require me to file a U.S. tax return?

  A. Applying for an ITIN for purposes to exercise the benefits under the tax treaty does not require you to file a U.S. tax return.

• Q. What types of US TINs are there?

  A. For non-U.S. persons, a TIN may be an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for individuals and businesses or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for individuals only.

• Q. If I’m an individual, can I choose to apply for an EIN or ITIN?

  A. Yes, an individual can apply for either an EIN or ITIN.

• Q. How do I obtain a US TIN?

  A. An Employer Identification Number (EIN), for individuals (you need to indicate you are a sole proprietor) and businesses, may be obtained over the telephone by calling (267) 941-1099. This is not a toll-free number and long distance charges may apply. An EIN may also be obtained through filing “Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number” by fax which takes approximately four business days and by mail which takes approximately four weeks. More information about Form SS-4 is available on the IRS website.

  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf

  Q. How long does it take for the IRS to issue an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)?

  A. It may take a few months or longer to obtain an ITIN.

VAT and Sales Tax

• Q. How does VAT/GST/JCT work on Steam Sales?

  A. Please see the Current Tax Rates section below for the list of countries where this type of tax is collected and the applicable tax rate. The list is updated as new laws become effective. In all other countries, we are selling cross-border and are not required to collect. Steam pricing is VAT inclusive in all countries where amounts are collected. On a periodic basis, Valve remits the tax collected on sales to the appropriate tax authorities.
  

• Q. Do you charge sales tax and if yes, in what states?

  A. We charge sales tax in states as required by applicable law. Sales tax is calculated and then added on top of the Steam Price. On a periodic basis, Valve remits sales tax to the revenue authorities.
  

• Q. Do you pay us on amounts, net of taxes?

  A. We pay you based on Net Revenues which is Gross Revenues less Applicable Adjustments. Gross Revenues includes VAT and sales tax, if applicable. Applicable Adjustments include taxes, returns and chargebacks. Net revenue is then multiplied by the revenue share % resulting in the amount to be paid to you, net of applicable withholding taxes. Please refer to the Steam Distribution Agreement which you signed for further details on Revenue Share Payment.
  

• Q. What is my responsibility regarding VAT, sales tax, or other similar taxes?

  A. We can only provide you with information on how we handle VAT and sales taxes. You will need to consult with your tax advisors on your own tax obligations. In the monthly Steam Sales Report which can be viewed on the secure partner site (https://partner.steampowered.com/) under the "Reports Tab", you will find a link at the bottom of the report called "Steam Sales by Country". This may assist you in calculating your own tax obligations, if any.

Current Tax Rates

Steam currently collects the below taxes. Taxes may be inclusive, meaning that they are included in the price; or additive, meaning that they are added at checkout.

In addition to the taxes in this table, we collect sales tax in some US and Canadian jurisdictions. These US and Canadian sales taxes are always additive.

Currently Collected