Set up commercial marketplace payout and tax profiles
Appropriate roles: Owner and Financial Contributor
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:
If you only plan to list free offers, you don't need to fill out any tax forms or set up a payout profile. If you change your mind and decide that you do want to sell through the marketplace, you can fill out tax forms and set up a payout account then.
As best practice you should make sure you have at least two owners assigned as the owner role on the publisher account
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A tax and payout profile submission can take up to 48 hours to validate
In Partner Center, a seller ID only allows for one tax profile and one payment profile mapping at a time:
- Each Payment profile allows one payout currency and one payout country at a time
- Each Tax profile allows one country mapping at a time
It's up to publishers on how accounts are set up and how offers are mapped in Partner Center. To enable your company to have a payment and tax profiles for more than one country, create a seller ID for each country you'd like to enable and complete the associated payment and tax profile for that country.
For details about how and when you'll be paid for the money your offer makes, see Getting paid in the commercial marketplace.
Tax forms
You manage your tax profile and tax forms in the Payout and tax page of Partner Center. (Your organization's permissions determine which profiles and information that you see there.)
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 Partner Center, use the following steps:
Sign in to Partner Center and select the Settings (gear) icon on the top right.
Select Account settings, then select Payout and tax profile assignment on the left navigation menu located at the bottom.
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.
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.
A message might appear, displaying the message "You'll be redirected to another Microsoft site to complete your details." Select Continue.
Select the appropriate Permanent residence country/region and account type, and then select Next.
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.
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.
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."
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.
For a video walkthrough of the steps to set up a tax profile, see the following Mastering of the Marketplace video.
Important
Countries and regions have different tax requirements. The exact amount that you must pay in taxes depends on the countries and regions where you sell your offer. See the Microsoft Azure Marketplace Publisher Agreement to find out for which countries/regions Microsoft remits sales and use tax on your behalf.
In some countries/regions, depending on where you are registered, you might need to remit sales and use tax for your offer sales directly to the local taxing authority.
Proceeds that you receive from app sales might also be taxable as income.
We strongly encourage you to contact the relevant authority for your country or region that can best help you determine the right tax information for your commercial marketplace activities.
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.
Note
A United States Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) isn't required to receive payments from Microsoft or to claim tax treaty benefits.
Tax profiles associated with a valid tax treaty show their Tax treaty status as True under Tax profiles in the Payout and tax profiles section of the Account settings page in Partner Center. In order for tax treaty benefits to apply to a tax profile, Tax Treaty Status must show as True, and the Profile expiration must show a date that has not yet passed.
Payout account
A payout account is the account to which Microsoft sends the proceeds from your sales.
You can use PayPal as your payout account in some markets. For more information, see Payment thresholds, methods, and time frames and Using PayPal as a payment account later in this article.
You can view all the payout accounts that you've entered on the Profile page.
Create a payout profile
To create a payment profile:
Sign in to Partner Center and select the Settings (gear) icon on the top right.
Select Account settings, then under the Payout and tax heading, select Payout and tax profile assignment.
Note
Because financial information is sensitive, you might be prompted to sign in again.
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.
A fly out appears to the right. Select an existing tax profile, and select Edit under the payment profile section.
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.
A message might appear, displaying the message "You'll be redirected to another Microsoft site to complete your details", select Continue.
For a video walkthrough of the steps to set up a payment profile, see the following Mastering of the Marketplace video
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:
On the Bank Profile page, provide the required information about your bank.
Provide your bank account details. (Only alphanumeric characters are accepted for bank account details.)
Provide beneficiary details.
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.
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.
Edit an existing payment profile
To edit existing payment profiles:
- Sign in to Partner Center, select the Settings (gear) icon on the top right.
- Select Account settings, then under the Payout and tax heading, select Payout and tax profiles.
- Your payment profiles are listed along with their status. Find the profile that you want to edit and select Edit at the far right.
Important
Changing your payout account can delay your payments by up to one payment cycle. This delay occurs because Microsoft must verify the account change, just as when you first set up the payout account. You still get paid for the full amount after your account has been verified. Any payments due for the current payment cycle are added to the next payment cycle. For more information, see Getting paid in the commercial marketplace.
Using PayPal as a payment account
In some countries and regions, you can create a payment account by entering your PayPal information. However, before choosing PayPal as a payment account option:
- Check Payment thresholds, methods, and time frames to confirm whether PayPal is a supported payment method in your country or region.
- See the following frequently asked questions.
To create a PayPal payment profile, see Create a PayPal payment profile.
Frequently asked questions about using PayPal as a payment method
Can I use PayPal as a payment option in my country/region?
To find out where PayPal is a supported payment method, see Payment thresholds, methods, and time frames.
What PayPal settings do I need to make to receive payments?
Ensure that your PayPal account doesn't block eCheck payments. This setting is managed in PayPal's Payment Receiving Preferences page. For more information, see PayPal's account setup page.
Does my PayPal account have to be registered in the same country/region as my Partner Center account?
No. When you set up a PayPal account, you can accept the default configuration. You shouldn't have any issues with other countries/regions and currencies unless you've blocked payment in some currencies. This setting is managed in PayPal's Payment Receiving Preferences page.
Do I have to accept PayPal payments manually?
No. PayPal accounts are set by default to require users to accept payments manually. That means if you don't accept the payment within 30 days, it's returned. You can change this setting by turning off Ask Me in PayPal's More Settings page.
What currencies does PayPal support? For the current list of supported currencies, see PayPal's support page.
Create a PayPal payment profile
To create a PayPal payment profile that you can use to receive payouts:
- On the PayPal page, provide the required information about your PayPal account.
- Provide your PayPal account details. (Only alphanumeric characters are accepted for account details.)
- Provide beneficiary details.
- On the Profile assignment page, select the currency that you want Microsoft to use when issuing your payouts.
- You must select a payment profile for each program you participate in. However, you can use the same profile for multiple programs.
- Select Submit to save your changes.
Other requirements for certain countries/regions
In some countries and regions, more requirements for payout accounts must be met.
Note the following requirements if you're a resident of:
Pakistan
Form-R is a Pakistan banking regulatory requirement. It's used to indicate the purpose and reason for receipt of funds from abroad. Therefore, anytime that you're eligible for a monthly payout from Microsoft, you must submit Form-R to your bank before the payout can be released to your account. Contact your local bank branch for instructions about how to obtain a copy of Form-R.
You must submit a Form-R to your bank each month that you're eligible for a payout. For example, if you expect to receive a payout every month of the year, you must submit a Form-R 12 times (once each month).
After a payout is submitted to your bank, you have 30 days to submit a Form-R. If it isn't submitted within 30 days, the funds are returned to Microsoft.
Russia
If you're a publisher who lives in Russia, you might need to provide documentation to your bank before your bank can deposit funds in your account. When you're eligible to be paid, Microsoft provides you with the following documentation in an email message:
- An Acceptance Certificate (AC) that has the amount of the payout being transferred to your account.
- The Microsoft Azure Marketplace Publisher Agreement, which is a signed copy of the publisher agreement that must be countersigned.
To ensure your payout is successful, make sure that:
- The Account holder name entered for your payout account in Partner Center is the exact same name associated with your bank account. For example, if your bank account name includes a middle name, include a middle name in your Account holder name.
- Payouts are transferred directly from Microsoft to your bank account in Ruble (RUB) currency.
- Bank information entered in Partner Center in Latin characters is translated to Cyrillic characters.
- Payouts are made to a bank account and not to a bank card.
Ukraine
If you're a publisher who lives in Ukraine, you might need to provide documentation to your bank before your bank will deposit funds into your account. When you're eligible to be paid, Microsoft provides you with the following documentation in an email message:
- An Acceptance Certificate (AC) that has the amount of payout being transferred to your account.
- The Microsoft Azure Marketplace Publisher Agreement, which is a signed copy of the publisher agreement that must be countersigned.
- An Amendment Agreement (AA), which is a document that your bank can use to help identify your payout funds.
Microsoft provides all three documents when attempting your first payment. For any subsequent payouts, you'll only receive the Acceptance Certificate. Retain the Microsoft Azure Marketplace Publisher Agreement and Amendment Agreement documents in case you need them to receive future payouts from your bank.