Earning site wants me to fill out a W9 tax form
By maezee
@maezee (41985)
United States
June 30, 2016 2:41pm CST
Well I could use your opinion on this. Recently I hit my $500th dollar earned on my very favorite paid survey site Opinion Outpost. There are a limited number of surveys you can complete and sometimes they can lead to good product testing ones or online communities that pay even more, but with this site I have earned just over $500. I received an e-mail saying that if I want to continue earning, since I am in the US and have earned over this amount in the past year, I have to fill out a W9 Tax Form.
Yikes! I never truly know how taxes work with online earning sites. I have never claimed taxes on online earnings and I wasn't really planning to start doing so - but I also haven't been so committed to doing surveys like I have in the past six months. So I am left in a connundrum.
I can either STOP working on this site entirely and focus my energy into another GPT site (I am a member of a few) or find another survey site similar to Opinion Outpost. It's my favorite currently, always seems to offer much more surveys than GPT sites without having to deal with re-routing surveys. (Those really bug me and I feel like I don't always qualify for those). Or, I can continue on Opinion Outpost and probably pay taxes at the end of the year.
What would you do in my shoes? Any words of wisdom?
5 people like this
6 responses
@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
30 Jun 16
Depends what percentage of tax you'd pay and is it worth it for the time.
Going by the book we in the UK need to declare earnings but I doubt anyone does.
@maezee (41985)
• United States
30 Jun 16
I know that if a company here submits a tax form we will be required to also claim it. Otherwise it could show up on an audit. My taxes - are usually - they take about 26% of my paychecks, as far as normal income tax goes. So I guess earning $500 would put me out around $100 in the hole? If that makes sense....Gah!
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
30 Jun 16
@maezee then you'll just have to decide if it's worth it or not.
@maezee (41985)
• United States
30 Jun 16
Ah, that's probably a very wise choice of you. I guess I need to learn up on the official rules, as I always thought it was under $599 and you didn't have to claim taxes or something like that. It's my favorite site, really, so I think I'll probably continue on it anyway.
1 person likes this
@skysnap (20152)
•
30 Jun 16
@maezee yes. I am in asia. but I pay taxes for both US and government here. We have to fill W8BEN with amazon and few other sites where I earn online. Anything above 500$ per year needs to have tax document to be filled. if there is 100$ per month then that is total 1200$ per year which is also taxable.
@Wordly1 (470)
• Kingston, New Hampshire
30 Jun 16
All money earning sites are compelled by law to report to IRS earnings paid out to their subscribers. In most cases, you can earn up to $600. per year, whether it's on one site or a combination thereof, before having to pay taxes If you've earned that amount or more over the past one or two years, you need to fill a W9 before IRS catches up to you and you end up paying taxes plus penalties.
@Wordly1 (470)
• Kingston, New Hampshire
30 Jun 16
@maezee A good way to find out what the total amount you made for the year would be to check out Pay Pal or wherever the site issues the payments to. Find out the total amount, then, you can make a decision as to whether you want to earn more or stop. It sounds as though Opinion Outpost figures you've either hit the non-taxable limit or you are about to. In any case, it wouldn't hurt to fill out a W9; that will allow the site to send you a 1099 at the end of the year if you have taxable income.
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
30 Jun 16
You have to report to IRS any earnings over $400. The business you are dealing with will report your earnings. I was as surprised as you when I discovered this. You have already earned money that will have to be reported on your income tax return. The tax is less than paycheck earnings as your online earnings are being taxed for Social Security.
@maezee (41985)
• United States
1 Jul 16
Got it, thank you. I have been hearing all different amounts from different people, some saying any money at all earned, others saying $500, others saying $600. If $400 is the case then I have already passed that and will have to pay anyway. I just wonder why they sent me this e-mail and restricted me from cashing out right after I reached that $500 mark. Seems like every place does it different. Thanks for your info!!
@miniam (9151)
• Bern, Switzerland
30 Jun 16
I`d stop working there for the rest of the year then start again next year at Nil.I dont know how taxes work at your place,how much do you think you`ll have to pay for the $500 earned?
Remember,you earned the $500 over months so maybe you have already used the whole amount,but you`ll have to pay whatever the percentage all at once.
