"W8 - form" for Europeans

[agnieszka-kaczma]

I'm Polish but I live in Cyprus for 6 years. Current I'm not having status of "self employed". I'm also not registered for VAT but I have T.I.C. number ( Taxpayer's Identification Code) used for self assesments (declaration of income) or by employers to declare my taxes here. Also, in Cyprus there is no obligation of self assessment up to certain yearly incomes so I had never needed to submit one either. Do I need to register for VAT to use upwork or I can state myself as "me" and write my T.I.C. number instead? Basically, when I issues receipts to some local clients i didn't need VAT so far here.

[BojanS]

Hi Agnieszka,

It's optional. Upwork won't charge VAT to anyone who has provided a validated VAT number but will charge VAT on the services to freelancers and agencies within the EU unless they provide a valid VAT number. You can find more information here.

You can use your own legal name as it appears in your passport or other official documents to complete the W-8BEN form under Settings> Tax Info, which purpose is to confirm you're not a US taxpayer.

You may need to consult a local tax advisor about proper ways to report your Upwork income to your country's tax authorities. 

Thank you!