Setting up the Paid Apps Agreement in App Store Connect feels like the last formality: the LLC exists, the EIN has arrived, a US address is on file. Then the tax form screen loads and there is exactly one option — Form W-9, pre-filled with the LLC's name and US address, plus a warning that once you submit, you can't change anything.
If you are a non-US founder who owns the LLC, that W-9 is not your form. This article is the answer we now give every founder who hits this screen, including the exact questions they ask while staring at it ("which Type of Beneficial Owner should I pick?", "do I enter the EIN?") and the support email that gets it fixed.
Why a W-9 is the wrong form for a foreign-owned LLC
Form W-9 exists for one job: letting a US payer collect the taxpayer ID of a US person. The certification at the bottom says it plainly — by signing, you declare under penalties of perjury that "I am a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person." The IRS instructions are equally blunt: foreign persons should not submit a W-9 and should use the appropriate Form W-8 instead.
"But my LLC is a US company" — yes, and it doesn't matter. A single-member LLC that hasn't elected corporate taxation is a disregarded entity: for US tax purposes it is transparent, and its income belongs to its owner. If you, the owner, are not a US person, the beneficial owner behind this "US company" is a foreign individual. Apple's system sees a US entity with a US address and an EIN and hands over the US-person paperwork; it doesn't know who stands behind the LLC.
Signing the W-9 anyway creates two real problems:
- A false certification. You'd be declaring under penalty of perjury that the owner behind this form is a US person. That's not a typo you can quietly fix later — the form explicitly locks after submission, and unwinding it means going through Apple support and explaining a knowingly false IRS certification.
- The wrong tax treatment. Non-US developers' App Store earnings are withheld as US-source royalty income. With no valid W-8 on file, the default withholding rate is 30%. With a W-8BEN claiming the US–China tax treaty, the royalty rate drops to 10% (see the IRS tax treaty tables). Filing a W-9 throws away the treaty position your actual tax situation entitles you to.
A wrong or disputed tax form doesn't just sit there, either — it can hold up payouts until Apple has correct documentation on file.
The form you should file: W-8BEN
Per the IRS instructions for Form W-8BEN, a disregarded entity does not submit the form itself. If the single owner is a foreign individual who is not claiming treaty benefits as a hybrid entity, the owner completes the form with their own name and information. The LLC's name (and account number) goes in as reference information on line 7.
For the most common case — a Chinese individual who owns 100% of a US single-member LLC — here's how the form maps out:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Line 1: Name of beneficial owner | Your own name (the foreign individual), as shown on your passport |
| Line 2: Country of citizenship | China (or your country of citizenship) |
| Line 3: Permanent address | Your home address in your country of residence — not the LLC's registered agent address |
| Line 4: Mailing address | Leave blank if same as line 3 |
| Line 5: U.S. taxpayer ID (SSN or ITIN) | Leave blank unless you personally have an SSN or ITIN (most non-US founders don't) |
| Line 6a: Foreign tax ID | Your foreign TIN — for Chinese residents, the resident ID number works |
| Line 7: Reference numbers | The LLC's name (and its EIN if the platform asks for the entity's number here) |
| Part II: Treaty claim | Country: China. For royalties, the US–China treaty rate is 10% |
Three variations worth knowing:
- The owner is a foreign company, not an individual → the owner files W-8BEN-E instead.
- The LLC elected corporate taxation (a C-Corp election) → this article no longer applies to you; the entity itself is a US taxpayer and files corporate returns. See C-Corp vs LLC for indie SaaS for how that election changes the picture.
- You don't have the LLC's EIN yet → get that first; Apple's flow and the W-8BEN reference line both lean on it. How to get an EIN without an SSN.
The two questions you were about to ask
They came up while staring at that form, so let's answer them directly.
"Type of Beneficial Owner" — which one do I pick? None. That dropdown belongs to the W-9's world of US tax classifications, and a foreign beneficial owner isn't in it. There is no "right" answer to pick here — the correct move is to not fill this form at all and get the W-8BEN instead. (For what it's worth, a disregarded entity isn't an "exempt payee" either, so don't tick that box hoping it helps.)
"Do I enter the EIN?" The EIN is real — it identifies the LLC, and Apple's form will happily accept it. But putting it on a W-9 certifies, under the EIN, that the beneficial owner is a US person. That's precisely the false certification described above. On a W-8BEN, the LLC's EIN isn't a required field at all; it surfaces only as reference info (line 7) or wherever Apple explicitly asks for the entity's EIN.
How to actually get the W-8BEN option
Apple's standard tax information flow lists W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, and W-8ECI as the forms for developers outside the US, with an interview that steers you to the right one. So the machinery exists — your session just got routed down the W-9 path, likely because the account's profile (US entity, US address) screams "US person" to the system.
What to do, in order:
Don't submit the W-9. Remember the warning on that screen — after submission you can't change it yourself.
Contact Apple through developer.apple.com/contact or the Contact Us option in App Store Connect help. Explain the entity structure and ask for the W-8BEN flow. This email works:
Already submitted a W-9? Same contact path, but say it explicitly: ask Apple to replace the W-9 with a W-8BEN filed by the foreign beneficial owner.
Frequently asked questions
I have no SSN and no ITIN. Can I still file a W-8BEN? Yes. Line 5 (US taxpayer ID) is only for people who actually have an SSN or ITIN. For treaty benefits, the foreign TIN on line 6a — your Chinese resident ID number — is what matters.
Will Apple withhold 30% of my earnings? Not if the W-8BEN with a valid treaty claim is on file — for China, the royalty withholding rate is 10%. Without proper documentation, the default rate is 30%.
Do other platforms have the same problem? The W-9-vs-W-8 confusion is universal — Stripe, Google Play, and AWS all run tax interviews with the same logic. The difference is that most of them let you redo the interview yourself when you pick the wrong branch; Apple's form locks after submission, which is why the "stop and check first" advice matters more here.
Is the W-8BEN a one-time thing? No — it generally expires at the end of the third calendar year after signing. And it's not the only compliance duty that comes with a foreign-owned LLC: Form 5472 is due annually (yes, even at zero revenue), with a $25,000 penalty for missing it. Wyoming LLC annual compliance covers the full calendar.
Starting with the right first step — forming the US LLC in the right order — prevents most of these wrong-form situations downstream. The tax form is the last place you want to improvise.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Your situation may have specifics (multi-member LLCs, corporate elections, other treaties) that change the answer — when in doubt, ask a cross-border tax professional. Last reviewed: 2026-09.
