Canadian Comedian’s Guide to Filling Out W-BEN for SoundExchange (and Other Royalty Payments from US)

PART I – Explanation of Form

Lines 1 – 4: Self-explanatory If name and address are tripping you up, filling out forms isn’t for you.
Line 5: US Taxpayer Identification Number – This is a number the IRS gives you if you are required to file taxes
in the US but do not have a US Social Insurance Number. If you are a Canadian living in Canada YOU DO NOT
NEED THIS.
Line 6: Foreign Tax Identification Number – This is your Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN)
Line 7: Reference Number – Not required
Line 8: Date of Birth – Self-explanatory but remember to fill it out.

PART II – Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits

Line 9: “Canada” – Normally any payments from the United States would be subject to a 30% withholding
tax- essentially an income tax deduction. Claiming a treaty benefit allows you to not have 30% deducted in
the US because you are going to pay income tax in Canada. If for some reason payment is subjected to a
30% withholding don’t worry! You can claim “foreign tax paid” on your Canadian taxes later – Make sure
whoever does your taxes knows about it.
Line 10: Not Required

Part III – Certification

Sign, date and print your name.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PDF

Canadian Comedian’s Guide to SoundExchange’s International Direct Deposit Form

(IACH- Form-CAN)
Prepared by Craig Fay

Part 1: Getting Started

Why bother?
Before this service was offered, if you were owed royalties by SoundExchange you would be mailed a physical cheque once a quarter (every 3 months). This involved you having to wait for the cheque to arrive by mail and for you to deposit the cheque at an ATM or teller. The money may have then been put on hold by your bank (i.e. can’t spend it) for some time while they verified it with the US bank.

Filling out and submitting this form will allow you to receive SoundExchange royalty payments as direct deposits to your Canadian chequing account.

Benefits of this include:
• Royalty payments will be made monthly (rather then every 3 months)
• Deposits will still be paid in US Dollars but deposited in Canadian dollars (so you still benefit from the exchange rate)
• Reduces the time funds are on hold, so you have access to the money right away (though check with your specific bank)

The goal of this document is to make it as easy for you to fill out this form as possible.

Before you Start:

  1. Register with SoundExchange
  2. Have a chequing account with a Canadian bank. Savings accounts will not work. Unfortunately, Tangerine Chequing does not work with international direct deposit. Other online banks may have the same problem.

*See PDF below

Part 2: Get the Form

  1. 1. Go to https://www.soundexchange.com/artist-copyright-owner/registration-membership/
  2. Click on “International Direct Deposit – Canada”. This will open the appropriate form titled “IACH-Form-CAN”

*See PDF below

Part 3: Fill out the form

Fields outlined in red have further explanation below.

*See PDF below

SoundExchange Payee ID:
Log in to SoundExchange Direct and click on Registrant Name (probably you). The Registrant ID will be displayed beside your name.

*See PDF below

Account Number
This is the account number of YOUR chequing account. Just in case you were thinking of some other account.

Bank Swift Code
This is a code used by banks to facilitate international wire transfers. SoundExchange needs this information to know what bank to send it to. This is different from institution/routing numbers you may have used to set up direct deposit with a job. They can generally be found by Googling your bank name + swift code but I have compiled them here for your convenience.

TD: TDOMCATTTOR
As per TD Website

BMO: BOFMCAM2
As per BMO Website

CIBC: CIBCCATT
As per CIBC Website

RBC: ROYCCAT2
As per RBC Website

Scotia Bank: Every Scotiabank branch has a unique SWIFT code. To make sure that you’re using the correct SWIFT for your needs, call or visit your Scotiabank home branch.

Tangerine: Does not have SWIFT code. International direct deposit is not possible.

Bank ID (Institution # + Transit Number #)

This information is what you normally provide to an employer who is setting up a direct deposit when you give them a void cheque. It should be available on online banking under account info. It can also be read off cheques if you have them.

Here they want the Institution Number and the Transit Number combined in the order shown (Institution # + Transit #) which is different than how it appears on the cheque. See below for a sample cheque, typical of Canadian banks.

*See PDF below

Part 4: Complete

Sign and date the form and email it to the address on the form accounts@soundexchange.com

Congratulations, you’re done!

DOWNLOAD FULL HOW TO PDF HERE

Thank you Craig Fay for putting this information together.