Got a US Tax ID (EIN)

One of the downsides of being UK-based and publishing on Amazon Kindle is that they withold US tax unless you leap through hoops to get a US tax identity.

However, it turns out that the hoops aren't so difficult. It was really easy to get the right ID - an Employee Identification Number. It really does take only one phone call to Philadelphia (click for good blog entry on this).

Things that didn't matter when applying for the EIN by phone

• Didn't matter I was sole trader and not a Ltd company
• Didn't need any tax ID number or any other kind of ID

Things I did need

• Full address, which I needed to spell
• Date I started publishing
• Full international phone numner
• Glass of water

Useful to know

• It takes 2 weeks for the EIN to stick!

Overall

The operator I dealt with was  friendly. Thankfully they didn't ask what I publish :)