One thing nobody has mentioned yet - make sure the record label has your correct address in Denmark! I had issues because my management company was in the UK, but I was personally based in Norway. The label kept applying the UK tax treaty instead of the Norwegian one. You might also want to check if your specific type of music production work actually counts as "royalties" under the treaty definition. Sometimes certain production fees are considered "personal services" instead, which fall under different articles with different withholding rates.

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this exact situation last year with Swedish royalties. I'm a songwriter/producer based in Stockholm and had similar confusion with the W-8BEN form. The key thing that helped me was understanding that Sweden actually has one of the best tax treaties with the US for creative professionals. Article 12 does indeed provide for 0% withholding on copyright royalties, but you need to be very specific about how you describe your income. For your advance payment, even though it's upfront money, it's still considered a royalty payment under the treaty since it's directly tied to the use of your copyrighted work. Make sure you emphasize in any correspondence with the label that this is copyright-related income, not just general production services. One tip: if your track involves both composition and production elements, you might want to clarify with the label how they're categorizing the different components of your payment. Sometimes they split these out differently for their own accounting purposes. Also, don't stress too much about getting it perfect on the first try. Most major US labels have dealt with international producers before and their accounting departments can usually help clarify if there are any issues with your form submission.

Has your daughter already started working there? If not, this could be a huge red flag about how they run their business. A company that misclassifies employees might also cut corners on other important things like safety, breaks, or paying minimum wage.

You're absolutely right to be concerned - this is a clear case of employee misclassification. The IRS has a simple test: if the employer controls what work is done, how it's done, and when it's done, then the worker is an employee. Your daughter will have set hours, receive training, wear their uniform, and work under their supervision - that's textbook employee status. I'd recommend having your daughter politely explain that she believes she should be classified as an employee and ask for a W-4 instead. She can mention that the IRS guidelines for her type of work arrangement indicate employee status. Most small businesses make this mistake out of confusion rather than malicious intent. If they refuse to correct it, you can file IRS Form SS-8 to get an official determination. But in most cases, a friendly conversation with the employer about the proper classification resolves the issue quickly.

Is paying for a service like Claimyr really necessary though? According to Internal Revenue Manual section 21.1.3.3, taxpayers are entitled to status information on their returns without incurring additional costs. Per the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (IRC § 7803(a)(3)), we have the right to quality service and to be informed. Couldn't one just call early in the morning when wait times are shorter?

Have you actually tried calling the IRS recently? I'm curious about your experience if so. In theory, calling early makes sense, but in practice, the situation is quite different this tax season. I called at 7:01am last Tuesday (one minute after they opened) and still got the "due to high call volume" message and was disconnected. Tried again at 7:05am - same result. By 7:30am, I finally got into the queue but waited 2 hours and 47 minutes before speaking to someone. While you're absolutely right about taxpayer rights in principle, the practical reality is that the IRS is severely understaffed relative to call volume. What was your experience when you tried calling?

If you're trying to avoid giving personal info to random websites, you can also find the W9 by googling "IRS forms" and then clicking on the official IRS.gov website. Never enter "free W9 form" in Google because those top results are usually ads from third-party sites trying to collect your information or sell you services. Always make sure you're on the actual .gov domain before downloading or filling anything out!

Great advice from everyone here! Just wanted to add that if you're using a mobile device, the IRS website can be a bit clunky to navigate. I found it easier to search for "IRS Form W-9" directly in my phone's browser and look for the irs.gov result. The PDF downloads fine to your phone and you can fill it out using most PDF apps. Also, pro tip - take a screenshot of the completed form before sending it, just in case you need to reference it later or the recipient claims they never got it. Has saved me from having to re-fill forms multiple times!

Quick question - does anyone know if you'll get all the refunds as separate checks? Or do they combine them somehow? I'm trying to figure out how to track everything if I file amendments for multiple years.

Just wanted to add some important details about the deadlines that weren't mentioned - you generally have 3 years from the original due date of the return (or the date you filed if later) to file an amended return to claim a refund. For your 2020 return, that deadline would be April 15, 2024 (or October 15, 2024 if you filed an extension). Since we're now in 2025, you might have missed the window for 2020 unless there are special circumstances. I'd definitely check with a tax professional or call the IRS to confirm whether you can still amend that 2020 return. The 2021 and 2022 returns should still be within the amendment period though. Also, don't forget that if you do get refunds from these amended returns, you might owe tax on any state tax refund you received in subsequent years (if you itemized deductions). It's a small detail but worth keeping in mind!