Tax Forms on Teachable

This article goes over what tax forms you’ll submit and receive from Teachable as a US or non-US person or corporation, and how the process works - including W-9, W-8, and 1099 information.

Overview

By law, Teachable is required to collect a tax form from all schools with earnings higher than $100 USD using either teachable:pay or the Monthly Payment Gateway. This is true for both US and non-US persons or corporations.

Once your school has earned more than $100 USD, tax forms will be available within the Settings > Taxes area of the school admin. This tab is only accessible to the Primary Owner of the school.

Within the tax modal, you will have the option to fill out either a Form W-9 or Form W-8 for your school based on your location. US persons or corporations will receive a Form 1099-MISC based on the information filed for the previous tax year.

Forms for US Persons (W-9)

If you’ve set up your school using teachable:pay or the Monthly Payment Gateway, and meet the following criteria, you will be asked to complete a Form W-9:

• You are a U.S. person or entity (including citizens, resident aliens, and entities treated as U.S. persons)
• Your school earned $100 USD or more during the tax year

When your school reaches the $100 USD threshold, a notification banner will appear within your school’s admin instructing you to fill out the appropriate tax form. This will only be visible for the school’s Primary Owner.

To add a new form to your school:

1. Click on the “click here” link text within the banner to see the pop-up tax form modal. Alternatively, you can find the Complete W-8/W-9 Form button in the Settings > Taxes area of your school’s admin.
   
2. A pop-up modal will appear to walk you through the tax form process. 
3. Click No to add a new tax form to your school.
   
   NOTE: For users who have filled out a form previously and wish to use the same form for another school, follow the submit multiple tax forms instructions below.
4. Choose either the W-9 for Individuals or W-9 for Businesses form. Click Continue.
5. You will be directed to a digital W-9 form to file. Click the Get Started button in the top right corner and follow the prompts to complete the form.
   

Forms for Non-US Persons (W-8)

If you’ve set up your school using teachable:pay or the Monthly Payment Gateway, and meet the following criteria, you will be asked to complete a Form W-8 (Form W-8BEN, Form W-8BEN-E, or Form W-8-ECI):

• You are a foreign person or entity
• Your school earns $100 or more during the tax year

When your school reaches the $100 USD threshold, a notification banner will appear within your school’s admin instructing you to fill out the appropriate tax form. This will only be visible for the school’s Primary Owner.

To add a new form to your school:

1. Click on the “click here” link text within the banner to see the pop-up tax form modal. Alternatively, you can find the Complete W-8/W-9 Form button in the Settings > Taxes area of your school’s admin.
   
2. A pop-up modal will appear to walk you through the tax form process. 
3. Click No to add a new tax form to your school.
   
   NOTE: For users who have filled out a form previously and wish to use the same form for another school, follow the submit multiple tax forms instructions below.
4. Choose form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, or W-8-ECI. Click Continue.
5. You will be directed to a digital W-8 form to file. Click the Get Started button in the top right corner and follow the prompts to complete the form.
   

Forms for Authors & Affiliates

Teachable collects tax forms for authors and affiliates if your school meets the following requirements:

• You have BackOffice enabled
• You are using teachable:pay or the Monthly Payment Gateway

Teachable will track what each author/affiliate has been paid. If their earnings exceed $100, they will be asked to complete a tax form through their Author Dashboard or Affiliate Dashboard. They will also receive a Form 1099-MISC, if applicable.

Using Custom Payment Gateways

If you use custom payment gateways to collect student payments, then you are fully responsible for your own taxes and will not submit or receive forms to/from Teachable.

In the case of authors and affiliates, you are responsible for making payments to them, sending tax forms to them if necessary, and handling the reporting. To assist with this, Teachable provides reporting dashboards for you, authors, and affiliates. Go to Transactions > History and filter by Author or Affiliate to see related transactions.

Submit Multiple Tax Forms

If you are required to submit multiple tax forms across multiple schools (e.g. you are both a school owner for one school and an affiliate for another), you only have to fill out a single tax form—which can then be used for all your affiliate schools. To do so:

1. Log in to one of your schools.
2. In your dashboard, click the link in the tax form banner to open the tax form modal.
3. In the tax form modal, click the No button.
4. Upon completion, you’ll receive a Tax Receipt ID. Be sure to save this information, as it’s needed when completing forms for your other schools.

Once you have your Tax Receipt ID, you’ll be able to autocomplete your tax forms for your other schools. To do so:

1. Log in to one of your additional schools where you wish to autocomplete your tax form.
2. In your dashboard, click the link in the tax form banner to open the tax form modal.
3. In the tax form modal, click the Yes button.
4. In the next step, you’ll have two options: Selecting a previously completed tax form or Entering your Tax Receipt ID.

• The Select a previously completed tax form drop-down will list all the completed tax forms associated with your myTeachable account.
• In the Enter your Tax Receipt ID text box, you can enter any Tax Receipt ID you have saved from a completed tax form.

Click Continue.

Form 1099-MISC

For qualified schools on teachable:pay or the Monthly Payment Gateway, you’ll be sent a Form 1099-MISC by the end of January. This form is provided by Track1099, a third party with whom Teachable partners for the preparation and submission of tax forms.

For US Persons

If you are a US person or corporation and are paid more than $600 by Teachable, Teachable is required to file a Form 1099-MISC with the IRS stating what we have paid you. To complete this Form 1099-MISC, we use the information submitted by the Primary Owner on the Form W-9.

There are, however, exceptions to who must be issued a Form 1099-MISC, which include:

• C corporation, S corporation (including LLCs or partnerships that elect to be treated as S- or C-corporations)
• Payments to tax-exempt organizations

For Non-US Persons

If you are a foreign person or corporation, the W-8 form informs the IRS that you are not a US citizen or corporation. In this case, Teachable will not file a Form 1099-MISC on your earnings.

Frequently asked questions

Why don’t I see the tax form option in my admin?

First, please confirm that you are logged in as the Primary Owner of the school. Only the Primary Owner will have access to the Settings > Taxes area of the school admin.

Second, confirm that you have reached the $100 USD earnings threshold. For schools that have made less than $100 USD in earnings, a tax form is not required.

How do I view my past tax forms?

For security, previously submitted tax forms are not available to view from the school admin. If you believe the tax form currently on file is out-of-date, you can log in and contact Teachable Support to request a tax form reset.

Where is my 1099?

All Form 1099-MISC are delivered to the Primary Owner via email. We use Track1099 to provide these forms.

If you did not receive a form and believe you are eligible, please contact 1099@teachable.com for assistance.

What should I do if the information on my 1099 is incorrect?

The information that appears on your Form 1099-MISC is taken directly from the tax form on file within your school. If you have made any changes that need to be updated to your existing tax form or to request an updated Form 1099-MISC, please contact 1099@teachable.com.

The last day to make changes to your tax form is March 18th, 2022 for the 2021 fiscal year.

Which tax form do I fill out?

If you’re unsure how to fill out a tax form required by Teachable, consult a tax professional or visit the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) website. The IRS website provides tax information and services in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese.

To learn more, visit IRS Tax Tips.

We understand that tax forms can be daunting, however, Teachable is not allowed to give tax or financial advice. This includes assisting you in determining which tax form to choose and file.

Will a non-profit organization receive a 1099 MISC form?

Yes, non-profit organizations follow the same rules for sending 1099-MISCs as for-profit corporations.