Ongoing Paperwork
January 12th, 2009
This will only really be of use to anyone reading from outside the US but wanting to sell games on the App Store. I’m finally (after about 8 hours) in a position to submit all my forms to finalize the contract to sell my App via iTunes. NOTE: I’m not actually even trying to put my app on the App Store yet, I’m just trying to get all the paperwork ready for when the game is done. I want to have everything ready so that the submission process is as painless as I can make it.
These are roughly the steps I went through today:
- Logged into iTunes Connect
- Entered “Manage Your Contracts” (you’ll see that you have a contract for free apps already set up, but that you need to create one for paid apps. Create one)
- Printed and read through the entire app contract
- Agreed to the contract
- Printed and filled out the GST tax form (GST506 E) that they link to at the bottom of the “Manage Your Contracts” page (Note: this needs to be MAILED to Apple in California) – I would assume there are other forms if you’re in a different country.
- Filled out my Contact Info (straightforward)
- Filled out my Banking Info (see Follow-Up blog post for info on Canadian Transit Numbers)
- Started filling out my Tax Info
- Discovered that I needed a US Employer Identification Number
- Searched around the IRS website and found the most up-to-date SS-4 form (that allows you to request an EIN)
- Filled out the SS-4 form and realised I might have to mail it to the IRS
- Searched around again and found a phone number (Note: this is a TOLL number – you pay long distance for calling it) here: IRS Applying for an EIN (You want the international phone number listed there)
- Called the number, waited on hold for 10 minutes (long distance) and was disconnected
- Redialed and was put straight through to a person
- They took all my information and issued me an EIN over the phone. Hooray!
- Filled out the rest of the Tax Info page back in iTunes Connect (and read through dozens of pages of international tax treaty laws to try to find the info I needed)
- Finally, submitted the information
- Received an email from iTunes Connect with a government form filled out with the information I had just entered
- Was informed that this form also need to be MAILED to Apple.
At this point my contract seems to be in limbo until I submit both of these forms to Apple via the mail system. I’m glad I didn’t go to the post office before I completed the Tax Info part of the process, as they don’t tell you that you’ll need to mail it in until you’re finished filling out the form.
If you’re about to go through the process, I’d set aside about a day to get all the forms filled out and ready to mail…and good luck!
Owen