Applying for your ITIN - US Individual Taxpayer Identification Number

Hi all, 

Over the last few years I’ve been fortunate enough to have my short stories published in various anthologies in both Ireland and the US, including my own collection, The Eleventh Hour. But as some of these anthologies were compiled for the love of writing I didn’t give much thought to the financial side of matters. Back in 2013 circumstances changed when Gentry Publishing, New York, offered me a contract for my first novel I, Vladimir.

So my journey began and in doing so I had to learn what an ITIN was, and obtain one from the United States Internal Revenue Service. Being a non-residential, non-US citizen, the thought of the IRS brought cold sweats and it was one of those tasks I was quite willing to put off. By August it was time to bite the bullet and get it done.

An ITIN stands for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. It is a United States tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service for non-residential, non-US citizens, who are either employed or will be paid by a company registered in the United States.

If you are publishing through a US company, whether Traditional, Indie, or any of the self-publishing services, it would be in your best interest to obtain an ITIN. The reason being is by law, all companies have to withhold a percentage of your royalties for tax purposes (30%), and you could then also be liable for tax within your own country too. By registering with the IRS and obtaining an ITIN you become tax exempt in the United States as long as your citizenship and residential status remains unchanged.

Reading up on how to get an ITIN seemed very daunting, hence another reason I kept putting it off, but in the end I found it a lot more straight forward than I’d first imagined – so I’ll try and keep it simple…

Firstly – Letter.

You will need a signed headed letter from your publisher or agent stating that you have a contract with them. If you are self-publishing, Amazon have one on their site which you download and print off.   Here.

Secondly - Passport.

Ireland has an agreement with the US where you do not have to post your passport, all you need is a letter of authentication from your passport office. You take your passport along to your local passport office, for a charge (€40 approx) they photocopy it and hand you back the photocopy and a stamped letter confirming all the details are correct and that you are indeed whom you claim to be. If you are not an Irish citizen, check with your own passport office to see if there is an agreement in place, otherwise I think you have no option but to send your passport. But I have to say that all documents were returned to me safely.

Thirdly – Application Forms.

You can download the forms directly from the IRS website. There are two to look at, the first which I strongly recommend you read in full is the instruction guide 

 Instrustions For Form W - 7  and the second is the application itself Application Form W - 7 which to be honest is pretty straight forward. Like with all forms, just read through it carefully and take your time.

When you have all documents, do not send in part or incomplete, send by post to:

Department of Treasury,

Internal Revenue Service,

PO Box 149342

Austin, TX 78714-9342

United States of America. 

At the time of writing this all the information given was correct and what I personally had used. I obtained my ITIN on my first attempt, I have read of others that have taken three or more goes.
All I can say is take your time and make sure you have all the necessary documents and have filled everything in.

May I wish you all the best in your writing career and in your application for your ITIN,

Daniel Kaye x

Migraines, Editing, and my Topamax Nightmare.

Hi all, 

Back in October 2013 I received a round of edits from my publisher and when I opened them up, this is how they looked to me, confusing and disjointed. Before my edits were straight forward, A and B would eventually lead to C and so on, but then every time I would open up the document and look at it all I would see was confusion. Luckily, I have a very understanding publisher and editor at Gentry Publishing.

I suffer from migraines daily, with other effects including nausea, dizziness, severe eye pain, and noise sensitivity. I have been on a lot of various medications for this but my GP decided it was time for me to try, Topamax.

For those of you who don’t know much about, Topamax, it is a medication you have to be weaned on and off of. So my instructions were 1 x 25mg daily for a week, upping it by 25mg each week until I got to 100mg and then the GP and I would assess how it was going.

The thing was that almost at once I start to suffer terrible side effects, I felt as if my brain was in a fog. It was as if I had stepped outside of my body and was watching myself but could say or do nothing about it. I found myself repeating sentences over and over because I couldn’t remember if I had said them or not. I felt as if I was driving everybody around me crazy, with my constant apologising for the way I had become. Severe confusion was another side effect of Topamax, which came to head at a GP appointment, where he was asking me questions about how I was getting on with the meds. This is where I found great time for my doctor, he could see what was happening, where at the time I could not. He spoke to my wife, who had told him how confused and withdrawn I had become, and he decided the best course of action was to take me off of Topamax.

I didn’t realise until after I had come off that medication how far I had actually slipped, and in such a short time, but unfortunately the migraines continued and this is where I think the story may be beginning to change…

My daughter was seeing a Physiotherapist for joint pains, and he suggest that she take extra strength vitamin D3 due to living in Ireland and our not so sunny climate, we are all lacking natural vitamin D. He suggested a very high dose of about 5,000 IU. My wife read up on this, and my opinion was whatever makes you happy, so for the last few months we’ve all been on a once a day capsule.

February 2014...

I finally got to see a neurologist, who like my GP agrees that the problem is migraines and his suggestion – you guessed it, Topamax.

I must have looked horrified, I told him of what happened before and he asked me about dosage increases etc. Now I wouldn’t say he was Insistent but he was keen for me to try them again. He suggested starting off with the same dose but increasing at a much slower rate, so I agreed I would try them but would come straight off them again I or my wife saw any of the previous side effects.

So far I am a month in, and this time the side effects aren’t as bad as last time - by a long way. I have the odd day where my brain is in a fog, but I’m not as lost in myself as I was the last time. I haven’t been so lost for words or forgetful, even the tingling in the hands and feet is hardly there. 

Why do I think?

Could it be the vitamin D3?   If so this is going to be of a major help to many. Topamax is known to reduce your natural source of vitamin D which can lead to severe bone and teeth problems.

It’s early days for me this second time around, but I’m feeling a lot better, and have loads more energy, I’m a lot more confident on the Topamax than I was the first time around.

Food for thought? I definitely think so.

All the best,

Daniel Kaye x

Anderson's Gold by Stephen O'Sullivan.

From the first page to the last, Anderson's Gold is a wonderful story that takes us on a journey with so many twists and turns. Stephen O'Sullivan captures the time period and wilderness perfectly, a story with so many heart thumping moments, you cannot wait to turn to the next page. 
Highly recommend reading this. 

Available from Amazon 

ebook 
Paperbook  


And if you're interested here is an interview I did with Stephen O'Sullivan back in August 2013.

A Chat with author Stephen O'Sullivan