- Stock Contributor User guide
- Why contribute to Adobe Stock
- Create and manage your account
- Legal guidelines
- Content requirements
- Content Policy: Artist Names, real known people, fictional characters
- Vector requirements
- Single icons and icon sheets
- Video requirements
- Generative AI requirements
- PNG files with transparency requirements
- Illustrative editorial requirements
- Motion graphics templates requirements
- Design template requirements
- Premium and 3D collections
- Diverse and Inclusive content guidelines
- Photo and illustration requirements
- Prepare and upload your content
- Describe your content effectively
- Review process
- Payment and taxes
Get tax details based on your citizenship, and read frequently asked questions about taxes and Adobe Stock.
General tax FAQs
If you have not previously received a 1099 via our electronic download form, a paper copy will be mailed via USPS to the address on file in your Adobe Stock contributor account. Or, you can download a copy of your 1099 HERE. Please note that using the electronic download form will prevent future paper copies being sent via USPS.
Please email ap@adobe.com if you are having issues downloading your 1099.
If you sign your tax form more than 2 hours after initially opening it, the tax form cannot be validated and will remain in the draft state. Please start a new tax form and be sure to submit it within two hours of opening. Please note that you must wait at least two hours after having signed the current, draft form before you can start over.
No. You need to complete the tax form online in the Tax Center located in the contributor account section of the Adobe Stock contributor portal.
Don’t insert decimals in the WHT rate. For example, use 10% instead of 10.00%.
First, access the table contained HERE. Then, find the respective line containing your country of residency. For the withholding rate, look under the column "Motion Picture/TV" for videos and column "Images and others" for others. Use column "Treaty Article" for your article/paragraph citation in form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E.
The system is not allowing you to fill out this section because -under the Tax Treaty between the U.S. and your country of residence-all types of royalties are withheld at exactly the same rate. Therefore, you do not need to specify the rate in the form. The correct withholding tax rate will automatically apply. The system only allows contributors to fill out this section if they are from a country where they will need to specify what rate they are claiming. In your case, that section is removed for simplicity.
Yes. You can email adobetax@adobe.com to request a signed statement showing royalties earned and withholding tax (WHT) for any year.
When you earn royalties, taxes (if applicable) are automatically withheld and sent directly to the IRS by the tax team.
No, the validated form and appropriate withholding tax rate is only applicable to future transactions.
- Adobe Canada Services Corporation 2022 Tax Residency Certificate
- Adobe Canada Services Corporation 2023 Tax Residency Certificate
- Adobe Canada Services Corporation 2024 Tax Residency Certificate
- Adobe USA 2022 Tax Residency Certificate
- Adobe USA 2023 Tax Residency Certificate
- Adobe USA 2024 Tax Residency Certificate
Visit the tax center found in the contributor account menu in the Adobe Stock contributor portal.
Visit this page to view information on tax withholding rates for countries with tax treaties with the US. Information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed to be up to date.
Adobe Canada Services Corporation, the payor, is under the QI (Qualified Intermediary) program. As guided by the QI agreement section 8.03(B), QI is required to report only pooled Forms 1042-S, and not individual Forms 1042-S. You can reach out to adobetax@adobe.com to receive an annual earnings statement.
Please see here for detailed information on how to submit a payment request.
Adobe Stock team members can’t advise you on individual tax issues or how to fill out forms. For help with technical issues, email adobetax@adobe.com
FAQs for US citizens and registered aliens.
Tax overview
Licensing creative content is an economic activity. As an Adobe Stock contributor, income derived from your sales is subject to US backup withholding tax if the proper tax form discussed below is not provided to Adobe.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is the US government agency responsible for tax collection and tax law compliance. As a US company, we—and our contributors—must comply with US tax law and provide the IRS with the appropriate withholding tax remittance and reporting as applicable. The tax form you will fill out is necessary to prevent US backup withholding tax from applying on your income.
The information below helps you determine which tax form is applicable to your situation. We encourage you to follow the steps below and to contact a tax/legal advisor for definitive advice.
Note:
We have provided the information below as general guidelines and cannot provide tax advice. Without a valid form, all contributor income is subject to backup withholding tax of 24%.
Review your profile
Ensure that all your information is up to date by reviewing your profile on your Contributor Account page. False information results in the non-validation of your form and subjects you to backup withholding taxes on your income.
Submit your tax forms
Tax forms must be filled out and signed digitally on your Contributor Account page. Forms must be updated following any life event that affects your taxes, such as marriage, name change, divorce, or creating or dissolving a company. The system leads you through a series of options to help you choose the right form. Then you can fill it out, e-sign and submit it directly through the Contributor portal.
Individuals and LLC, partnerships, or corporations
W9 form: US tax residents typically should submit a Form W-9 so that we don't withhold taxes on your Adobe Stock income. A valid Form W-9 requires a US SSN, EIN, or ITIN.
End of year
At the end of each year, we are required to report any backup withholding tax related to Adobe Stock income from such year to the IRS. We supply individuals who have earned more than $10 with a Form 1099 that specifies your earnings. We do not supply a Form 1099 to corporations. Earnings are reported (and subject to backup withholding tax, if the proper tax form is not provided to Adobe) regardless of whether you have requested a payout. You only pay taxes on this income once, you do not need to pay a second time when you withdraw the funds.
U.S. individual and corporate contributors must complete Form W-9.
Until you complete this procedure and the appropriate form is validated, your Adobe income will be subject to automatic withholding at the appropriate tax rate. By submitting the applicable form, you may benefit from a reduced or zero withholding rate on your income.
Complete a W-9 offline (not in the Tax Center) and email it to adobetax@adobe.com. We’ll email your form to our IT department to manually override the system so you can benefit from the 0% tax rate.
Download your 1099 using Adobe’s request form.
Yes. Email your request to adobetax@adobe.com. Also, update your address in your Contributor Account profile to ensure that you receive a paper copy automatically next year.
The Adobe Stock system is set up so that you receive a 1099 based on the royalties you earn each year. We do this for several reasons:
It prevents Contributors from “hoarding” royalties and only cashing them out when they feel like paying taxes on them.
Earning royalties constitutes “constructive receipt” based on IRS rules.
Even though Contributors can’t cash out until they have at least US$25, they can technically close their accounts and receive their royalties.
Don’t forget: Royalties are taxed the year you earn them. They aren’t taxed again when you remove the funds.
Tax overview
Licensing creative content is an economic activity. As an Adobe Stock contributor, income derived from your sales in the US is subject to US withholding tax unless such tax is reduced under the tax treaty.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is the US government agency responsible for tax collection and tax law compliance. As a US company, we—and our contributors—must comply with US tax law and provide the IRS with the appropriate withholding tax remittance and reporting. The tax forms you will fill out are necessary to determine if US withholding tax should be applied on your income.
The information below helps you determine which tax form is applicable to your situation. We encourage you to follow the different steps below and to contact a tax/legal advisor for definitive advice. If you are an US tax resident, see Tax basics for US citizens and registered aliens instead.
Note:
We have provided the information below as general guidelines and cannot provide tax advice. Without a valid form, all contributor income is subject to maximum withholding tax of 30%.
Ensure that all your information is up to date by reviewing your profile on your Contributor Account page. False information results in non-validation of your form and subjects you to maximum withholding taxes on your income.
Tax forms must be filled out and signed digitally on your Contributor Account page. Tax forms must be submitted to Adobe Stock. Forms must be updated following any life event that affects your taxes, such as marriage, name change, divorce, or creating or dissolving a company. Submit your tax forms by going to your Contributor Account page. The system leads you through a series of options to help you choose the right form.
Note:
Regardless of your country, the tax form must be filled out in English. If you have trouble understanding English, you may want to Google for translations of the tax forms to use as guidance. We recommend to contact a tax/legal advisor for definitive advice.
If you are a resident of a country that has a tax treaty with the US: you typically submit Form W-8BEN, which enables non-US tax resident contributors to claim reduced or no US withholding tax under the tax treaty between your country and the US. Please note that withholding rates for video can differ from other file types.
See Withholding rates by country.
If you are a resident of a country that has no tax treaty with the US: you typically submit Form W-8 BEN. A 30% withholding tax is applicable on all sales.
Form W-8 expires on the last day of the third succeeding calendar year after the form is signed (for example, if the form is signed on August 1, 2021, such form expires on December 31, 2024). You are responsible for submitting a new form on your Contributor Account page when the form is close to expiration. Otherwise, the maximum withholding tax will start to apply to your income upon expiration.
LLC, a partnership, or a corporation
If you are an LLC, a partnership, or a corporation and your entity is not organized under US law, you should determine which W-8 form corresponds to your situation.
To determine which W-8 form corresponds to your situation, contact a tax advisor to help you submit the appropriate form.
The same form expiration rule applies to LLC, partnership and corporation. Refer to discussion under Individuals section above.
At the end of each year, we are required to report all income derived from US sales from that year as well as any US withholding tax to the IRS. We provide a letter to report statistics for the year for local tax purposes upon request to adobetax@adobe.com. Earnings are reported and taxable (if not otherwise reduced in accordance with tax treaty) regardless of whether you have requested a payout. You only pay taxes on this income once, you do not need to pay a second time when you withdraw the funds.
FAQs for non-U.S. citizens.
If you’re a foreign individual contributor: Form W-8BEN
If you’re a foreign corporate contributor: Form W-8BEN-E
Until you complete this procedure and the appropriate form is validated, your Adobe income will be subject to automatic withholding at the appropriate tax rate. By submitting the applicable form, you may benefit from a reduced or zero withholding rate on your income.
No, a US or foreign TIN is not required to file a valid W-8 and benefit from the tax treaty between your country and the US. (Normally you’d need a TIN, but we have a special agreement with the IRS that enables you to file a W-8 without the TIN.)
Yes, you need to complete the tax form in order to request a payout.
Because of a special agreement we have with the IRS, we don't issue 1042-S forms separately to each Contributor. However, we can provide a signed document that includes earnings and amount of withholding if you email us a request at adobetax@adobe.com
See this article to find information about withholdings rate in your country.