When and how YouTube earnings arrive: AdSense and US tax for Arab creators

After joining the Partner Program, creators ask: “Why haven't my YouTube earnings arrived?”, “What is the PIN that comes in the mail?” and “Do I pay US tax if I am not American?” The answers are spread over ten help pages; here we gather them in one order from the official sources.

When do YouTube earnings arrive?

YouTube earnings arrive once a month, on a fixed schedule. These are its stops:

A YouTube example: if your balance reaches $100 in June, payment is issued by 26 July at the latest. If your balance falls short or your account has a payment hold, you are not paid that month and the balance rolls over to the next. YouTube cannot issue a payment outside the schedule.

Estimated earnings in YouTube Analytics fluctuate because of invalid traffic, Content ID claims and some campaign types. Finalized earnings appear only in your AdSense for YouTube account, and withheld tax may reduce them.

What is the payment threshold?

The YouTube payment threshold is $100, and it varies by reporting currency. The official page also sets a threshold for choosing a payment method, and a verification threshold equivalent to $10.

The YouTube page does not list the Saudi riyal, Kuwaiti dinar or Qatari riyal. Check the Payments page in your account for your threshold.

What are the steps to your first payment?

A first payment needs four steps in order, and a payment is usually late because one of them is incomplete. YouTube also requires that monetization is not suspended or paused and that your channel follows the monetization policies:

1. Verify your identity and address. At the verification threshold you may verify your identity online in some places; otherwise a PIN is sent by standard post to your payment address, which can take 3 to 4 weeks. Enter it in your AdSense for YouTube account.
2. Submit your US tax info. Every creator in the program must, wherever they live, and without it up to 24% of your worldwide earnings may be withheld.
3. Choose a payment method when you reach its selection threshold. What is available depends on your payments address, and the payment currency cannot be changed afterwards.
4. Reach the payment threshold by the 20th of the month with no hold on the account.

Which payment methods are available in your country?

Payment methods depend on the payments address in your account. In the Arab countries listed on YouTube's page, wire transfer and check are available in every country, and EFT in four of them only. Hyperwallet is not available in any listed Arab country.

Each method has an arrival time after payment is issued: EFT up to 7 business days, wire transfer up to 15 business days, and check 2 to 4 weeks with no tracking. Wire has a condition: your bank must be in the same country as the address in your payments settings, or the SWIFT code is not accepted.

What is the US tax on my earnings?

US tax is withheld only on earnings from viewers in the United States, not all your earnings, once you have submitted your tax info. These earnings include ads, YouTube Premium, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks and Channel Memberships. The income tax law of your own country may still apply to your earnings.

YouTube illustrates this with an example: a creator in India with $1,000 total earnings, $100 of it from US viewers. With no tax info $240 is deducted; with tax info and a treaty benefit $15; with tax info and no treaty $30.

Neither YouTube nor Google gives tax advice. YouTube says a tax treaty may reduce the rate and that you should confirm your eligibility with your tax adviser. This article explains YouTube's rules and is not tax advice.

How do I submit the tax form?

You submit the tax form from your AdSense for YouTube account, and the system picks the right form from your answers. For individuals outside the US it is the W-8BEN, for entities outside the US the W-8BEN-E, and for US persons the W-9.

1. Sign in to your AdSense for YouTube account and click Payments, then Payments info.
2. Click Manage settings, scroll to Payments profile and click edit next to United States tax info.
3. Click Manage tax info and follow the guide to select your form. Write your legal name exactly as in your documents, and select every income type the treaty applies to: Other Copyright Royalties and Services.
4. Check the form status is a green Approved. Review takes up to 7 business days, and you may be asked for a document.

• Submit the form, and claim any treaty benefit, by 10 December each year.
• The form expires at the end of the third full calendar year after the year you signed, and you will be asked to resubmit.
• Creators who submit tax info and receive eligible payments get a Form 1042-S on or before 14 April for the previous year.
• Common causes of a form going into review: a legal name that does not match your payments profile, a US address on a W-8 form, or a PO box as a permanent residence.

What if my channel is in an MCN?

If your channel is an affiliate of an MCN, its revenue is still paid to the network and any tax is withheld from that payment, and you must submit your own tax info in the AdSense for YouTube account linked to your channel. The withheld amount does not appear in YouTube Analytics, so you calculate it yourself, and the network receives a monthly report of total US taxes withheld.

So ask any YouTube partner or network for three things in writing: the date your earnings are transferred to you, a monthly statement showing gross, deductions and net, and the report of US taxes withheld for your channel. These are the standards we consider the minimum. Injaz Digital is an official YouTube partner: our partners receive clear regular reports, and we have over 15 years in the Arab market.

Why is my payment late?

A YouTube payment is usually late for one of these official reasons, so check them in order:

• Your balance did not reach the threshold by the 20th, so it rolls over to next month.
• There is a payment hold on your account, or you changed details after the 20th and it only applies next cycle.
• You have not entered the PIN mailed after address verification.
• Your tax info is missing or not yet approved.
• Your AdSense and AdSense for YouTube accounts are separate, each with its own threshold, and both must reach theirs.
• Monetization is suspended or paused, or monetization policies were breached.
• Payment was issued but is in transit: EFT up to 7 business days, wire up to 15 business days.

Why choose Injaz Digital to manage and protect your channel?

• An official YouTube partnership: monetization, rights protection through Content ID and channel optimization, in one place.
• Over 4.1 billion views across partner channels, and over a million videos under our management every month.
• We handle claims and disputes for you, and send you clear regular reports.
• Over 15 years in the Arab market, with offices in Cairo, Dubai and Riyadh.

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