W-8BEN Form Pakistan: YouTube and AdSense Steps

Last updated: October 31, 2026

If you earn from YouTube or Google AdSense in Pakistan, Google will ask you for a US tax form. For most Pakistani creators this is the W-8BEN form. Many people ignore the red warning in their payments page, because it looks scary and confusing. This W-8BEN form Pakistan guide explains in simple English what the form is, why Google needs it, how to fill it step by step, and which mistakes to avoid.

Please note: We are not tax advisers, and Google also says it cannot give tax advice. This guide explains the official process and what the screens ask. It is not tax advice. For your own tax situation, speak to a qualified tax professional in Pakistan.

What Is the W-8BEN Form?

W-8BEN is a US tax form for non-US individuals. It tells the US tax system that you are not a US citizen or resident, which country you live in, and whether a tax treaty between that country and the United States applies to you. Google uses the form to decide how much US tax, if any, it must withhold from your payments.

Google needs it because it is a US company and must follow US tax rules. Every monetizing YouTube creator, wherever they live, has to provide tax information, according to YouTube Help.

What Happens If You Do Not Submit It?

According to YouTube Help, if you do not provide tax information, Google may withhold up to 24% of your total worldwide earnings as backup withholding for an individual account. If you do submit it, the withholding on earnings from viewers in the United States can range from 0% to 30%, depending on whether your country has a tax treaty with the US and what type of income you earn.

This is why the red banner in AdSense says that Google may withhold part of your payout or hold payments until a new form is approved. It is not a penalty. It is a request to complete a form.

Which Form Should You Choose?

Form	Who uses it
W-9	US persons and US companies
W-8BEN	Non-US individuals (most Pakistani creators)
W-8BEN-E	Non-US companies or entities
W-8ECI, W-8IMY, W-8EXP	Special cases, such as income from a US business or certain organisations

Google’s tax tool guides you to the right form, so you do not have to pick it blindly. Choose “Individual” if you earn as yourself.

Before You Start: Keep These Ready

• Your legal name, exactly as it is on your CNIC and in your payments profile.
• Your permanent residence address, written in English letters only. A PO box or “care of” address is not accepted as a permanent residence.
• A foreign tax ID (TIN) if you want to claim a treaty benefit. Google says you must give either a foreign TIN or a US TIN for this. It does not say which Pakistani number is accepted, so check with a tax adviser or the Federal Board of Revenue before you enter it.
• A few quiet minutes, because the form has about seven short steps.

W-8BEN Form Pakistan: How to Submit It Step by Step

YouTube Help describes the path for AdSense for YouTube accounts. The website AdSense account has a similar path.

1. Sign in to AdSense (or AdSense for YouTube).
2. Open Payments, then Payments info, and click Manage settings.
3. Under “Payments profile”, click edit next to United States tax info, then click Manage tax info.
4. Follow the guide. The first screens ask whether you are an individual, your country of citizenship and your tax ID.
5. Complete the steps in order: Tax identity, Address, Tax treaty, Activities in the US, Tax reporting, Document preview, Certify and sign.

Step 1: Tax identity

Enter your name as it appears on your ID. Leave the “DBA” (doing business as) field empty if you are an individual. Choose Pakistan as your country of citizenship. Enter your foreign TIN if you are claiming a treaty benefit. Leave the US ITIN or SSN field empty if you do not have one.

Step 2: Address

Your permanent residence address and mailing address should be correct and in English letters. YouTube Help also says to keep your permanent residence address and legal address identical if you change either one.

Step 3: Tax treaty

Pakistan and the United States have a tax treaty, and the tool shows this on the screen. The question is whether you are claiming a reduced rate of withholding under the treaty. If you choose “Yes”, you confirm that you are a resident of Pakistan within the meaning of the treaty. You also choose the type of income you earn:

• Other copyright royalties (for example, the YouTube Partner Program).
• Services or other business income (for example, AdSense on a website).
• Motion picture and TV royalties, which is rarely relevant to a beginner.

Google applies treaty claims only to the types of income you are actually paid. You can select every type that may apply to you, including future income. After you choose, the tool fills in the treaty article and the withholding rate for you. Do not type a rate yourself, and confirm your eligibility with a tax professional.

Step 4 to 7: Activities, reporting, preview and signature

You are asked whether you perform services in the United States. If you work from Pakistan, the honest answer is normally “No”. You then see your form as a PDF preview. Read it carefully, because the name and country must match your ID. In the last step, you confirm that you are the person named on the form and sign electronically by typing your full legal name.

There is also an optional unchanged status affidavit. It lets a new form apply to earlier payments. Tick it only if you can truthfully certify that the information has been the same since the year you enter. Refund claims have a legal time limit, which Google gives as December 31 of the year in which the tax was withheld.

What Happens After You Submit?

• Review time: up to 7 business days, according to Google.
• Status: In review, Approved or Declined. A green “Approved” means the form is accepted.
• Declined: usually because the tax ID was not found or does not match, or because documents could not validate your details. Submit a new form with corrected information, or ask a tax adviser.
• Where to see your rate: open the United States tax info section after you submit. It shows the withholding rates that may apply to you.

Important Dates and Renewal

• 10 December each year: YouTube Help says to submit a form, and to claim a treaty benefit if you are eligible, by this date each year. Google may refund withholding if updated information arrives by then.
• Expiry: a form expires at the end of the third full calendar year after the year you signed it, or sooner if your circumstances change. If you see a message such as “your tax form has expired”, submit a new one.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Name mismatch: the name on the form must match your legal documents and your payments profile.
• Urdu letters or accents: the fields accept only English letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens and the “&” sign.
• PO box addresses: not accepted as a permanent residence.
• Wrong or missing tax ID: a missing, non-9-digit or invalid TIN can trigger an identity check.
• Doing it for only one account: if you have both a website AdSense account and a YouTube payments account, each one has its own tax info. Check both in the “Payments account” menu.
• Guessing the treaty answer: if you are not sure whether you qualify, ask a tax professional first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the W-8BEN form compulsory for YouTube creators in Pakistan?

YouTube Help says all monetizing creators, wherever they live, must provide tax info.

Is the form free?

Yes. You fill it inside your AdSense or YouTube payments page. Do not pay anyone for it. Read our guide on online earning scams if someone asks for money to “approve” your form.

Will Google tax all my earnings?

Without tax info, Google may withhold up to 24% of your worldwide earnings. With tax info, the withholding applies to income from US viewers, and the rate depends on your country and income type, from 0% to 30%.

How long does approval take?

Up to 7 business days.

Do I need to renew it?

Yes, every few years, or when your details change.

Can I use my CNIC number as the tax ID?

Google does not state which Pakistani number it accepts. Ask a tax adviser or the Federal Board of Revenue before you enter it.

Final Words

The W-8BEN form looks difficult, but it is a short, free form that takes about ten minutes. Fill it truthfully, match your name and address, claim the treaty benefit only if you qualify, and check the status for “Approved”. For the next steps, read how to get paid: how to withdraw Fiverr and Upwork earnings in Pakistan and our guide on YouTube monetization in Pakistan.

Sources: YouTube Help: U.S. tax requirements for YouTube earnings; YouTube Help: Submit or update U.S. tax info; AdSense Help: US tax info FAQ.