Taxes & Compliance
Why we ask for tax information and why it makes your life easier.
Why we ask for tax information
You can fill out your tax form in less than a minute.
You want to write great software and get paid for it, not become a part‑time accountant. We agree.
Merit handles the compliance overhead so you don’t have to. The tradeoff is simple: provide lightweight tax info once, and we unlock instant, global payouts to you from any developer or project that uses Merit.
tl;dr Provide your tax info once at claim time. We handle the compliance so you can focus on shipping.
What we collect and why
Tax forms are confusing. We've rebuilt the UI to make it easy for you.
Behind the scenes, we create W‑9s for US individuals, and W‑8BENs for non‑US individuals.
We only require your name, address, tax identification number, and signature.
Tax identification numbers
The W-8 BEN tax form asks for a "U.S. taxpayer identification number (SSN or ITIN)" or "Foreign tax identifying number".
If you are not a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person, including a resident alien individual, then you will usually need to provide the "Foreign tax identifying number". This is a tax identification number that your country of residence has issued you.
If your country of residence or billing country is India, then you can use your Permanent Account Number (PAN) as your tax identification number.
The IRS allows non-resident and resident aliens to request an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or ITIN. It is unlikely that this is necessary for maintainers receiving income through Merit, but read the full instructions to determine your individual circumstances.
General tax information
Merit does not withhold tax from payments. Contributors are responsible for evaluating and paying their own taxes.
Payments are generally not tax deductible but can be in some cases. It's the responsibility of the recipient to inform payers whether the contributions are being made to a tax-exempt entity like a 501(c)(3), and if the payments may be tax-deductible.
What you don't have to do
- No 1099 admin. Merit files 1099s on users' or projects' behalf when necessary - it's not your responsibility.
- No spreadsheets. Your contribution and payout history lives in the Terminal.
When we ask for it
We’ll prompt you to provide tax information the first time you claim earnings. If you’ve already completed it once, you won’t be asked again.
We can't complete a payout without the required form on file. If you skip it, your claim will pause until you're ready, then it's a quick resume.
What you get in return
- One profile that works across all Merit‑enabled repos.
- Global payouts to your bank or wallet.
- Year‑end clarity. Merit handles all required tax reporting including 1099 forms when necessary.
- Less risk for projects, which means more projects can pay you, faster.
Privacy & security
- We only use your tax info for compliance (KYC/AML checks and tax reporting).
- Access is tightly controlled; encrypted data is limited to authorized personnel and systems.
- Your code is your code. We never request repository access for tax purposes and never sell personal data.
The alternative
Without Merit, every paying project becomes its own finance department: different forms, different tools, inconsistent records, and you become the integration layer. With Merit, you fill out a standard form once and ship more code instead.
Common questions
Next steps
- Claim your earnings in the Terminal
- Complete your W‑9/W‑8BEN once, in less than a minute
- Withdraw globally to your bank or wallet