Upwork and Fiverr deduct 30% US tax from payments by Pakistani freelancers who have not submitted Form W-8BEN. Under the Pakistan-US treaty, this should be 0%. Submit W-8BEN immediately using your NTN or ITIN. If tax was already withheld, you can recover it by filing Form 1040-NR — which requires an ITIN. Get your ITIN for $99.
Monthly earnings: $2,000 → $600 lost to 30% withholding
Annually: $24,000 earned → $7,200 deducted unnecessarily
With W-8BEN + Pakistan treaty: $0 withheld
When US-based clients pay freelancers, US tax law requires platforms to withhold 30% as a default withholding tax on payments to non-US persons. This is the IRS's protection mechanism — it ensures US taxes are collected even from foreign earners.
The fix is simple: Form W-8BEN. This form tells the platform you are a non-US person and invokes the Pakistan-US tax treaty, which reduces the withholding rate to 0% for most service income.
| Purpose | NTN Sufficient? | ITIN Needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Submit W-8BEN on Upwork (stop 30% deduction) | ✅ Yes — use as Foreign TIN | ❌ Not required |
| Submit W-8BEN on Fiverr | ✅ Yes | ❌ Not required |
| File Form 1040-NR (recover withheld taxes) | ❌ No | ✅ Required |
| Own a US LLC (Stripe, Amazon seller account) | ❌ No | ✅ Required (Form 5472) |
| Open Mercury US bank account | ❌ No | ✅ Required for compliance |
Log into your Upwork account. Navigate to Settings → Tax Information → "I am not a US person."
Upwork will pre-populate the Pakistan-US treaty rate. Your withholding rate will show as 0% for services.
In the Foreign TIN field, enter your Pakistani NTN (7-digit number from FBR). If you have an ITIN, enter that instead. Either works for W-8BEN purposes.
Upwork applies the change immediately. Future payments from US clients will have 0% US withholding. The 30% deduction stops from that day forward.
Fiverr: Settings → Billing → Tax Information → W-8BEN → Select Pakistan → Enter NTN or ITIN → Claim treaty benefit. Fiverr's withholding drops to 0% for Pakistani sellers upon submission.
If Upwork or Fiverr deducted 30% from your earnings, file Form 1040-NR to recover that money — but you need an ITIN first. ITIN Plus gets you one for $99.
Get My ITIN — $99 →✅ IRS.gov Listed · 📞 +1 (305) 216-6992
Yes. File Form 1040-NR with the IRS claiming the Pakistan-US treaty exemption. The IRS will refund the over-withheld amount. You need an ITIN to file this return. Apply through ITIN Plus for $99.
For stopping future withholding via W-8BEN, your Pakistani NTN is sufficient. For recovering already-withheld tax through a US tax return, you need an ITIN. For US LLC compliance, ITIN is mandatory.
Check that you selected Pakistan as your country of residence and entered a valid Foreign TIN. If the issue persists, contact Upwork support with your W-8BEN submission confirmation. Some legacy accounts need manual review.
The treaty covers business profits and personal service income earned by Pakistani residents — which includes most freelance work. Specific income types (royalties, dividends) may have different rates. The 0% rate applies to services generally.