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If an overseas business runs a Kickstarter campaign via a US or UK person's account, does anyone know what the tax implications would be for a US resident? Does anyone know what the tax implications would be for a UK resident?

Is it as simple as they did not earn the money because it was channelled through to the overseas business (in this case, an Australian business)?

(I ask because Kickstarter currently allows only US and UK Amazon Payments accounts.)

Thank you in advance for your response. :)

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(I ask because Kickstarter currently allows only US and UK Amazon Payments accounts.) --> Then why use Kickstarter? Try another service, like IndieGoGo – elssar Jan 23 at 11:37
Thanks for your comment, elssar. :) We actually did run an Indiegogo campaign; however, it saw far less traffic than was needed, which seems to be a difficulty many crowd funding projects have on Indiegogo vs Kickstarter, especially for computer games. – Mark Sheppard Jan 23 at 12:12
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Well, The Oatmeal didn't have any problems raising money for his campaigns on IndieGoGo. Granted that he is pretty famous, and his campaigns both got lots of publicity because of the events that led to the campaigns, and that Indiegogo isn't as popular as Kickstarter, if you market your campaign properly, and it has promise, no reason why you shouldn't be successful. And a Kickstarter is no silver bullet - there are no guarantees that a kickstarter campaign would be more successful, just because it's on kickstarter – elssar Jan 23 at 12:26
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I have to agree with @elssar. Using Kickstarter is not a guarantee of traffic. If you don't promote your campaign like crazy, you are bound to have the same results as you did on IndieGoGo. – Zuly Gonzalez♦ Jan 23 at 14:43

1 Answer

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If an overseas business runs a Kickstarter campaign via a US or UK person's account, does anyone know what the tax implications would be for a US resident?

Pretty simple. The US resident (account owner) will be liable for income taxes on the income raised.

Is it as simple as they did not earn the money because it was channelled through to the overseas business (in this case, an Australian business)?

Well, that's not what they said when they started the campaign, so no-one cares. The US resident will be liable for taxes.

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