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What This Means

We help foreign performers tour the U.S., represent clients to taxing authorities and prepare the required tax returns.

Generally, U.S. income of a non-resident alien is subject to a withholding tax of 30% of your GROSS income earned in the United States. The Central Withholding Agreement (CWA) may exempt non-resident alien athletes and entertainers from this withholding requirement, so that you are taxed on your NET profit (if any) after expenses.

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How It Works

The CWA application process generally works as follows

01
Materials

You provide us with all of the required application materials as early as possible for submission to the IRS, no later than 45 days before your first U.S. show.

02
Tax Return

In order to receive a CWA you must have previously filed U.S. tax returns and paid any taxes due if you earned income in the U.S. in the past. If you performed in the U.S. during the previous 6 years and did not file tax returns, we must prepare these returns for you prior to submitting your CWA application.

03
Social Security Number

All CWA applicants that do not already have a Social Security Number (SSN) or ITIN must apply for a SSN upon arrival in the U.S. Depending on where you will apply for your SSN, we may be able to provide someone to accompany you to the Social Security office, or arrange for an appointment for your touring party.

04
Documentation

Prior to your tour, we provide the IRS with your tour itinerary, preliminary budget, and supporting documents such as performance agreements and proof of expenses. We remain in contact with the IRS to provide any additional documentation requested.

05
Tax Withholding Amount

Based on this initial budget, the IRS will set a tax withholding amount based upon the net profits estimated for your tour.

06
Designated Withholding Agent

We serve as your designated withholding agent. We either withhold income tax from payments made to you or you provide funds for us to pay the withholding amount to the IRS. The IRS applies the payments of withheld tax to our Form 1042 account, and we submit a Form 1042-S to each non-resident alien covered by the withholding agreement. This form confirms the amount of tax withheld from your earnings in the U.S.

07
Final Tour Accounting

Following your tour, we submit a final tour accounting to the IRS to determine if any additional taxes are due. Final accountings are due at the IRS no later than 60 days after the last event of your tour.

08
Prepare Tax Returns

If granted, the CWA requires you to file a tax return for the year of your tour, even if you did not earn a profit. We will prepare these tax returns for filing.

When you're ready for your CWA, we will forward your application materials.
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