If you live outside the United States, Fansly asks for a W-8BEN when you are paid as an individual or a W-8BEN-E when you are paid through a company, and creators in the EU also complete a DAC7 form in the same Tax Documentation section, according to Fansly's tax guide FAQ. Creators in Canada fill in a Canadian platform-reporting form there too, and US creators submit a W-9 instead. Until the right form is on file you can earn on Fansly, but its getting-started guide says you cannot withdraw.
This page sorts out which of those forms applies to you, how each is submitted, what Fansly and the tax authorities do with the information, and which records to keep at year end. It covers the forms themselves, not how much tax you owe: that depends on where you live and belongs with a registered tax agent or accountant. For the wider picture of being paid from abroad, see our international creator guide, which deals with currency and payment questions that apply across platforms.
Why a US-based platform asks for these forms
Two separate systems produce the paperwork, and it helps to keep them apart in your head.
The first is US tax status. Fansly's W-8BEN article explains that because Fansly operates within the US and pays creators in US dollars, the IRS requires it to verify that creators abroad are not US citizens. The IRS frames the form more broadly than that: its W-8BEN instructions tell US citizens living abroad and other US persons, including resident aliens, to use a W-9 instead, and tell foreign companies to use the W-8BEN-E. The IRS's form page adds that you submit a W-8BEN whenever a payer requests it, whether or not you are claiming a reduced withholding rate. Fansly's withholding article says it does not withhold tax from creator earnings at all, so the form documents your status rather than triggering a deduction.
The second is platform reporting. Under rules modelled on the OECD's, platforms collect identity and income details about the people who sell through them and pass those details to tax authorities. That is what the DAC7 form and the Canadian form are for. They do not create a tax; they create a record that your local tax office can compare with your return.
Form decision table
Find the row that matches how you are paid and where you live. Every route starts from the Creator Dashboard, under Tax Documentation, unless the row says otherwise.
| Your situation | Form Fansly asks for | How it is submitted | What follows | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual living in an EU member state | DAC7 form, then W-8BEN | Choose EU Member State, complete the DAC7 dropdown and tick the confirmation box, then complete the W-8BEN dropdown and type your name to sign | Fansly collects the details it needs for DAC7 reporting | W-8BEN and DAC7 steps |
| Individual living in Canada | The Canadian platform form, plus the W-8BEN Fansly requires from every creator outside the US | Choose Canada, enter your details, tick the accuracy box and submit | Fansly says it collects this for its reporting to the Canada Revenue Agency | OECD reporting article |
| Individual in the UK, Australia or anywhere else outside the US, EU and Canada | W-8BEN | Choose your country, pick the form from the options shown, complete and sign | Fansly's articles name no other reporting regime for these countries | Non-US tax info |
| Paid through a company or other entity based outside the US | W-8BEN-E, and DAC7 as well if the entity is in the EU | Email the completed W-8BEN-E to Fansly support, which reviews it and tells you if changes are needed | Switching to a business setup also needs proof of ownership and of current-year activity | Tax guide FAQ, personal details |
| US citizen, including one living abroad, or other US person | W-9 | Choose United States of America (the), fill in the fields and type your name in the signature field | Fansly issues one consolidated 1099-NEC per taxpayer number, downloadable from Tax Documentation | W-9 article, 1099-NEC article |
| Agency, studio or publisher featuring several people | The forms for the owner's own situation | Complete the application and tax documentation as the sole owner and beneficiary | Payouts and reporting attach to that owner, not to each person featured | Getting started |
| You have moved country since you submitted | A fresh form for your new residence | Email support so Fansly can update its records and those of its reporting partners | The IRS treats some moves as a change in circumstances that needs a new form | Reporting FAQ, IRS instructions |
One wrinkle sits outside the table. If you live outside the US but own a single-member US company that the IRS disregards for tax purposes, the W-8BEN instructions treat you as the beneficial owner of what that company receives. Fansly's articles do not address that set-up, so confirm the right form with a tax adviser and Fansly support before you submit anything.
Getting the W-8BEN right first time
Fansly's pro tip is to submit the W-8BEN as soon as possible after account creation to avoid payout delays. The IRS instructions cover the fields worth checking twice:
- Country of citizenship. Dual citizens enter the country where they are both a citizen and a resident when they complete the form. A US citizen should not complete it at all, even with a second passport.
- Permanent residence address. This is the address in the country where you are resident for income tax. The IRS says not to give a bank's address, a post office box or an address used only for mail, and a mailing address goes on a separate line only if it differs.
- Foreign tax number. The instructions set out when the identifying number from your own tax authority is required and when it can be omitted. If Fansly's version of the form asks for it, use the number your tax office issued in your country of residence.
- Treaty claims. Fansly's article says treaty benefits do not apply to most creators because only the home country taxes their Fansly income. If you think a treaty claim applies to you, that is a decision for a tax adviser, not a box to tick on instinct.
- Your name. Use the legal name on your creator application. Fansly's payout method article says payouts can only go to accounts that match it.
Under the IRS instructions, a W-8BEN generally stays in effect until the last day of the third calendar year after the year you sign it, unless a change makes the information wrong, so a form signed during 2026 would normally run to the end of 2029. A change in circumstances must be reported to the payer within 30 days with a new form, the same IRS page adds. Moving to a US address counts as one; moving within your country or to another foreign country generally does not, unless you claimed treaty benefits.
DAC7, Canada and the countries Fansly does not mention
The European Commission's DAC7 page says the directive entered into force on 1 January 2023, that platform operators based outside the EU register and report in a single EU country, and that personal services are among the activities covered. It also states that DAC7 imposes no new tax: what you earn is taxed under your own country's existing rules. Canada's version sits in Part XX of the Income Tax Act and is based on the OECD model rules, with platform operators collecting, verifying and reporting seller information to the CRA every year, according to the CRA's overview.
Fansly's own FAQ describes the outcome loosely, saying that both you and the OECD receive duplicate information about your digital platform earnings. The OECD writes the model rules but is not a tax office; under the EU and Canadian rules quoted above, reports go to national tax authorities. Read Fansly's line as a promise that you get a copy of what is reported, and keep it.
For the UK and Australia, Fansly's articles are silent. HMRC's guidance for sellers explains that UK platform operators report sellers' details and income, must give each seller a copy, and that a report does not by itself mean tax is owed. The ATO's page on the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime says electronic distribution platforms report supplier income twice a year, and that reporting widened to all other reportable transactions from 1 July 2024. Neither page says whether Fansly reports to it, and Fansly's tax articles do not say either, so ask Fansly support and keep complete records regardless. Separately, Fansly's Terms of Service say it collects and remits the GST on sales to Australian consumers; whether you need your own GST registration is a different question for your tax agent.
US creators: the 1099-NEC and three different thresholds
If you file a W-9, the form you receive back is a 1099-NEC, issued electronically and downloadable from Tax Documentation. Fansly's 1099-NEC article says it provides one consolidated form per taxpayer identification number, so with several accounts the form appears on only one of them, and that Fansly does not issue W-2s.
The reporting threshold is where the sources split three ways. The W-9 article says Fansly must report creators who earn more than $600 a year in most states. The tax guide FAQ says Fansly must report creators earning more than $20,000 annually in most states, then says creators above $600 receive a 1099-NEC. Meanwhile the IRS's current instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC say the minimum for reporting nonemployee compensation rose to $2,000 for tax years beginning after 2025, with inflation adjustments possible from 2027. The IRS text is the binding one, but the practical answer does not change with the threshold: Fansly's articles say to report all income even when no 1099-NEC arrives. Our US creator tax and deductions guide covers how that income is treated.
Year-end records checklist
The most important line in Fansly's tax material is easy to miss: the tax guide FAQ says Fansly does not store total annual earnings for creators, so you need your own records. Build this file as the year goes, not in the week before your return is due.
- A copy of every tax form you submitted to Fansly, with the date. Fansly's non-US article suggests keeping your completed DAC7 submission for exactly this reason.
- A monthly export or screenshot of your earnings and transaction history, since you cannot rely on Fansly to rebuild the year for you later.
- A payout log: request date, amount in US dollars, method, and the amount that actually reached your account in your own currency.
- Bank or e-wallet statements showing each deposit; Fansly says deposits typically appear under SELECT MEDIA LLC.
- Any platform report Fansly sends you under DAC7 or the Canadian rules, filed next to your own figures so differences are easy to spot.
- Receipts for business costs such as equipment, props and the business share of internet and phone bills, the examples Fansly's tax guide gives, leaving the question of what is deductible where you live to your tax agent.
- Notes on anything that changed during the year: a move, a new legal name, a switch to trading through a company, or a new payout method.
- Records of payments you made to collaborators, editors or an agency, with what each covered.
- The dates of your own tax year. HMRC's seller guidance, for example, reminds UK sellers that platform reports cover calendar years while the UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.
A simple spreadsheet works; our earnings tracker template can be adapted for Fansly by adding a column for the payout method and the amount received after conversion. If withdrawals are the problem rather than paperwork, the Fansly payout timing and status guide explains each stage.
Limitations of this guide
This is general information drawn from Fansly's help centre and from IRS, European Commission, CRA, HMRC and ATO pages as they read on 1 October 2026. It is not tax advice. Fansly itself says it cannot give tax or legal advice, its articles disagree on reporting thresholds, and its form options can change by country without notice. The government pages describe what platforms must do in general, not what Fansly does in your particular case.
Before you sign a form you are unsure about, or if you trade through a company, have moved country, or think a tax treaty applies, speak to a registered tax agent in Australia or a qualified accountant where you live. Fansly's own reporting FAQ makes the same recommendation, and support can still help you reach the right form in your dashboard.