TopCoder begins the payment process for algorithm and software contests one business day after each contest is concluded. Software contests are over when they are closed and removed from the online review tool. This will happen by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on the business day following the end of final review (for a successful project) or when all submissions have failed screening or review.
As of November 1, 2012, members control the frequency and amount of their payments. To get paid, log in to PACTS, select the payment(s) you'd like to be paid, and select "Pay Me" for the sum of the selected payments. There will also be a "Release Date" on all payments in PACTS. A payment's "Release Date" will be 30 days after its creation date. Payments paid via Payoneer or PayPal will be processed immediately. If you elect to be paid by Western Union, your payment request will be queued and processed semi-monthly, on or about the 15th or 30th of the month. In order to be included in the semi-monthly payments you need to select which payments you would like to be paid for by 10:00 AM EST on the day of the scheduled payment. The actual payment date will depend on whether a payment date is also a business and US banking day.
Tracking Payments
Members can track the status of their payments through the Payments
page under "My TopCoder".
Manual Entry of Payments into PACTs
Only component payments are essentially automatically processed to be reflected in PACTs when their status is updated in Online Review or in JIRA. All other payment types have to be processed manually so they do not show up in PACTs right after their status has been updated in Online Review and JIRA. Here is the schedule for the timing of the processing of payments that are entered into PACTs manually:
Payments that have been updated in Online Review and JIRA by 12:00 pm (EST) on Wednesday will be entered into PACTs by 5:00 pm on Friday of the same week. If you do not see these payments in PACTs by 5:00 pm (EST) on Friday of the same week please contact us at payments@topcoder.com to alert us of the missing payments.
Any payments that have been updated in Online Review and JIRA after 12:00 pm (EST) on Wednesday will be entered into PACTs by 5:00 pm on Friday of the following week. In this situation it could take up to a week and a half for payments updated in Online Review and JIRA to be reflected in PACTs. If you do not see these payments in PACTs by 5:00 pm (EST) on Friday of the following week please contact us at payments@topcoder.com to alert us of the missing payments.
Which tax form(s) does TopCoder require?
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS INTENDED TO EXPLAIN WHICH TAX FORMS TOPCODER REQUIRES FOR PAYMENT. THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE DISCUSSION ON TAXES AND WITHHOLDING, AND SHOULD NOT IN ANY CASE BE TAKEN AS TAX ADVICE.
IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH MEMBER TO DETERMINE WHICH TAX FORM SHOULD BE COMPLETED AND SENT TO TOPCODER.
TOPCODER ENCOURAGES ITS MEMBERS TO CONSULT THE INSTRUCTIONS OF EACH FORM AND/OR CONSULT AN ATTORNEY, TAX PROFESSIONAL, OR OTHER EXPERT FOR ADVICE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING WHICH FORM YOU SHOULD COMPLETE AND/OR THE PROPER COMPLETION OF THAT FORM.
Who needs to complete Form W-9?
W-9 FORM
W-9 INSTRUCTIONS
Individuals meeting the following conditions:
• You are a US citizen or other US person (such as a resident alien); and
• You are receiving any form of payment from TopCoder.
Why do I need to complete Form W-9?
TopCoder must receive your correctly completed W-9 to report to the IRS income paid to you. TopCoder's policy is not to issue payments to US members until a properly completed Form W-9 is received from the member.
Who needs to complete Form W-8BEN?
W-8BEN FORM W-8BEN INSTRUCTIONS
Individuals meeting the following conditions:
• You are NOT a US citizen or other US person (such as a foreign person, non-resident alien or foreign national); and
• You are receiving any form of payment from TopCoder.
Where should I send my tax form?
You can either mail or email completed tax forms to the TopCoder Payments Team. If you scan your completed tax form, please email it to payments@topcoder.com
Mailed tax forms should be sent to:
TopCoder, Inc.
95 Glastonbury Boulevard
Glastonbury, CT 06033
ATTN: TopCoder Payments Team
Why do I need to complete Form W-8BEN?
Under current IRS guidance (See (1) below), foreign persons performing services* outside of the U.S. are not subject to income tax withholding. However, TopCoder requires all such members to provide a properly filled out W-8BEN prior to issuing payment. In addition, prize money paid to foreign persons who are not performing services* (such as winning an SRM competition) is subject to withholding taxes. The W-8BEN is required to:
• Establish that you are not a U.S. person
• Claim that you are the beneficial owner of the income for which Form W-8BEN is being provided.
TopCoder's policy is not to issue payments to foreign members until a properly completed Form W-8BEN is received from the member.
Who may be eligible to claim tax treaty benefits under Form W-8BEN?
Individuals meeting the following conditions:
• You are NOT a US citizen or other US person (such as a resident alien); and
• You did not perform services*.
What is the potential benefit of claiming tax treaty benefits under Form W-8BEN?
If you are a foreign person, non-resident alien or foreign national who is not performing services*, TopCoder will withhold taxes on the payment. You may claim exemption from or reduction of the rate that will be withheld for taxes if there is an applicable income tax treaty by completing the necessary parts of Form W-8BEN.
TOPCODER CAN NOT ADVISE YOU ON THE EXISTENCE OF AN INCOME TAX TREATY. FURTHERMORE, TOPCODER CAN NOT ASSIST YOU IN DETERMINING YOUR ABILITY TO CLAIM A REDUCED RATE OF, OR EXEMPTION FROM, WITHHOLDING. ONCE A MEMBER CLAIMING THE BENEFIT OF A REDUCED TAX WITHHOLDING RATE PURSUANT TO A TAX TREATY PROVIDES ALL NECESSARY FORMS AND INFORMATION TO TOPCODER, TOPCODER WILL MAKE AN INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT BASED ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED.
If you have any questions regarding the information on this page, please send an email to payments@topcoder.com .
*For purposes of determining which tax form is required from members, TopCoder interprets "performing services" to include all services and competitions in which the member assigns ownership of the winning submission in exchange for compensation.
(1) See IRS Notice 2001-4 (as of 6/30/09); http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=106263,00.html
How do I claim tax treaty benefits under Form W-8BEN?
W-8BEN tax forms will be processed with the standard default 30% tax withholding percentage unless they are properly completed.
All members completing the W-8BEN are required to fill out at least the following boxes:
In Part I:
Box 1 - Name
Box 3 - Type of Beneficial Owner
Box 4 - Permanent Residence Address
Box 5 - Mailing Address (if different from Box 4)
In Part IV:
Sign and date the form
If a member wishes to claim the applicability of a withholding percentage of less than 30% pursuant to a tax treaty between their country of residence and the United States, then additional information must be provided.
At a minimum, the member would need to provide the following additional information:
In Part I:
Box 6 - US Taxpayer ID number
In Part II:
Box 9(a) - provide your country of residence
Box 10: -Specify the number of the Article of the treaty between the United States and your country of residence under which you are claiming benefit of the lower withholding percentage;
-Specify the lower withholding percentage you are claiming;
-Specify the type of income on which you are claiming the lower withholding percentage; and
-Provide a brief explanation of your reasoning for why you feel you are entitled to claim the lower withholding percentage pursuant to the applicable Article of the applicable treaty.
Please note you will need to provide a separate W-8BEN for each different type of income on which you are claiming a lower withholding percentage.
TopCoder will make an independent assessment of the W-8BEN based on the information provided. A failure to provide the appropriate and accurate information in claiming a lower withholding percentage pursuant to a tax treaty will result in a default 30% tax withholding percentage.
Taxes Withheld for Members Completing Form W-8BEN:
Taxes will be withheld from the following payment types for those members who have submitted a Form W-8BEN:
- Algorithm Prizes (SRMs, tournaments, or other similar contests)
- Royalties
- Referral Bonuses
- Certain Digital Run bonuses (the portion of Digital Run bonus earned on submissions which did not place in 1st or 2nd place of the contest)
Requirements
Before TopCoder can process payment, we must have your full name and a complete and accurate address in your member profile, as well as any required affidavits, assignment forms, and completed tax forms on file.
To receive payments from Algorithm Competitions, you must have submitted a notarized affidavit and affirmed the affidavit from the relevant competition online (note: does not apply to design or development competitions).
To receive payments for competitions other than Algorithm Competitions (and to submit in upcoming TopCoder Studio competitions), you must have submitted a competition assignment document.
Member Name Changes
The TopCoder terms of service require that accurate information be provided in your member profile. A member can update the name listed in their member profile at any time prior to the time that a payment has been set up. Once a payment has been created, the member will need to contact the payments team (email: member-agreements at topcoder.com) in order to update their name with any changes. A copy of government-issued identification or completion of an affidavit may be required for name changes.
Assembly and Architecture Payments
All software projects will pay 75% of first prize after successful Final Review. The remaining 25% will be paid 30 days from this date.
If the winner does not provide support during the 30 days, the 25% will be forfeit. Support tasks beyond bug fixing will be enumerated in the competition specification. Any exceptions to this policy will be clearly stated in the competition.
Please email any other questions to payments@topcoder.com. Please be sure to include both your TopCoder handle and your full name in all of correspondence.
Where to I submit my tax forms to?