# Why isn’t the reduced withholding tax rate on royalties applied under the US-Russia treaty? 

**URL:** <https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-isn-t-the-reduced-withholding-tax-rate-on-royalties-applied-under-the-us-russia-treaty/2629684>\
**Category:** Business\
**Tags:** epic-games-store, question\
**Created:** [August 4, 2025, 2:31pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-isn-t-the-reduced-withholding-tax-rate-on-royalties-applied-under-the-us-russia-treaty/2629684 "2025-08-04T14:31:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Aloha\_Edoha](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Aloha\_Edoha](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Aloha_Edoha)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2025, 2:31pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-isn-t-the-reduced-withholding-tax-rate-on-royalties-applied-under-the-us-russia-treaty/2629684/1 "2025-08-04T14:31:06Z")

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Hello everyone,  
I have a question about the taxation of royalties from a US company (Epic Games). According to the US-Russia tax treaty, the withholding tax rate on royalties should be reduced from 30% to a lower rate (e.g., 10-15%). However, in my case, the full 30% withholding tax was applied.

Could this be because I didn’t submit the correct paperwork (like the W-8BEN form)? Or are there any other reasons why the reduced rate might not be applied?

I would appreciate any advice on how to get the reduced rate applied and avoid overpaying taxes.

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**Author:** ![Station437](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Station437](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Station437)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2025, 6:35am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-isn-t-the-reduced-withholding-tax-rate-on-royalties-applied-under-the-us-russia-treaty/2629684/2 "2025-09-05T06:35:29Z")

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> [@Aloha\_Edoha](#):
>
> US-Russia tax treaty

As far as I know, you need to fill out a W-8BEN. And don’t forget that the double taxation agreement was suspended by Russia in 2023, by the US in 2024. In Steam, for example, they are now taking an additional 30% from American sales.

Offtop: do you receive money in a Russian bank? Epic hasn’t been able to send me a payment for 5 months.