Which Tax ID Is a Creator Platform Asking For? SIN, BN, GST/HST Number and W-8 Forms
A platform says “enter your tax ID,” but the field may mean your Canadian SIN, a nine-digit business number, a full GST/HST program account, or a U.S. tax form workflow. Those are not interchangeable. Before typing anything sensitive, identify the legal payee, the country whose tax question is being asked, and the purpose shown on the screen.
SIN
A person
Confidential Canadian identifier.
BN
A business
Nine digits used across CRA programs.
RT 0001
A GST/HST account
Program code and reference added to a BN.
The plain-English decoder
Social Insurance Number (SIN)
Your SIN identifies you personally in Canada. Service Canada says it is confidential and should be provided only when legally required. It is not general-purpose proof of identity and should not be placed on invoices, media kits, contracts, or public forms.
Business number (BN)
A BN is the CRA’s unique nine-digit identifier for a business. It is not automatically proof that the business has a GST/HST account. A sole proprietor can have a BN for one CRA program while still not being registered for another.
GST/HST program account
The CRA explains that a program account combines the nine-digit BN, a two-letter program identifier, and a four-digit reference number—for example, 123456789 RT 0001 for GST/HST. If a form asks for a GST/HST number, the nine-digit BN alone may be incomplete.
W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E
These are U.S. certificates, not Canadian tax IDs. The W-8BEN is generally for a foreign individual who beneficially owns the income. The W-8BEN-E is generally for a foreign entity. They document foreign status and, where supported, treaty claims for a U.S. payer or withholding agent.
Use the payee name to choose the right path
- Paid to your legal personal name: the platform may route you through an individual profile and W-8BEN. A Canadian foreign tax identifying number request may call for your SIN, but confirm the official instructions and secure destination first.
- Sole proprietorship with a trade name: you are not automatically a separate legal entity. Do not choose an entity form solely because you use a studio name or have a BN.
- Paid to a Canadian corporation: the legal payee is the corporation. The platform may route it through an entity profile and W-8BEN-E and may ask for the corporation’s Canadian tax identifier.
- Name and account do not match: stop before submitting. The tax profile, contract, and payout-account owner should tell a coherent story.
What the screen says → what to check
‘Tax identification number’ or ‘foreign TIN’
First identify which country’s form is open. On an individual U.S. W-8BEN flow, the IRS’s line 6 asks for a foreign tax identifying number and the instructions define when it is required. For a Canadian individual, that may be the SIN. For an entity W-8BEN-E, the entity’s foreign TIN belongs in the entity field—not an owner’s personal number.
‘Business number’
Check whether the platform wants the nine-digit Canadian BN, a provincial registration number, or a full CRA program account. The label is not precise enough by itself.
‘GST/HST number,’ ‘VAT number,’ or ‘sales tax ID’
If you are registered under the regular GST/HST system, this normally means the full GST/HST program account. If you are not registered, do not enter your SIN or invent an RT suffix. Select “not registered” where truthful, or contact platform support.
‘US TIN,’ ‘SSN,’ ‘ITIN,’ or ‘EIN’
These are U.S. identifiers. A Canadian SIN or BN is not a substitute. A Canadian person may sometimes complete the foreign-TIN field of a W-8 flow without having a U.S. TIN; eligibility depends on the form and claim. Follow the official flow or get advice—do not force a Canadian number into a U.S.-TIN field.
Worked examples
A sole proprietor setting up AdSense for YouTube
Maya earns personally and files the creator business on her personal Canadian return. She selects the individual path in Google’s tax tool, which generally generates a W-8BEN for a non-U.S. individual. She checks Google’s official instructions, submits in the authenticated AdSense tax centre, and does not email her SIN to someone claiming to be support.
A creator who has a BN but is not GST/HST registered
Eli has a BN associated with another CRA program. A platform asks for a GST/HST number. Eli does not add “RT0001” to the BN: that program account does not exist until registered. Eli chooses the truthful not-registered option or asks the platform what jurisdiction and program the field means.
An incorporated creator paid through the company
North Star Media Inc. signs the contract and receives the payout. The entity—not its shareholder—is the beneficial owner reflected in the platform profile. The company follows the entity workflow, which may use W-8BEN-E, and supplies the corporation’s identifier where the form calls for its foreign TIN. The owner does not casually insert a personal SIN into the company field.
How to share tax information safely
Service Canada’s SIN protection guidance says to ask whether the SIN is legally required, why it is needed, how it will be used, and who will have access. Treat any tax-profile request with that level of care.
- Navigate to the platform yourself; do not submit through a link in an unexpected DM, sponsorship email, or support reply.
- Confirm the domain, signed-in account, legal payee, and purpose before entering an identifier.
- Use the secure tax or payments centre. Avoid ordinary email, chat, shared documents, invoices, and screenshots containing a full SIN.
- Share only the requested field. A GST/HST number does not require attaching your SIN confirmation letter.
- Store confirmation of submission and the form version, but restrict access to copies containing sensitive identifiers.
- If the wording is ambiguous, contact the platform through its official support channel before guessing.
Where W-8 forms actually go
The IRS’s W-8BEN instructions say not to send the form to the IRS. Give it to the payer or withholding agent requesting it. The same principle appears in the W-8BEN-E instructions. In platform flows, that usually means submitting inside the platform’s secure tax centre. The payer uses the certificate to determine withholding and reporting.
Google’s YouTube tax-information guide says the appropriate form is generated from the answers supplied and generally separates non-U.S. individuals (W-8BEN) from entities (W-8BEN-E). That is more reliable than downloading a form first and guessing your way through it.
What to keep in your creator records
- The platform name, account ID, legal payee, and payout-account owner
- The form type submitted, submission date, status, and expiry or renewal reminder
- A secure copy of the completed form or platform-generated tax document
- Any year-end 1042-S or other tax statement and the related payment report
- The Canadian BN and each real CRA program account kept as distinct fields
- A note explaining any change from individual to corporation, including the effective date
- Support correspondence resolving an ambiguous identifier request—without duplicating the full SIN in the note
Next, read the Canadian creator guide to W-8BEN and U.S. withholding or the GST/HST guide for creators.
Primary sources
Frequently asked questions
Is my SIN the same as my business number?
Is my BN automatically my GST/HST number?
Should a sole proprietor choose W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E?
Should my Canadian corporation use my personal SIN?
Do I need an ITIN or EIN to complete a platform tax form?
Can I email a W-8BEN to a brand or platform?
Where do I send a W-8BEN?
What if a platform’s tax-ID field is unclear?
A note on tax content. This article is general information for Canadian creators, not tax advice. Rules change and your situation is specific to you. Use Cadence to keep clean records, then ask your accountant before filing.
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