Tax and banking setup

How it works

You complete two screens for Stripe: Tax Info (Settings → Tax Info) and Bank Info (Settings → Bank Info, a linked bank account). There's no separate form: your W-9 information goes in Tax Info — your Social Security number or EIN, plus your name and address. Stripe uses it from there. Get both right and payouts go through with nothing more from you. If either check fails, your Stripe account is restricted and your payout is held — not just delayed — until the specific issue is fixed. A message such as "Your payouts are paused" on Tax Info, if it shows, says what to fix. Pro Support can't push a restricted account through; it has to reach an enabled status first, which only happens once you fix the underlying tax or bank issue yourself.

What you control

• A payout hold can come from more than one cause, and each needs a different fix: a mismatch between your tax info and IRS records, a tax ID that was never issued, an identity mismatch with your tax filing, an unpayable or unlinked bank account, or an out-of-date terms-of-service acceptance with Stripe. Stripe may also ask you for an ID document or an EIN when it gives no other reason. The app shows no alert or fix screen for an ID-document request, and shows an EIN request on Tax Info only when it is past due. If you're not sure which applies to you, contact Pro Support.
• Fix tax info before bank info if both need attention. It's a precaution: tax mismatches are the more common cause, so clearing that first avoids an extra round trip.
• "Your business is verified" shows when you first save your tax info, before Stripe finishes its own check. It doesn't mean Stripe's check passed.
• Opening Tax Info or Bank Info again after you've completed it can look blank. These screens don't redisplay previously saved data, for security. A blank-looking screen doesn't mean your info was lost.
• Sign up as the right type, Individual (SSN) or Business (EIN), and double-check your info before submitting. A wrong type or a typo is a common cause of a mismatch.

Complete Tax Info and Bank Info accurately the first time and there's usually nothing else to do. If a payout does get held:

1. Open the menu, tap Settings, then Tax Info, and check your details: individual or business, your name as it appears on your tax return, and your Social Security number or EIN. Tap Save. If a "Your payouts are paused" message shows there, it says what to fix.
2. If both tax and bank info need fixing, fix tax info first.
3. If the message points to your tax info: open the menu (three lines, top left), tap Settings, then Tax Info. Enter your Social Security number or EIN again, since it doesn't show after you save. Check "I agree to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement," then tap Save.
4. If the message points to your bank info: go to Settings → Bank Info and connect or update your account.
5. If the message asks you to accept Stripe's updated terms of service: open Tax Info, check "I agree to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement," and tap Save. The terms box is on Tax Info only; linking a bank sends no terms.
6. If the message says "There's an issue with your payout account that we can't resolve in the app" or "Stripe needs more information," tap "Contact support" on it. Have the message you see and the date of the payout you're missing ready. If the message says Stripe is reviewing the information you provided, there's nothing to do yet. Once it clears, the message goes away and your payout goes out in the next Monday payout.

Once you fix the specific issue Stripe flagged, your account returns to enabled status and your held payout, along with future payouts, goes through normally.

If something goes wrong

Your payout hasn't arrived. Go to Settings → Tax Info and Settings → Bank Info directly and check your details. A "Your payouts are paused" message, if it shows, says what to fix.

You've fixed your info and the payout is still held. If the message says "There's an issue with your payout account that we can't resolve in the app" or "Stripe needs more information," tap "Contact support" on it, with the message you see and the date of the payout you're missing ready. If it says Stripe is reviewing the information you provided, there's nothing to do yet. Once it clears, the message goes away.

You saw "Your business is verified" but your payout is still held. That message shows when you first save your tax info, before Stripe finishes its own check. Go to Settings → Tax Info and Settings → Bank Info and check your details.