Brand Referral Bonus

What is the Brand Referral Bonus program?

The Brand Referral Bonus program gives brands an opportunity to earn a bonus from non-Amazon marketing efforts and improve their advertising efficiency. For more information about the program, go to Brand Referral Bonus.

Why should I participate?

The Brand Referral Bonus program credits Brands an average of 10% of sales from traffic you have driven to Amazon. The program helps you advertise efficiently by receiving the same bonus for customer purchases of additional products from the Brand up to 14 days after clicking on the ad. The program also helps you accelerate growth by improving the efficiency of your non-Amazon marketing efforts that drive referral traffic to Amazon.

How is my bonus calculated?

On average, Brands can earn a 10% bonus from their qualifying sales. To estimate your bonus, multiply your qualifying sales by the minimum bonus rate in the corresponding product category. Your actual bonus rate may vary based on inputs such as additional shipping and gift wrapping charges, which may vary between selling partners. The actual bonus applied to your sales can be viewed in your weekly bonus report. See estimated category bonus rate below.

Brand Referral Bonus
Categories	Estimated Bonus Rate*
Amazon Device Accessories	30%
Amazon Explore	20%
Clothing & Accessories (including active wear)	11%
Books (including Collectible Books); Music; Software & Computer/Video Games; Video & DVD; Collectible Books; Home & Garden; Kitchen; Mattresses; Musical Instruments; Office Products; Outdoors; Sports (excluding Sports Collectibles); Pet Supplies; Toys & Games; Luggage & Travel Accessories; Shoes, Handbags & Sunglasses; Everything Else	10%
3D Printed Products; Industrial & Scientific (including Food Service and Janitorial & Sanitation)	8%
Camera and Photo; Cell Phone Devices; Consumer electronics; Full-Size Appliance; Personal Computers; Video Game Consoles;	5%
Tools & Home Improvement	10%, except 8% for base equipment power tools
Automotive & Power sports	8%, except 7% for tires and wheel products
Baby Products (excluding Baby Apparel); Beauty; Health & Personal Care (including Personal Care Appliances);	5% for products with a total price of $10.00 or less, and 10% for products with a total sales prices greater than $10.00
Collectible Coins	10% for the portion of the total sales price up to $250, 7% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $250 up to $1,000, and 4% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,000.
Compact Appliances (including parts and accessories)	10% for the portion of the total sales price up to $300.00, and 5% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $300.00
Electronics Accessories	10% for the portion of the total sales price up to $100.00, and 5% for any portion of he total sales price greater than $100.00
Entertainment Collectibles	14% for the portion of total sale price up to $100, 7% for the portion of total sale price greater than $100, up to $1000, and 4% for the portion of total sale price greater than $1000
Fine Art	14% for the portion of the total sales price up to $100, 10% for the portion of the total sales price greater than $100 up to $1,000, 7% for the portion of the total sales price greater than $1,000 up to $5,000, and 3% for the portion of the total sales price greater than $5,000
Furniture (including outdoor furniture)	10% for the portion of the total sales price up to $200.00, and 7% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $200.00
Grocery & Gourmet Food	5% for products with a total sales price of $15.00 or less, and 10% for products with a total sales price greater than $15.00
Jewelry	14% for the portion of the total sales price up to $250.00, and 3% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $250.00
Sports Collectibles	10% for the portion of the total sales price up to $100, and 7% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $100 up to $1,000, and 4% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,000
Watches	11% for the portion of the total sales price up to $1,500.00, and 2% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,500.00
Gift Cards	14%

*Your actual bonus rate may vary based on inputs such as additional shipping and gift wrapping charges, which may vary between selling partners. This estimated bonus rate table is provided to simplify your ability to estimate the bonus you will receive. The actual bonus applied to your sales can be viewed in your weekly bonus report.

When and how do I receive the bonus?

There is a wait time (2 months) before the bonus is credited to your account to accommodate order cancellation and customer returns. For example, if a qualified sale occurred in July, the bonus will be credited to your account in September. The bonus will be used to deduct the referral fees in transactions for September and going forward, until the bonus gets exhausted.

There are two ways to track the bonus payments in transaction details: Scenario A: When the bonus partially or fully covers the referral fee and there is a tax on the fee, bonus payments will show up in the discount on referral fee line. Scenario B: If bonus payments cover the entire referral fee and there is no tax on the fee, the bonus will be applied in the background and the Referral Fee section will not be shown in the transaction.

Scenario A

Scenario B

What purchases qualify for the Brand Referral Bonus program?

The bonus applies to brand-owned products with an Amazon Attribution tag that originates from a non-Amazon marketing effort. This includes promoted products and additional products purchased from the same brand up to 14 days after clicking on the ad.

Who is eligible to join the Brand Referral Bonus program?

All brand owners selling in Amazon’s US store are eligible to enroll. If you sell on Amazon but have not registered your brand yet, go to Brand Benefit Eligibility to enroll your brand in Amazon Brand Registry through the Brand Self Service Identification program.

How do I get started?

1. Register for the Brand Referral Bonus program.
2. Enroll in Amazon Attribution if you are not already enrolled.
3. Create tags for your promoted products using Amazon Attribution. All traffic must have an Amazon Attribution tag in order to qualify for the bonus.
4. Launch your advertising effort.

How do I learn more about adding tags to my advertising efforts on different channels?

To learn more on how to implement tags for different channels, refer to Amazon Attribution campaign creation.

I am a reseller, can I join?

The Brand Referral Bonus is only available for brand owners. If you are not a brand owner, you can join the Amazon Associates program to earn commissions from sales you generate.

How do I find my Brand Referral Bonus balance?

There are two ways to see the Brand Referral Bonus. First, you will see your earned bonus in Seller account’s transaction details. Second, you can download the bonus report to see a 90-day performance summary.

Where do I find the Brand Referral Bonus report?

The system generates a report every Friday to summarize the last 90 days of the estimated bonus amount earned up to the previous Friday. For example, if you download the report on July 23, 2021, you would see the estimated bonus amount earned up to July 16, 2021. If you do not have qualified sales in the past 90 days, a report will not be available. For those with qualified sales, you can download the report from your Brand Referral Bonus page within Seller Central.

How do I opt out of Brand Referral Bonus?

You can contact Selling Partner Support and let them know you would like to opt out of the program.

I am an existing Amazon Attribution user. Do I get a bonus from sales from previously created Amazon Attribution tags?

Yes. We will calculate your bonus from all qualifying sales attributed by Amazon Attribution starting the day you enroll for Brand Referral Bonus.

How do secondary users get access to enroll for Brand Referral Bonus or access reporting?

To enroll and access reports, secondary users need a primary user to grant access.

To grant access:

1. Go to Settings > User Permissions > Manage Permissions.
2. In Performance section go to Brand Referral Bonus.
3. Click View to download reports, or click View & Edit to enroll in Brand Referral Bonus.

Are there any tax consequences for my business triggered by opting into the Brand Referral Bonus program?

Depending on the local law, opting for the program may subject you to tax and invoicing obligations in your local country, that is the country where you or your business is located. For example, if you are a US person for tax purposes, the Brand Referral Bonus earned from the program will be reported to both you and the IRS on an annual basis on IRS Form 1099-NEC if reporting thresholds are exceeded. You should consult your tax advisor if you have any questions about your tax obligations as a result of the program.

Do I have to provide tax information in order to get the bonus?

Yes, providing tax information is required to receive the Brand Referral Bonus. We may request tax information from you time to time. If we request tax information from you and you do not provide it, we can hold your Brand Referral Bonuses until you do.

If I had provided tax information earlier through Seller Central, should the tax information given through the Tax Interview form now reflect the latest information, or should it match the information that was provided earlier?

The tax information collected through the Brand Referral Bonus page is specific to the program, and must be provided to receive the Brand Referral Bonus. You can update other tax information in Seller Central if your current tax circumstances have changed.

How can I provide the required tax information?

There are two ways to provide the tax information:

• through a banner on top of the Brand Referral Bonus page which contains a link to the Tax Interview form, which will be visible if you have not yet completed the tax interview
• through the “When and how do I receive the bonus?” section in the Brand Referral Bonus page which also contains the link to the Tax Interview form. This link is always available, and can be used to update your tax information to reflect the latest status.

How should I select the responses in the tax information interview form?

Answers to the questions on the tax information form will depend on your exact tax circumstance. The tool tips on each question can provide some helpful information to determine how to answer each question. If you are unsure of any financial or tax obligations, we suggest you contact your accounting or tax professional or the taxing jurisdiction.

If I am a non-US person without a US Tax Information Number (TIN), how can I learn what to enter as the foreign TIN?

A Foreign Tax Identification Number (TIN) corresponds to the tax identification number issued by your country of tax residency for the purposes of identification and tracking payments for federal taxes. Common examples are SIN for Canada, PAN for India, Hojin Number (Hojin Bango) for Japan, CURP for Mexico, NRIC/FIN for Singapore, DNI/TIN for Spain. Provide the tax identification number issued by your local tax authority for income tax purposes. For more information about standards and structure of Tax Identification Numbers issued globally, go to OECD Tax Identification Number­ portal. You can find country or jurisdiction specific TIN structures, such as China, in this portal by clicking on the name of the country or jurisdiction.

How do I know if I am a US person for tax purposes?

For U.S. federal tax purposes, you are considered a U.S. person if you are:

• An individual who is a U.S. citizen
• An individual who is a U.S. resident alien as you meet the Green Card Test (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/alien-residency-green-card-test).
• Additionally, you will be considered a United States resident for tax purposes if you meet the Substantial Presence Test (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test) for the calendar year. More information about these distinctions is available on the U.S. IRS Website (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/classification-of-taxpayers-for-us-tax-purposes).
• A partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States
• An estate (other than a foreign estate)
• A U.S. domestic trust

Am I eligible as a non-US person selling in the United States?

If you are a non-US person (for U.S. federal tax purposes) participating in the Brand Referral Bonus program, you are eligible to receive the bonus only if you perform all services under the Agreement outside the United States, as designated through the tax information interview. If you indicate in the tax information interview that all or part of your services are or will be performed inside the United States, this means that you are or will be physically located in the United States when performing your services. If you are a non-US person and performing the services within the United States, you are not eligible to receive the bonus. If you believe the tax information is incorrect, you can update the tax information in the tax interview form.

If I have completed the tax interview and am subsequently considered ineligible for the Brand Referral Bonus program, how can I understand why I am ineligible based on provided tax information?

While the exact reason for ineligibility depends on your specific tax circumstance, one instance where this can be the case is if you are a non-US person and performing the services within the United States, as designated through the tax information interview. This can happen if you indicate in the tax information interview that all or part of your services are or will be performed inside the United States, as this means that you are or will be physically located in the United States when performing your services. If you are unsure of which circumstance might apply in your specific case, we suggest consulting your tax advisor directly. If you believe the tax information is incorrect, you can update the tax information in the tax interview form. For more tax related information, refer to the Tax policies.

How can I get help with completing the tax information in the tax interview or to learn about other tax consequences resulting from participating in the Brand Referral Bonus program?

You should consult your tax advisor if you have any questions about your tax obligations as a result of the program. Our Solutions Provider Network has several external tax providers you can consider if you do not already have a tax professional.