Complete international contractor onboarding (as an international contractor)

After an admin adds you to Gusto, we'll use the information you enter during onboarding to help autofill the Form W-8 BEN(E) you're required to sign in the final step.

Important

Once details are entered, they cannot easily be edited—make sure all information is 100% accurate. If anything is saved incorrectly, your employer will need to contact Gusto to help with the updates.

Complete your international contractor onboarding

1. Click Get started in the welcome email you received from Gusto.
2. Enter your date of birth.
3. Enter your international tax identification number.
4. Enter your street address.
   • This information will autofill as the “permanent resident address” section of the applicable W-8 BEN(E) form.
5. Click Save & continue.
6. Click Enter details to enter your bank account information—make sure all information is 100% accurate. If payments get sent to an incorrect or unrecognized bank account, they cannot be reversed. 
   • Your bank account must be in the same country as the address you entered in Gusto, or a US bank account
     • Heads up: We do not support U.S. bank accounts for international contractors in Australia.
   • Need to update your bank info? Have your employer contact Gusto with the updated bank account details.
7. Click Save & continue.
   • Important: Your full name on record in Gusto must exactly match the name on your bank account. If the names do not match, do not continue onboarding and reach out to your employer so they can contact Gusto for help. 
8. Click Generate & download Federal W-8 BEN/W-8 BEN(E) to download the applicable form.
   • Individuals will download the W-8 BEN and businesses will download the W-8 BEN-E form.
9. Review the document and make sure that all autofilled details are correct. 
   • If the information is incorrect, reach out to your employer—they'll need to contact Gusto for help.
10. Enter the remaining details requested in the form—if you have questions, you'll need to reach out to a tax advisor, we cannot advise.  
    • If you're not sure what the form fields mean, our form-specific guidance may help.
11. Upload the signed and completed form.
12. Click Confirm & submit.

Payroll administrators at the company can now pay you in Gusto. On paydays, you’ll receive a payday email from Gusto.  

To stay compliant, you're required to fill out either a Form W-8 BEN or Form W-8 BEN(E). If you need help completing it, we recommend working with a tax advisor—we cannot advise. 

If you need to update bank account information, and cannot do so on your own in your Gusto account, contact your employer. 

Reminder: If Gusto receives a bank error while attempting to pay you, we'll send you a request to update the bank account information directly. The most common pieces of information that need updating are:

• Your bank account details, or;
• The name associated with the bank account—the name affiliated with the bank account must exactly match the full name entered in Gusto.

Update your bank account info

1. Sign in to your international contractor profile in Gusto.
   • If you don't have an account, ask your employer to send you a request to update your information—let them know they can find instructions for how to send you the request in this article. Once your employer has sent the request, find the email from Gusto, then;
     • Don't see it? Make sure you're checking the email on file with Gusto, and double-check your spam folder(s).
   • Click Update details in the email, update the information, and Save. We'll let your employer know when you've updated your information.
2. From the left-menu, click the Person icon.
3. Under the “Information” headline, click Payment. 
4. Next to "Payment", click Edit.
5. Edit any of the following details:
   • Payment method
   • Account holder name
     • The full name on record with your financial institution.
   • Account number
   • Confirm account number
   • Bank name
   • (If applicable) SWIFT code
     • A SWIFT code is a standard format to identify banks when sending money internationally.
     • Please check with your bank to ensure you enter the correct SWIFT code.
6. Click Save.

If you need to be paid to the new bank account, work with your employer to get the necessary payment(s) scheduled (or rescheduled).

Update certain personal information

1. Sign in to your international contractor profile in Gusto.
   • If you don't have an account, ask your employer to send you a request to update your information—let them know they can find instructions for how to send you the request in this article. Once your employer has sent the request, find the email from Gusto, then;
     • Don't see it? Make sure you're checking the email on file with Gusto, and double-check your spam folder(s).
   • Click Update details in the email, update the information, and Save. We'll let your employer know when you've updated your information.
2. From the left-menu, click the Person icon.
3. Next to “Personal information”, click Edit.
4. Edit any of the following details:
   • First name
   • Pronouns
   • Tax identification number—no edits to this field will save.
     • If you need to update your tax identification number, contact your employer. 
   • Birthday
   • Recovery email
5. Click Save.

Update your address

1. Sign in to your international contractor profile in Gusto.
   • If you don't have an account, ask your employer to send you a request to update your information—let them know they can find instructions for how to send you the request in this article. Once your employer has sent the request, find the email from Gusto, then;
     • Don't see it? Make sure you're checking the email on file with Gusto, and double-check your spam folder(s).
   • Click Update details in the email, update the information, and Save. We'll let your employer know when you've updated your information.
2. From the left-menu, click the Person icon.
3. Next to “Address”, click Edit.
4. Edit any of the following details:
   • Country
   • Street address
   • City
   • Postal code
5. Click Save.

If you have an international contractor profile in Gusto: 

1. Sign in to your international contractor profile in Gusto.
2. From the left-menu, click the coin icon with a $ sign. 

You'll be able to view historical payments attempted and details like:

• Estimated pay date
• Wage
• Payment amount
• Payment method
• Payment status

To view or add documents to your Gusto account:

1. Sign in to your international contractor profile in Gusto.
2. From the left-menu, click the paper (document) icon. 
3. To add a document, click Add document.
   • Heads up: You can delete documents you've added after the fact, but you will not be able to delete your W-8 BEN(E).
4. To view a document, under the “Actions” column, click the three-dot menu, and then click View.

Show or hide your birthday and phone number (with coworkers)

1. Sign in to your international contractor profile in Gusto.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the left-menu, and click the gear icon. 
3. Click Edit next to "Birthday" or "Phone number" to let us know if we should show that information to your coworkers.
   • Admins and managers will still be able to see this information.
   • Your birthday year will never be visible to coworkers.

Reach out to your employer first—if they're unable to help, they can contact Gusto from the Help or Priority support section of their Gusto account. 

If you still need help:

1. Click the question mark icon toward the bottom of the left-menu.
2. Under the "Need to get in touch?" headline, click Contact us. 
3. Follow the remaining prompts/questions.