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Comment by adriand | Hacker News Reader

If I'd known I could do this, I wouldn't be so cautious about app purchases!

I have heard each user can only do this once. If you try to do this more than once, they will likely not accommodate you.

This is what I was told when I requested a refund. I have only had the need to make one refund request, so I can't say whether it is true.

The most interesting thing was that they don't do anything to take the app back. I received a refund, but still have the app on my phone. In fact I think it's even been updated since without a problem.

Here's a snippet from the email from Apple support.

"I have reversed the charge for the accidental purchase you reported. Please note that the iTunes Store Terms of Sale state that all sales are final, so this is a one-time exception."

Be careful of this, due to Apple’s current policies, each refund costs the developer money beyond the money they receive. Apple keeps the 30% commission on the sale, and bills the developer the full purchase price. (I’m not sure how the IRS W-9 cut is handled; that’s about 28% in the U.S. It would suck if the IRS keeps that cut until tax time.)

There's no W-9, you are not an Apple employee. You're an independent contractor / company. Normatively the IRS only witholds taxes on employee pay.

Your comment has nothing to do with the policy's of apple. They keep the 30% of the cost and take the 100% out of revenue.

It has everything to do with the comment I was replying to. Specifically the part quoted below:

> (I’m not sure how the IRS W-9 cut is handled; that’s about 28% in the U.S. It would suck if the IRS keeps that cut until tax time.)

I have no idea why this comment is here....total accident, think I was shooting at something else.

You’re thinking of a W-2. The W-9 is what some U.S. companies (like Apple) have to create for bookkeeping purposes, when the government suspects the payment mechanism could be used to evade taxation. Since my company is a sole proprietorship without a payroll department, I wasn’t exempt from the W-9 deduction, so I needed to fill one out when I applied as a developer.

Do you know of an instance of this actually happening? I know about the scary clause, but I've never heard of it actually being applied. It's become something of an urban legend.

You state this as though it's a fact, so I assume you have some citation of it, you know, actually happening to someone?

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