Seller Payouts on Cohart

What You Need to Get Paid

Cohart offers two payout setups:

• Cohart Connect → faster payouts + multi-currency support
• Standard setup → Global payouts with manual processing

Cohart Connect 

Cohart Connect is the preferred way to receive payouts — especially for fairs.

It allows you to receive payouts directly to your bank account, in your preferred currency, with faster processing times.

How It Works

• Your connected bank account sets your payout currency
• You can link as many bank accounts as needed
• Buyers can pay in any currency
• Stripe automatically handles conversion via Cohart Connect
• Payouts are sent directly to your bank in your designated currency
• Note: You can only list prices in your linked currency (or currencies, if linking multiple accounts)

Payout timing: Typically 1–3 days after the transaction

What You Need

• Complete Cohart Connect in your Financial Accounts dashboard
• Connect your bank account

Standard Payout Setup (Non-Connected Accounts)

If you choose not to use Cohart Connect or if your currency isn't supported, payouts follow our standard process.

How Standard Payouts Work

• Account type: ACH bank transfer (U.S. and international supported)
• Timing: Typically 5–10 business days from the transaction
• Format: Multiple sales are combined into one payout
• Fair sales: You’ll receive an itemized breakdown after the fair
• Tracking: View all sales in your Sales Record

What You Need

1. Bank Details
   Add your bank account:
   Profile → Edit Profile → Bank Details
2. Tax Form
   U.S. sellers: W-9
   International sellers: W-8BEN (individual) or W-8BEN-E (business)

Send your tax form to hello@cohart.com (include your fair name if attending), or request a DocuSign for an electronic form.

Note:
You can still process sales without sharing this information — we’ll follow up after your first sale to collect everything before we can release funds.

When Do I Get Paid?

Payout timing depends on how the sale is completed:

1. In-Person Sales (Fairs, POS, Tap-to-Pay, Invoices)

• Payout typically begins after the transaction clears
• Cohart Connect: 1–3 days
• Standard setup: 5–10 business days

Applies to:

• Tap-to-Pay
• QR code checkout
• Custom invoices

2. Shipped Sales (Seller-Shipped)

• Artwork is shipped and tracking is provided
• Buyer has 48 hours to report issues
• If no issues, payout is released
• Timing: 7 days after shipment is confirmed

3. Cohart-Managed Shipping (If Used)

• Cohart handles labels, tracking, and buyer communication
• After delivery:
  • Buyer has 48 hours to report issues
  • If none, payout is released
  • Timing: 7 days after delivery is confirmed

Why Payouts Take Time

Cohart uses Stripe to securely process payments.

Because we operate as a platform (not a standalone card reader), funds must:

• Be received and cleared
• Pass fraud and dispute checks
• Move through the banking system

This protects you from chargebacks, fraudulent transactions, and failed payments.

What’s Included in Your Payout

Your payout includes:

• Artwork price
• Minus Cohart processing fees (2.5-5% depending on your plan)

Note for U.S. sales:
Sales tax is collected from the buyer and is not deducted from your payout.

Here are some frequently asked questions about payouts:

Can Cohart send payouts to non-U.S. bank accounts?

Yes. Cohart can send payouts to both U.S. and international bank accounts.

How does the standard payout process work (behind the scenes)?

Cohart uses Stripe to securely process payments, which is one of the most secure global payment processors. Because we operate as a platform (not a standalone card reader), funds are first received and cleared before being released to you. This protects you by preventing issues with bounced payments, fraud, or chargebacks.

Cohart also manages the full end-to-end workflow around each sale, not just the card processing, so it's a bit more of a robust system than just a card reader alone. 

In addition to processing payments, Cohart manages the full workflow around each sale:

• US sales tax calculation and filing
• Centralize all sales into one streamlined payout
• Auto-generate Certificates of Authenticity for your collectors
• Automatic collector capture in your CRM
• This end-to-end process is designed to remove admin work from your plate
  
  

Why do we need your W form (standard payouts)?

To issue payouts, Cohart is required to collect the appropriate IRS tax form based on your citizenship and business status. This form verifies whether you are a U.S. person or a international (non-U.S.) person, which determines how your payouts are treated for tax purposes.

W-9 Form — For U.S. persons

A W-9 is required for:

• U.S. citizens

• U.S. residents

• U.S.-registered businesses (LLCs, corporations, partnerships, sole proprietors)

Why we collect it: Cohart uses the W-9 to verify that you are a U.S. taxpayer so we can issue payouts to you correctly, provide you with an annual form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC to report your earnings to the IRS, and confirm that no withholding tax should be applied.

W-8BEN / W-8BEN-E — For non-U.S. persons

If you are NOT a U.S. citizen, resident, or U.S.-registered business, you should complete a W-8 form (W-8BEN for individuals, W-8BEN-E for businesses).

Why we collect it: Foreign galleries and artists are not required to pay U.S. income tax, but the IRS requires this form on file to validate your foreign status. Completing a W-8 certifies your foreign status so:

• No U.S. income tax withholding is taken from your payout
• Cohart can legally release payment to you

Note: U.S. sales tax is different from income tax - learn more at How Sales Tax Works on Cohart.

Does Cohart collect sales tax?

Yes we can manage this for you! Learn more at how Sales Tax works on Cohart.

At the end of the fiscal year, sellers are responsible for their individual income tax obligations. We support this process by providing the necessary tax forms, such as W8 or W9.

Is the shipping fee taken out of my payout?

No, the buyer covers the shipping cost at checkout (if any). Learn more about fees.

Does the buyer also pay for packing?

No, as the seller, you are responsible for packing the artwork and covering any associated costs. We recommend factoring the cost of custom packaging into the final price of the artwork. You can include an itemized breakdown on the invoice, clearly noting that the price includes packaging. This ensures transparency and gives the buyer visibility into the costs.

Alternatively, you can add a rough estimate of packaging costs to the artwork’s total price and mention that it covers custom packing.