When Apple payouts stop, the cause is usually administrative rather than adversarial: something in the Agreements, Tax, and Banking section of App Store Connect is not green. The Developer Program License Agreement spells out both the payout mechanics and the conditions under which Apple may freeze them.
What happened
Under Schedule 2 §3.5, Apple pays net proceeds by wire transfer only, subject to a monthly minimum remittance threshold, and no later than 45 days after the end of the month in which the proceeds were received — provided banking information is on file in App Store Connect. Withholding tax (§3.6/§3.7) is borne entirely by the developer: treaty-reduced rates apply only with documentation Apple accepts, and Apple may deduct and remit in full wherever it has reasonable grounds to withhold. Separately, §7.1 allows Apple to suspend payments to a developer — and to associated developer accounts — where it identifies or suspects misleading, fraudulent, improper, unlawful or dishonest conduct.
Who's affected
Developers with stuck proceeds — most often non-US developers missing treaty documentation (30% withholding without it is common), anyone who recently changed banking details, and teams that have not re-accepted an updated Paid Apps Agreement.
KappS's take
- Check the trio first. The Paid Apps Agreement must show Active (a Free Apps Agreement alone is not enough), tax forms must be complete, and banking must be valid. Any one missing blocks payouts — and the fix must be made by the Account Holder.
- Legal names must match across tax forms, banking and identity. A name mismatch here is the most common hold trigger.
- If submitted tax information cannot be edited directly in App Store Connect, contact Apple Developer Support to correct it with supporting documents — do not blindly resubmit the same form. Check App Store Connect notifications and the Account Holder's email for document requests first.