How to fill out a W-9, line by line

Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, gives a payer your correct name, address and taxpayer identification number (TIN). They need it to report what they paid you on an information return such as a 1099-NEC. The current version is Rev. March 2024, and it is still the one on irs.gov.

Who asks for a W-9, and why

Anyone who has to file an information return about you can ask. The most common request comes from a client before they pay you as an independent contractor, because they will need your TIN for a 1099-NEC. Banks and brokers ask for the same reason, as can anyone who has to file a form such as a 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-MISC, 1099-K, 1099-S or 1098 that reports an amount paid to you or by you.

Only U.S. persons, including resident aliens, use Form W-9. Foreign persons give the payer a Form W-8 or Form 8233 instead. Employees don't give their employer a W-9; they fill out a W-4 for withholding. Not sure which you are? See W-2 vs 1099.

What changed in the March 2024 revision

• Line 3a was clarified. A single-member LLC that is a disregarded entity now checks the box for its owner's tax classification instead of the LLC box.
• Line 3b is new. Partnerships, trusts and estates check it when they give the form to a partnership, trust or estate they own part of and have foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries.

Line by line

1. Line 1, name. Required; never leave it blank. Use the name on your income tax return. A sole proprietor enters their own name here, not the business name. For a single-member LLC that is disregarded, enter the owner's name. If you changed your last name without telling the Social Security Administration, enter your first name, the last name on your Social Security card and your new last name.
2. Line 2, business name. Your business, trade or doing-business-as name, or the disregarded entity's name, if it differs from line 1.
3. Line 3a, federal tax classification. Check exactly one of seven boxes: Individual/sole proprietor, C corporation, S corporation, Partnership, Trust/estate, LLC or Other. If you check LLC, enter C, S or P for how the LLC is taxed.
4. Line 3b, foreign owners. Leave it blank unless you are a partnership, trust or estate (or an LLC taxed as a partnership) in the situation described above.
5. Line 4, exemptions. Most people leave both codes blank. Individuals and sole proprietors are generally not exempt from backup withholding. A corporation may enter exempt payee code 5, though corporations aren't exempt for attorneys' fees or, if they provide medical services, for medical payments. The FATCA code only matters for accounts held outside the United States.
6. Lines 5 and 6, address. Your street address, then city, state and ZIP code. This is where the payer will mail your 1099. If it's a new address for this payer, write NEW at the top of the form.
7. Line 7, account numbers. Optional. The requester's name and address box beside it is optional too.
8. Part I, taxpayer identification number. Enter your SSN or EIN in the matching box. The number must match the name on line 1. Resident aliens who can't get an SSN enter their ITIN in the SSN box. If you have applied for a number but don't have it yet, write Applied For.
9. Part II, certification. Sign and date. You certify that the TIN is correct, that you are not subject to backup withholding, that you are a U.S. person and that any FATCA code is correct. If the IRS has told you that you are subject to backup withholding for underreporting interest or dividends, cross out item 2 before signing.

For payments for services, the IRS only requires the signature if you were told you previously gave an incorrect TIN. The instructions also say a payer may ask you to sign anyway, and many do.

SSN or EIN?

Sole proprietors may use either number, though the IRS encourages the SSN. Some freelancers get an EIN so they don't have to hand out their Social Security number on every W-9. An LLC that is taxed as a corporation or partnership always uses the entity's own EIN.

LLCs: which box to check

An LLC's box depends on how it is taxed, not on the fact that it is an LLC. A single-member LLC that hasn't elected corporate status is disregarded, so it checks the owner's box (usually Individual/sole proprietor) and puts the owner's name on line 1. A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership checks LLC and enters P. An LLC that filed Form 8832 to be taxed as a C corporation enters C, and one that filed Form 2553 to be taxed as an S corporation enters S.

Backup withholding

If you don't give a TIN, don't certify it when required, or the IRS tells the payer your number is wrong, the payer must withhold 24% of reportable payments and send it to the IRS. That is called backup withholding. You can also face a $50 penalty for each failure to give a correct TIN, and a $500 penalty for a false statement with no reasonable basis that avoids backup withholding. Giving the correct number and certification avoids all of this.

When and how to send it

• Give it to the person who asked. Never send a W-9 to the IRS; the form itself says so. The payer keeps it on file.
• Send it before the first payment if you can, so nothing is held back.
• Send a new one when something changes, such as your name, your TIN, or your tax classification (for example, a C corporation that elects S corporation status).
• Send it securely. A W-9 holds your full SSN or EIN. Use the payer's secure upload portal, an encrypted email or hand delivery, not a plain email attachment.
• Check the request is real. Phishing emails imitate real businesses to collect personal details, and the IRS doesn't start contact with taxpayers by email. If a request is unexpected, confirm it with the payer by phone.

Paystub.biz fills the official W-9 for free. Because it holds a full SSN or EIN, we don't save it to your history; see the free W-9. The IRS instructions are on the About Form W-9 page.