Update January 14, 2026: In September 2025, the IRS released a draft of Form W-9, to be revised in January 2026. From this draft form we can see a couple of updates that we’ll make you aware of:
1. In Part I Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), it states explicitly that an Employer Identification Number (EIN) should not be used for a sole proprietorship or disregarded entity.
This (draft) change is also reflected in Step 7 below.
2. In the “Part II Certification” section, there is a new item in the list of certifications. It looks like this:
It won’t be relevant for most of you, but if you are Digital Asset Broker that wishes to claim to be exempt from information reporting requirements under the regulations cited, then you’ll want to check the box.
If you’re self-employed as an independent contractor or freelancer, you’ve likely needed to complete Form W-9, which is different from Form W-4 that employees fill out. If you’ve earned interest from a bank or dividends from a mutual fund, you’ve probably also encountered the W-9 form.
As its name implies, the W-9—the Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification—asks for identifying information such as your name, mailing address, and taxpayer ID.
Unlike with many other tax forms, you don’t send your completed W-9 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Instead, you send it to the person or institution with whom you have a financial relationship, be it a business owner who hires you to do freelance work or the bank where you have an interest-earning account. They will use that information to fill out 1099 tax documents, so the IRS knows how much money they paid you. The appropriate 1099 form must be postmarked by January 31st (or the following Monday if the 31st falls on a weekend) so you should receive it no later than the first week in February. You’ll need to file the 1099 with your taxes, too.
As you can see, the W-9 is important for everyone. Also, there are penalties for not filing 1099s correctly and on time. Penalties range from $50 to over a million dollars, depending on the amount of gross receipts and how late it is. It pays to get this right!
If you’d like to watch a video on the W-9 and how to complete it, jump down to the bottom of this post.
Otherwise, read on to learn what else you need to know about the IRS form W-9 and how to complete it accurately.
Do I need to fill out a W-9 form?
If you’re an independent contractor, you’ll need to fill out a W-9 for each client for whom you invoice $600 or more in the given tax year. A W-9 reflects that you’re responsible for your own income taxes and your payer will not be withholding them since you’re not an employee. There are also other situations where you have to fill out a W-9 form.
For example, the W-9 will come into play if you:
Have proceeds from real estate transactions
Paid mortgage interest
Paid student loan interest
Have canceled debt
Earned interest from a bank
Head over to the IRS website for the full list.
How to fill out a W-9 form
1. Download the W-9 form from IRS.gov
Although you’ll often be supplied a copy of the form, you can also download the form from the IRS website yourself. It’s a one-page form with four pages of IRS instructions. It’s always a good idea to reference the IRS information or call your CPA, Enrolled Agent or tax professional for the fine print. For most of us though, the W-9 is pretty straightforward. We’ll walk you through it.
2. Provide your full legal name and business name
Line 1 of the form will ask you for your legal name.
If you are an individual, sole proprietorship, or single-member LLC (limited liability company), you should enter your own name as shown on your individual tax returns. If you have a separate business name or “doing business as” DBA name, that information will go on line 2.
If your business is a partnership, multi-member LLC, C corporation, or S corporation, you should use your entity’s legal name.
3. Business structure
In March 2024, the IRS released a revised Form W-9. The most notable changes are within Step 3 where there are now steps 3a and 3b. Here are the details:
Step 3a
The prior wording of Step 3 was a little confusing, so the new form attempts to clarify which box to check if your business is an LLC. In particular, if you own a single-member LLC, that is “disregarded for tax purposes” that means you will check the box for the owner’s tax classification, most likely “Individual/sole proprietor.”
For LLCs that are not disregarded entities, the “LLC” box should be checked, and the appropriate tax classification—’C’ for C corporation, ‘S’ for S corporation, or ‘P’ for Partnership—should be entered.
Step 3b
Step 3b is for anyone who 1) checks “Partnership,” “Trust/estate,” or “LLC” and enters “P” as its classification and 2) is providing the form to a partnership, trust, or estate in which they have an ownership interest. If you meet both those criteria and you also have any foreign partners, owners, or beneficiaries, then you need to check the corresponding box.
By checking this box, you signal to the recipient that additional reporting may be required on Schedules K-2 and K-3 which are part of Form 1065, Schedule K-1. Schedules K-2 and K-3 report relevant international tax information to the partners in the partnership and beneficiaries of a trust or estate.
4. Exemption
Most individuals and business types do not have to fill out anything in box 4, unless you have to add exempt payee or FATCA reporting codes. (The latter relates to foreign account holdings and following the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.) You may need to if your business is structured as a corporation though, so make sure to double-check with your tax accountant.
5. Enter your mailing address
Lines 5 and 6 are straightforward: write down the mailing address where you want to receive important tax information.
If you’re filling out the W-9 as a freelancer, your client will use this address when they prepare your 1099-NEC for the nonemployee compensation you earned, which is essential for filing your taxes accurately.
If you’re filling out a W-9 for miscellaneous income (such as for receiving prizes), this address is where you’ll most likely receive Form 1099-MISC, whereas the 1099-DIV is sent by banks and other financial institutions to report dividends.
6. Add any account numbers
If your client(s) give you a unique account number to identify you, it could be added to line 7. lt’s also optional to provide the requester’s name and address in the corresponding box, which can help you track who you’re giving your giving your tax identification number out to, along with the number of clients you’re filling this form out for (one for each client).
7. Provide your Social Security number or Employer Identification Number
Next, move down to Part I. This is the main point of the form, the spot where you need to enter your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).
Typically, you either use your Social Security Number (SSN) or your Employer Identification Number (EIN). It all depends on your business structure for federal tax classification that you entered in the appropriate box at the top of the form. It should be noted, however, that starting in 2026 this section explicitly states “Do not report the employer identification number (EIN) of a sole proprietorship or disregarded entity.” Whether this change impacts you or not, you need to enter the correct TIN for the information return.
If you are… | Enter your | Unless |
An individual | SSN | |
A sole proprietor | SSN or EIN | |
The owner of a single-member LLC that is taxed as a disregarded entity | SSN | If you personally have an EIN, you can use that as well. But don’t use your LLC’s EIN. |
The owner of an LLC that is classified as a S or C corporation or a partnership | EIN | |
The owner of any other type of business entity | EIN |
