How to Fill Out a W-9 Form as an Independent Contractor

What is Form W-9 and why clients ask for it

Form W-9, "Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification," is an IRS form that a U.S. person gives to a business that will pay them. The business uses it to prepare information returns such as Form 1099-NEC (nonemployee compensation) or Form 1099-MISC.

For payments made in 2026, the federal reporting threshold for most Form 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC payments rose from $600 to $2,000 per payee per year, and it is scheduled to be adjusted for inflation after 2026. Clients still commonly collect a W-9 before the first payment, because they need your TIN on file in case your total crosses the threshold.

A W-9 is not an employment form. Employees fill out Form W-4. If you receive a W-9 request, the payer is treating you as an independent contractor, vendor or other non-employee payee.

What you need before you start

• Your legal name exactly as it appears on your federal income tax return.
• Your business or "doing business as" (DBA) name, if you have one.
• Your federal tax classification (individual/sole proprietor, LLC, S corporation, etc.).
• Your Social Security number (SSN), Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or Employer Identification Number (EIN).
• The mailing address where you want to receive your Form 1099.

Line-by-line instructions for Form W-9

Line 1 — Name

Enter the name shown on your income tax return. If you are a sole proprietor, this is your individual name, not your business name. If you are a single-member LLC that is disregarded for federal tax purposes, line 1 is the owner's name — not the LLC's name.

Line 2 — Business name / disregarded entity name

Enter your DBA, trade name or the name of your disregarded LLC here. Leave it blank if you work under your own name.

Line 3a — Federal tax classification

Check exactly one box. Most freelancers check "Individual/sole proprietor." If you have a single-member LLC that has not elected corporate taxation, you also check the box for the owner's classification (usually individual/sole proprietor) rather than the LLC box. Multi-member LLCs and LLCs that elected to be taxed as a corporation check "LLC" and write C, S or P for their tax classification.

Line 3b — Foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries

Added in the March 2024 revision, line 3b applies only to partnerships, trusts, estates and LLCs taxed as partnerships that are giving the form to a partnership, trust or estate in which they hold an interest. Most individual contractors skip it.

Line 4 — Exemptions

Exempt payee codes and FATCA exemption codes apply mainly to corporations, tax-exempt organizations and financial institutions. If you are an individual or sole proprietor, leave both boxes blank.

Lines 5 and 6 — Address

Enter the street address, city, state and ZIP code where the payer should mail your information return. A P.O. box is acceptable.

Line 7 — Account numbers (optional)

Only fill this in if the requester asks you to list an account or vendor number.

Part I — Taxpayer Identification Number

Individuals and sole proprietors may enter either an SSN (or ITIN) or an EIN. A single-member LLC that is a disregarded entity should use the owner's SSN or EIN — not an EIN issued to the LLC solely for employment tax purposes. Corporations and partnerships enter their EIN. The name on line 1 must match the TIN you enter, or the payer's TIN match may fail.

Part II — Certification and signature

Signing certifies, under penalties of perjury, that your TIN is correct, that you are not subject to backup withholding (or have been told you no longer are), that you are a U.S. person, and that any FATCA code is correct. If the IRS has notified you that you are currently subject to backup withholding, you must cross out item 2 before signing. Then sign and date the form.

Backup withholding: what happens if you don't provide a W-9

If you fail to give a payer a correct TIN, or the IRS notifies the payer that your name and TIN do not match, the payer may be required to withhold federal income tax from your reportable payments at the backup withholding rate of 24% and send it to the IRS. You can claim the withheld amount as a credit on your tax return, but it reduces your cash flow in the meantime.

Providing an accurate, signed W-9 before the first invoice is the simplest way to avoid backup withholding and payment delays.

Common W-9 mistakes contractors make

• Putting a business name on line 1 when you are a sole proprietor.
• Checking the LLC box for a single-member LLC that is a disregarded entity.
• Using a name/TIN combination that doesn't match IRS records (for example, a new married name not yet updated with the Social Security Administration).
• Forgetting to sign and date the certification.
• Emailing an unencrypted W-9 to an unverified address — a common identity-theft and phishing vector.

How to send your W-9 safely

Your W-9 contains your SSN or EIN. Before sending it, confirm the request is genuine by contacting the client through a known phone number or portal. Prefer the client's secure vendor portal or an encrypted file-sharing link over plain email, and never share it in response to an unexpected request.

The official IRS Form W-9 and its instructions are available free on IRS.gov. US Form Kit produces a clean substitute Form W-9 with the same content and certification, so you get a polished, ready-to-sign PDF in minutes.