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Form W-9 explained

A plain guide to Form W-9: what it is, why you ask a contractor for one before the first payment, and what each part of the form tells you.

Published · 4 min read

Form W-9 is a one-page IRS form. A person or business in the U.S. fills it in to give you their legal name, tax type and tax ID number.

You need those details to file a Form 1099 for the money you paid them. You keep the W-9 yourself. The form says, “Give form to the requester. Do not send to the IRS” (Form W-9).

The short version

Words to know

What the form tells you

The current form is the March 2024 revision (IRS). Three parts do the real work.

Line 1 is the legal name. For a sole proprietor or a disregarded single-member LLC, this is the owner’s name. The business name goes on line 2 (Form W-9).

Line 3a is the tax type: individual or sole proprietor, C corporation, S corporation, partnership, trust or estate, or LLC. This line tells you if the payee is a corporation. Payments to corporations generally do not need a 1099-NEC. Lawyers are an exception: they get one even when they are a corporation (IRS).

Part I is the TIN. This number goes on the 1099.

When to ask

Ask anyone you pay for services who might reach the 1099 limit. For payments made in 2026, that limit is $2,000 (IRS). Many businesses ask every service vendor, because small amounts can add up.

Ask again when a contractor changes their name, business type or TIN.

You do not need a W-9 from employees. They give you a Form W-4. Foreign contractors also do not use a W-9. They give you a Form W-8 instead (Form W-9). Not sure which kind of worker you have? Read contractor or employee.

Why before the first payment

If a contractor does not give you a TIN, you may have to take 24% out of reportable payments and send it to the IRS. For payments for services, there is no waiting period. This applies at once, even if the payee says they have applied for a number (IRS).

Most contractors send the form fast when they know this.

An example

Rosa runs a small catering business. (She is an example, not a real person.) In March 2026 she hires Ben to build her website for $3,000, paid by bank transfer.

Before she pays him, she sends him a blank W-9. Ben sends it back. It shows:

Part What Ben wrote
Line 1 His own name
Line 2 Ben Ortiz Design
Line 3a Individual or sole proprietor
Part I His EIN

Ben is not a corporation, and $3,000 is more than $2,000. So Rosa must send Ben a 1099-NEC for 2026. It is due by January 31. That date is a Sunday in 2027, so the due date moves to the next business day, Monday, February 1, 2027 (IRS).

Keep it safe

A W-9 has an SSN or EIN on it. Ask for it in a secure way, not as a plain email attachment. Keep it where only you and your accountant can see it.

Righto keeps your books in a file on your Mac, not on a server. Its contractor payment report shows what you paid each contractor this year. That makes it easy to see who needs a 1099 in January. See how to track payments to contractors.

Common questions

Do I send the W-9 to the IRS? No. You keep it and use it to fill in the 1099.

Does a W-9 expire? There is no set end date. Ask for a new one when the contractor’s name, business type or TIN changes.

A contractor says they are an LLC. Do I still need a W-9? Yes. Line 3a tells you if the LLC is taxed as a corporation or not.

What to do now

  1. Make a blank W-9 part of how you start with every new contractor.
  2. List the contractors you paid this year.
  3. Ask for any W-9 you do not have yet.
  4. Store each W-9 in a safe place, with that contractor’s payment records.

Righto is free, easy to use and needs no account.

Sources

Righto gives general information, not tax or legal advice. Ask a tax professional about your business.