Free IRS form · Official PDF

Form W-9: Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification

Current IRS revision · Download free — no email, no account

The W-9 is the form every freelancer and contractor fills out at the start of a client relationship — and the form every business should collect before paying one. Download the official IRS PDF free and see exactly how to complete it.

Form W-9 — Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification

Free · Official IRS PDF · Current IRS revision · Print-ready
↓  Download Form W-9 (PDF) Instructions: irs.gov

What is Form W-9?

Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is how a business collects a payee's legal name, taxpayer identification number (SSN or EIN), and federal tax classification. Unlike most IRS forms, it's never sent to the IRS — the business keeps it on file and uses it to prepare the 1099-NEC or other information returns at year-end.

For the person filling it out, the W-9 also certifies that you're not subject to backup withholding. Get the TIN wrong or refuse to provide one, and the payer may be required to withhold a flat percentage from every payment — which is why accuracy on this one-page form matters.

Who files Form W-9?

  • Independent contractors and freelancers — any U.S. person a business expects to pay $600+ in a year for services.
  • Businesses hiring contractors — collect a W-9 before the first payment, not at 1099 time in January.
  • Landlords receiving rent from commercial tenants, attorneys receiving settlement payments, and vendors being set up in accounting systems.
  • Banks and brokerages also request W-9s when opening accounts, to report interest and dividends.

Deadlines

There's no IRS filing deadline — a W-9 is exchanged between payer and payee, not filed. Best practice is to provide it before the first payment is made. Businesses need the information in hand to issue 1099-NEC forms by January 31.

How to fill out Form W-9

  1. Line 1 — your legal name

    The name on your tax return. Sole proprietors use their personal name here, not the business name.

  2. Line 2 — business/disregarded entity name

    DBA or single-member LLC name goes here, if you have one.

  3. Line 3 — federal tax classification

    Check one box: individual/sole proprietor, C corp, S corp, partnership, trust/estate, or LLC (with its tax classification letter).

  4. Part I — your TIN

    SSN for individuals and most sole proprietors; EIN for entities. A single-member LLC generally uses the owner's SSN unless it has elected corporate treatment.

  5. Part II — sign and date

    Your signature certifies the TIN is correct and that you're not subject to backup withholding. Return it to the requester — never to the IRS.

Form W-9 — frequently asked questions

Any U.S. person (individual or entity) that a business will report payments for — most commonly independent contractors expected to earn $600 or more from that payer in a year. The payer requests it; the payee completes it.
No. The requesting business keeps it on file and uses the information to prepare information returns like the 1099-NEC. Only those year-end forms go to the IRS.
The payer is generally required to apply backup withholding — currently a flat 24% — to your payments, and may decline to work with you until the form is in.
Either works for a sole proprietor, but many freelancers get a free EIN (via Form SS-4) so they aren't handing their Social Security number to every client.

Related IRS forms

Form SS-4Application for Employer Identification NumberSchedule CProfit or Loss From Business (Sole Proprietorship)Form 1040-ESEstimated Tax for IndividualsSchedule SESelf-Employment Tax

Hiring a contractor? The W-9 is step one.

Step two is the contract. BizDocs creates independent contractor agreements with scope, payment terms, and IP clauses — ready to send for eSignature.

Create a contractor agreement
Important: BizDocs is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Internal Revenue Service. The forms offered on this page are official, unmodified IRS documents provided free as a public resource; the IRS publishes them in the public domain at irs.gov. The guides on this page are general information, not tax or legal advice — tax rules change and depend on your situation, so verify details in the official IRS instructions or with a qualified tax professional before filing.