Built on the current IRS Form W-9 (Rev. 2024), with the name, TIN, classification, and certification handled for you
Fill out a W-9 the right way, no backup withholding
Form W-9 is how a U.S. person gives a business their taxpayer ID number and certifies their status, so payments get reported correctly and nothing is held back. Fill it in, preview the finished form, and download a W-9 ready to sign and hand over.
Add your name, tax classification, address, and your SSN or EIN, so the payer can report your pay correctly.
W-9Rev. 2024
Preview
2
Preview every line
See the finished W-9 exactly as your payer will, with your TIN and certification in place, before you pay a cent.
PDFW-9
Print
To payer
Download W-9
3
Sign and hand it over
Download the finished W-9, sign and date Part II, and give it to the business that asked, not the IRS.
Most forms take a couple of minutes. Sample entries shown; your form uses your real information.
Why this generator
Built so the parts that cause backup withholding are the ones it handles
Trouble on a W-9 almost always comes from the same places: a name and number that don't match, the wrong tax classification, an unsigned certification, or handing the form to the wrong party. Those are the parts this tool watches for you.
The right form for you
A W-9 is for U.S. persons. If you're a foreign individual that's a W-8BEN, and if you're an employee it's a W-4. The tool keeps you on the W-9 when that's the one you need.
A name and TIN that match
The single biggest cause of backup withholding is a Line 1 name that doesn't match your SSN or EIN. The generator lines them up so IRS records agree.
The right tax classification
Line 3a trips up sole proprietors and single-member LLCs constantly. The tool helps you pick the box that matches how you're actually taxed.
A certification that counts
Part II only protects you if it's signed and dated. The generator won't let you hand over a form that's missing the signature that stops withholding.
Your SSN handled with care
A W-9 carries your Social Security number. Build it, preview it, and download it privately, then share it only with the payer who asked.
The form is short: your name and address up top, your tax classification, your taxpayer ID, and a certification you sign. Tap or click a line to see what it needs and the mistake to avoid.
W-9Lines 1–7, Parts I & II
Line 1Name
Your name as shown on your income tax return. For an individual or sole proprietor, that's your legal name, not a business name.
Watch forThis line is required, and it has to match the name tied to the TIN in Part I, or you risk the 24% backup withholding.
Line 2Business or disregarded entity name
A business, trade, or disregarded entity name, if it's different from Line 1. Leave it blank if you don't have one.
Watch forFor a single-member LLC, the owner's name goes on Line 1 and the LLC name goes here on Line 2, not the other way around.
Line 3aFederal tax classification
Check the one box that matches how you're taxed: individual or sole proprietor, C or S corporation, partnership, trust or estate, or LLC with its tax code.
Watch forA disregarded entity checks the box for its owner's classification. Checking "Individual" when you're really an S corporation is a common slip.
Line 3bForeign partners or owners
A checkbox added in the 2024 revision, only for a partnership, trust, or estate with foreign partners or owners that's giving this form to another flow-through entity.
Watch forMost individuals and single-owner businesses leave this blank. It's a niche box, not a default one to check.
Line 4Exemptions
Codes that some entities enter to show they're exempt from backup withholding or FATCA reporting. Most individuals leave this empty.
Watch forIf you're a regular contractor or freelancer, you almost certainly don't have an exempt payee code. Don't invent one to fill the space.
Line 5Address
Your street address, where the requester will mail your 1099 and any tax notices at the end of the year.
Watch forUse an address where you'll actually receive mail. A stale address here means a lost 1099 at tax time.
Line 6City, state, and ZIP
The rest of your mailing address, which just needs to be current and complete.
Watch forMatch this to the address on your other tax records so your 1099 and your return line up cleanly.
Line 7Account numbers
Optional. Space for account numbers if the requester asks you to list them, useful when you hold several accounts with the same payer.
Watch forThis line is optional. Leave it blank unless the requester specifically asks you to fill it in.
Part ITaxpayer identification number
Your SSN if you're an individual or sole proprietor, or your EIN if you're an entity. A single-member LLC usually uses the owner's number.
Watch forThe number has to match the Line 1 name. A mismatch is exactly what sets off the 24% backup withholding.
Part IICertification
You sign and date to certify your TIN is correct, you aren't subject to backup withholding, and you're a U.S. person.
Watch forCross out item 2 only if the IRS has told you you're subject to backup withholding. An unsigned W-9 usually isn't valid.
Tap any line on the form to read what it asks for.
The basics
What is Form W-9?
Quick answer
Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is the form a U.S. person gives a business to hand over their correct taxpayer ID number, usually a Social Security number or EIN, and certify they're a U.S. person not subject to backup withholding. It goes to the payer, not the IRS. The payer uses it to report what they pay you, typically on a 1099. Get it wrong and the payer has to withhold 24% of your pay.
If a business pays you and you aren't its employee, it needs your taxpayer ID number to report those payments to the IRS. The W-9 is how you provide it. You fill in your name, your tax classification, and your SSN or EIN, then sign to certify the details are right. The business keeps the form on file and uses it at tax time.
The form does two jobs. It gives the payer your correct name and TIN so the income they report matches your tax records. And your signature in Part II certifies three things: your TIN is correct, you aren't subject to backup withholding, and you're a U.S. person. That certification is what keeps the payer from holding back a slice of what they owe you.
A few things trip people up, and the sections below cover them: which of the similar forms you actually need, what backup withholding is and how to avoid it, the reporting threshold that changed for 2026, and why a W-9 doesn't expire the way some other forms do. You hand it to the payer once, and send a fresh one only when your details change.
Which form
W-9 vs W-4 vs W-8BEN
These three sort out how you're paid and who you are for U.S. tax: a non-employee, an employee, or a foreign person. Handing over the wrong one causes the wrong withholding or a bounced form.
Form
Who fills it out
What it's for
Goes to
W-9
A U.S. person who isn't an employee (contractor, freelancer, vendor)
Give a payer your taxpayer ID and certify U.S. status
The business that pays you
W-4
A U.S. employee on a company's payroll
Tell an employer how much tax to withhold from wages
Your employer
W-8BEN
A foreign individual (nonresident alien)
Certify foreign status and claim treaty benefits
The U.S. payer or withholding agent
Swipe the table sideways for the full text →
The first split is employee or not. If a company puts you on payroll and takes taxes out of your paycheck, you're an employee, and you fill out a W-4 so they withhold the right amount. If you're paid as a contractor, freelancer, or vendor with nothing withheld, you fill out a W-9 instead, and your pay lands on a 1099 at year's end.
The second split is U.S. or foreign. The W-9 is only for U.S. persons: citizens, resident aliens, and U.S. businesses. If you're a foreign individual, you use a W-8BEN to certify foreign status, and a U.S. payer generally withholds 30% unless a treaty lowers it. Giving a payer the wrong form leads to the wrong tax treatment, so match the form to your situation.
Quick rule
Contractor or vendor, and a U.S. person? W-9. Employee? W-4. Foreign individual? W-8BEN.
Why it matters
Backup withholding and the 24% rule
A W-9 done right means nothing gets held back. Done wrong, or not at all, and the payer has to take 24% off the top and send it to the IRS.
Normally a contractor or vendor gets paid in full, with no tax withheld, and settles up when they file. Backup withholding is the exception. When something's off with your W-9, the payer is required to hold back a flat 24% of each payment and send it to the IRS on your behalf. You still get credit for it as tax already paid, but you wait until you file to see it again.
The triggers are specific. It kicks in when you don't give a TIN or give an obviously wrong one, when the IRS tells the payer your name and number don't match, or when the IRS notifies the payer that you've underreported interest or dividends. A complete, signed W-9 with a name and TIN that match your records is what keeps all of that from starting.
1
No TIN, or a wrong one
Leave Part I blank, or enter a number that doesn't check out, and the payer has to start withholding 24% right away.
Missing TIN
2
A name and number mismatch
If the IRS says your Line 1 name and TIN don't match its records, you get a B-notice, and withholding follows if it isn't fixed.
B-notice
3
An IRS underreporting notice
If the IRS tells the payer you underreported interest or dividends, it sends a C-notice, and withholding applies until it's cleared.
C-notice
Getting the 24% back
Backup withholding isn't a penalty or a lost amount, it's a prepayment. The payer reports it on your 1099 as federal income tax withheld, and you claim it on your return. Fixing the underlying W-9 issue stops it going forward.
New for 2026
The 1099 threshold jumped to $2,000
The W-9 you hand over feeds a 1099 once a client pays you enough in a year. For 2026 that number changed, and a lot of older guidance still quotes the old one.
$600 → $2,000
Higher reporting line. For payments made in 2026 and later, a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC is required only at $2,000 or more, up from the $600 that had stood since the 1950s.
Per payer
Measured client by client. The test runs separately for each payer over the year. One client paying under $2,000 may not file a 1099, even if your total across all clients is higher.
2027
Indexed after that. The $2,000 figure adjusts for inflation starting in 2027, so expect small changes year to year. Payments made in 2025 still use the old $600 rule.
The part that didn't change: all of your income is taxable whether or not a 1099 shows up. The threshold only decides when a payer must file the form, not what you owe. Many businesses also collect a W-9 and issue 1099s below the line anyway to keep clean records, so being asked for a W-9 doesn't tell you how much you'll be paid.
How long it lasts
A W-9 doesn't expire
Unlike some tax forms, a W-9 has no set expiration date. It stays good until something about you changes.
Once you give a payer a completed, signed W-9, they can keep relying on it indefinitely. There's no annual refresh and no three-year clock. The form only needs replacing when the information on it stops being accurate, so a long-standing client relationship usually runs on a single W-9 for years.
You send a fresh one when your name changes, your TIN changes, your tax classification changes, or you become subject to backup withholding. Moving to a new address is a good reason to send an update too, so your 1099 reaches you. A payer can also ask for a new form any time they need to confirm their records are current.
Different from a W-8BEN
If you also deal with the foreign-status form, note the contrast: a W-8BEN expires after about three years and has to be renewed, while a W-9 keeps working until your details change. Don't assume a W-9 needs redoing on a schedule; update it when something actually changes.
Try it
See what a missing W-9 would cost
Enter what a client pays you and how often, and compare getting paid in full against the 24% a payer must hold back without a valid W-9.
A rough guide using the flat 24% backup withholding rate and the $2,000 reporting threshold for 2026. Your actual 1099 and any withholding depend on the payer.
What to expect
Total from this client$6,000.00
1099 expected for 2026?Yes, over $2,000
Backup withholding, no valid W-9$1,440.00
You receive with a valid W-9$6,000.00
This contrasts full payment with the flat 24% held back when a W-9 is missing or wrong; it isn't tax advice. The generator builds the full form so nothing is withheld.
Backup withholding isn't lost money, but it does tie up 24% of your pay until you file. A correct, signed W-9 up front is what keeps your payments whole.
Avoid these
The mistakes that trigger withholding or a bounced form
A W-9 is short, but a handful of slips cause almost all the trouble. Clear these and your form does its job the first time.
Using a W-9 when you're foreign
A W-9 is for U.S. persons only. If you're a nonresident, you should be filling out a W-8BEN instead. The wrong form leads to the wrong withholding and a document the payer can't use.
A name that doesn't match the TIN
Line 1 has to carry the exact name tied to the number in Part I: your legal name for an SSN, the business's legal name for an EIN. A mismatch is the top cause of a B-notice and backup withholding.
Checking the wrong 3a box
Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs often check the wrong classification. Pick the box that matches how you're actually taxed, and put the owner's name on Line 1 for a disregarded entity.
Skipping the signature
An unsigned Part II usually makes the form invalid, and the payer may withhold until they get a signed one. For most payments the certification is required, so date it and sign it.
Confusing SSN and EIN
A single-member LLC usually uses the owner's SSN or EIN, not a separate LLC number. Corporations and partnerships use the entity's EIN. Enter whichever matches the Line 1 name.
Sending it insecurely
A W-9 exposes your Social Security number. Don't email it in the clear or post it somewhere, and don't send one to a party you can't verify. Scammers request W-9s to harvest SSNs.
If withholding already started
Been hit with backup withholding? Give the payer a corrected W-9 with a matching name and TIN, or resolve the IRS notice behind it. Withholding stops going forward once the issue is fixed, and you claim what was already withheld on your tax return.
Need another form?
The 1099 your W-9 feeds, pay stubs, W-2, and the rest of the income and tax paper trail live in one place, all with the same preview-first approach.
Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is how a U.S. person gives a business their correct taxpayer ID number, usually a Social Security number or EIN, and certifies they're a U.S. person not subject to backup withholding. You give it to whoever pays you, not to the IRS, and they use it to prepare information returns like a 1099.
Any U.S. person a business pays who isn't a regular employee: independent contractors, freelancers, gig workers, consultants, vendors, and landlords, plus anyone earning interest, dividends, or similar income. If a payer, bank, or broker asks you for one, you're the person who fills it out.
No. You give the completed W-9 to the requester, the business or institution that pays you, and they keep it on file. They use the information to report your payments to the IRS on a form like a 1099, but the W-9 itself never goes to the IRS.
A W-4 is for employees, and it tells an employer how much income tax to withhold from your paycheck, feeding a W-2 at year's end. A W-9 is for non-employees like contractors, where nothing is normally withheld and your pay is reported on a 1099. If you're an employee you fill out a W-4, not a W-9.
A W-9 is for U.S. persons. A W-8BEN is the foreign version, for a nonresident who isn't a U.S. person. If you're a U.S. citizen or resident you use the W-9; if you're a foreign individual you use the W-8BEN instead. Handing over the wrong one leads to the wrong tax treatment.
It's a flat 24% the payer must take out of your payments and send to the IRS if something's wrong, like a missing or incorrect TIN, or if the IRS has told the payer you underreported income. A correctly completed, signed W-9 is what keeps that from happening. Anything withheld counts as tax you've already paid.
Individuals and sole proprietors generally use a Social Security number. If you have an employer identification number for your business you can often use that instead, and a single-member LLC usually uses the owner's number. Whichever you enter, it has to match the name on Line 1 so the IRS can match the records.
If a client pays you at or above the reporting threshold for the year, they use your W-9 to send you a 1099, usually a 1099-NEC for contractor work, by late January. For payments made in 2026 and later that threshold is $2,000 per payer. Your income is taxable whether or not a 1099 shows up.
Not for 2026 onward. A 2025 law raised the 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC reporting threshold from $600 to $2,000 for payments made after 2025, with inflation adjustments starting in 2027. Payments made in 2025 still use the old $600 rule. Either way, many businesses collect a W-9 up front no matter what they expect to pay.
A W-9 doesn't expire on a set date. It stays valid until your information changes, such as your name, your TIN, your tax classification, or your becoming subject to backup withholding. When something changes, you send the payer a fresh one. That's different from a W-8BEN, which expires after three years.
Line 3a is your federal tax classification, where you check one box: individual or sole proprietor, C corporation, S corporation, partnership, trust or estate, or LLC. Line 3b was added in 2024 and only applies to a partnership, trust, or estate with foreign partners or owners passing the form to another entity. Most individuals leave 3b blank.
For most payments, yes. You sign Part II to certify your TIN is correct, you aren't subject to backup withholding, and you're a U.S. person. A few payment types, like mortgage interest or IRA contributions, don't require a signature but still need a correct TIN. When in doubt, sign it.
A W-9 has your Social Security number on it, so treat it like sensitive data. Send it only to a party you actually do business with, and use a secure method rather than plain email where you can. Requesters are legally required to protect your TIN. Be wary of anyone who asks for a W-9 out of the blue.
If the name and number don't match IRS records, the payer gets a notice and has to send you a B-notice asking you to fix it. Left unresolved, it triggers the 24% backup withholding. The fix is making sure Line 1 shows the exact name tied to that number, your legal name for an SSN, or the business's legal name for an EIN.
To the business, bank, or platform that requested it, not to the IRS. Give it to them before they pay you so your 1099 comes out right and no backup withholding kicks in. Keep a copy for your records, and send an updated form whenever your details change.
Sources
Where these rules come from
Every rate, line, and rule on this page traces back to primary government guidance. Verify any of it at the source.
This page is educational and doesn't provide legal, tax, or financial advice, and isn't affiliated with the IRS. A W-9 should reflect your true name, taxpayer ID, and status. Rules and thresholds can change, so confirm current requirements against the IRS sources above or a qualified tax professional. The calculator is a rough guide, not your payer's actual withholding.
Support
Not sure which box or number to use? A person answers, day or night
Tax forms are easy to second-guess, and a W-9 carries your Social Security number, so you can reach a person any hour.
Live chat, 24/7
Fastest for a quick question mid-form. Start a chat from any page and keep filling the form while you wait.
Call us
+1 857 444 9266, any hour. Real answers on classification, SSN versus EIN, and the certification.
Email
info@epaystubs.net for anything that needs a written reply, like sorting out a name and TIN mismatch.
Fill out your W-9 the clean way
Enter your details, pick the right classification, preview every line, and download a W-9 that's ready to sign and hand over, with the parts that trigger withholding already handled.
