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Glossary

Form W-9

Also known as: Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification

form

The IRS form a US person completes to give their taxpayer identification number to a US business that will pay them. If your US LLC hires a US contractor, you collect a W-9 from them before paying.

Full entry

Who files it

A US person — citizen, resident, or US business entity — being paid by another US business. The payer keeps the W-9 on file; it does not go to the IRS.

Why your US LLC collects W-9s

Any US-person contractor you pay $600 or more for services in a calendar year triggers a Form 1099-NEC filing obligation on your LLC. To prepare the 1099-NEC accurately you need their legal name, address, and taxpayer identification number — which is exactly what the W-9 captures.

The practical workflow

  1. Before paying a US contractor, email them a blank W-9 and ask them to return it signed.
  2. File the completed W-9 in your contractor records.
  3. At year-end, use the W-9 data to prepare 1099-NEC for each contractor you paid $600+.

Non-US contractors

A non-US-person contractor does not complete W-9. They complete W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E instead, which puts them on a different reporting track (potentially Form 1042-S rather than 1099-NEC).

See also: Form 1099-NEC, W-8BEN.

This is not tax advice. See the disclaimer.

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