W-9 Form

Fills a substitute Form W-9 in your browser - your TIN is never uploaded, stored or sent anywhere.

100% free. Runs entirely in your browser - your files and data never leave your device and nothing is uploaded to any server.

Template, not legal advice. This produces a SUBSTITUTE Form W-9, not the official IRS PDF. The IRS allows substitutes that carry the certification language exactly as written, and most clients accept one - but banks and larger payers often insist on the official form, so ask before you send it. This is not tax advice. Your taxpayer identification number is typed into this page and rendered locally; it is never uploaded, and nothing about it is stored.

Start from an example

Fills every answer with a worked example you can edit. Pick the one closest to your business.

0 of 9 details filled
Who you are

The name on the first line must match your tax return exactly. A mismatch is the most common cause of an IRS notice to your client.

This must match your tax return exactly. A mismatch here is the single most common cause of a TIN notice from the IRS.
A single-member LLC that has not elected corporate treatment is "individual / sole proprietor", not LLC. That line trips up most people filling this in.
Your address
Taxpayer identification number

Typed here, rendered locally, never uploaded. Close the tab and it is gone.

Sole proprietors may give either. An EIN keeps your SSN off documents you send to clients, and it is free to get from the IRS.
Typed here, rendered into the document, and never sent anywhere. This page runs entirely in your browser - close the tab and it is gone.
Who asked for it
Exemptions
Most individuals and sole proprietors leave this blank. Corporations and certain entities have a code.
Applies to accounts held outside the United States. Usually blank.
Almost nobody has. If you have, the certification must be edited - item 2 has to be struck out, and the document below does that for you.

Nothing on this page is saved. This document collects a taxpayer identification number, so it is excluded from the remember-my-details option on purpose.

W-9 Form

7 sections · 581 words · updates as you type

W-9 Form

Last updated: 12 November 2026

Substitute Form W-9

Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification

Give this form to the person or business that requested it. Do not send it to the IRS.

Part I - Identification

Name (as shown on your income tax return): [Your legal name]

Federal tax classification: Individual / sole proprietor or single-member LLC

Address: [street address]

City, state, ZIP: [city, state, ZIP]

Part II - Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

Social Security Number: [your TIN]

The TIN given must match the name on the first line, or the payer may be required to apply backup withholding at 24% to payments made to you. If you are a sole proprietor with both an SSN and an EIN, the IRS prefers your SSN, though either is accepted.

Part III - Certification

Under penalties of perjury, I certify that:

1. The number shown on this form is my correct taxpayer identification number (or I am waiting for a number to be issued to me); and

2. I am not subject to backup withholding because: (a) I am exempt from backup withholding, or (b) I have not been notified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that I am subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends, or (c) the IRS has notified me that I am no longer subject to backup withholding; and

3. I am a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person (defined in the instructions); and

4. The FATCA code(s) entered on this form (if any) indicating that I am exempt from FATCA reporting is correct.

Sign here

Signature of U.S. person: ______________________________________

Printed name: [Your legal name]

Date: 12 November 2026

A Form W-9 is not valid until it is signed. A digital signature is acceptable to most payers, but the signature must be yours - a typed name alone is not a signature.

Before you send this

1. Check the name on line one against your last tax return, character for character. A name and TIN that do not match is what triggers a CP2100 notice to your client and backup withholding on your payments.

2. Ask the requester whether they accept a substitute W-9. Most do. Banks, brokerages and large payroll departments frequently do not, and want the official IRS PDF instead.

3. Send it securely. This document contains your Social Security Number, and email is not secure. Use whatever encrypted portal the requester offers, or a password-protected file with the password sent separately.

4. Never send a W-9 to someone who contacted you out of the blue. A request for a W-9 is one of the most common phishing approaches in the US, because the form hands over everything needed to file a fraudulent return. Verify with a number you already had, not one in the email.

5. Consider getting an EIN. It is free, takes minutes on the IRS website, and lets a sole proprietor give clients an EIN instead of a Social Security Number on every W-9 they ever send.

What happens next

The business that requested this keeps it on file - it is not sent to the IRS. They use it to issue you a Form 1099-NEC in January if they paid you $2,000 or more during the year ($600 for 2025 and earlier), and to confirm whether backup withholding applies.

A W-9 does not expire. You only need to send a new one if your name, business structure, address or TIN changes, or if you become subject to backup withholding.

If you are not a US person, Form W-9 is the wrong form. Non-resident individuals use Form W-8BEN and foreign entities use Form W-8BEN-E.

Generated from a template. Not legal advice - read it before you publish or sign it.

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About this tool

US clients usually ask freelancers and contractors for a Form W-9 before they will pay them. The IRS allows a substitute W-9 - your own document - as long as it carries the certification language word for word, which is why the certification here is a fixed block with nothing changed or inserted. The filler walks through the entity classification boxes in plain language and explains when to use an SSN or an EIN. Banks and larger payroll departments often insist on the official IRS PDF, so ask your client first. Your taxpayer identification number stays on your device while you fill in the form.

How to use this tool

  1. Enter your name and businessAdd your name and, if different, the business or disregarded entity name.
  2. Pick the tax classificationChoose the correct classification box - a single-member LLC without a corporate election is an individual or sole proprietor.
  3. Check what the client acceptsDownload the substitute form, or use it to fill in the official IRS W-9 if your client requires that version.

When you are asked for a W-9

Form W-9 is how a US business collects a contractor's legal name, tax classification and taxpayer identification number (an SSN or EIN) so it can report payments to the IRS - usually on Form 1099-NEC at year end. You give the W-9 to the business that pays you; you do not send it to the IRS yourself.

Because it contains a TIN, a completed W-9 is sensitive. Send it through a secure channel such as a client portal or encrypted email rather than a plain attachment, and only to payers you have confirmed are genuine - fake W-9 requests are a common identity-theft tactic.

Key features

  • Walks through the entity classification boxes in plain language.
  • Explains when to use an SSN and when an EIN is the better choice.
  • Keeps your TIN on your device while you fill in the form.
  • Points to the official IRS form for the final signed copy.

Common uses

  • A freelancer starting work with a new US client.
  • A single-member LLC choosing how to describe its tax classification.
  • A landlord or service provider asked for a W-9 by a property manager.
  • Checking what a W-9 asks for before filling in the official PDF.

Tips for better results

  • Send the W-9 at the start of an engagement, before the first invoice.
  • Use an EIN rather than your SSN if you want to keep your Social Security number off client records.
  • Keep a copy so the details you give on later forms match exactly.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Ticking "LLC" as a single-member LLC that has not elected corporate treatment.
  • Giving a name or TIN that does not match IRS records, which triggers a mismatch notice.
  • Sending a substitute form to a client whose payroll team only accepts the official PDF.

Frequently asked questions

Sole proprietors can use either; many freelancers get a free EIN from the IRS so they do not have to hand their Social Security number to every client. Corporations and partnerships use their EIN.

Not usually. Payers keep it on file and ask again if your name, business structure or TIN changes.

The payer may be required to apply backup withholding - currently 24% - to payments to you until you provide a correct TIN.

No. It assembles a draft from standard clauses, and every page says so above the preview. A name and TIN that do not match generates a CP2100 notice to your client and can trigger 24% backup withholding on everything they pay you afterwards.

Broadly, US freelancers and contractors whose client has asked for a W-9 before they can be paid. The best time to do it is at the start of the engagement, before the first invoice rather than in January.

Ticking "LLC" as a single-member LLC that has not elected corporate treatment. The correct box is individual or sole proprietor, and getting it wrong is the most common error on the form.

Most people need 1099-NEC and Freelance Contract as well. They cover the gaps this one does not.

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