How to Fill Out a W-9 for a Single-Member LLC

To fill out a W-9 for a single-member LLC, put your personal legal name on Line 1, your LLC’s name on Line 2, check the box for “Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC” on Line 3, leave Line 4 blank in most cases, and enter your Social Security Number (or a personal EIN issued to you as a sole proprietor) in Part I. Every one of those choices comes from the same IRS rule: your single-member LLC is a disregarded entity, so the form has to identify you as the taxpayer, not the LLC.

Why the Disregarded Entity Rule Controls the Form

By default, the IRS ignores your single-member LLC for federal income tax purposes. The business exists under state law, but the tax system looks straight through it to you.¹ Your business income and expenses land on your personal Form 1040, usually on Schedule C.

That is why the W-9 has to name you personally and carry your personal taxpayer identification number. The LLC does not file its own income tax return, so the IRS has no matching record under the LLC’s name and EIN. This default only changes if you file an election to be taxed as a corporation, in which case you check a different box and use the entity’s EIN throughout.

Line 1: Your Legal Name

Enter your legal name exactly as it appears on your personal tax return.² Not the LLC’s name. Your name. The IRS matches this name against the TIN you provide in Part I, and if the two don’t line up in IRS records, your client will eventually receive a notice and may have to start withholding 24% of your payments.

Putting the LLC’s name on Line 1 is the most common mistake single-member LLC owners make on this form, and it’s the one most likely to cause trouble.

Line 2: Your LLC’s Name

Enter the legal name of your LLC on Line 2.² If you also operate under a DBA, include that name here as well. If your LLC’s legal name happens to be identical to your personal name, you can leave Line 2 blank, though filling it in causes no problem.

Line 3: Tax Classification

Check the box labeled “Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC.”²

Do not check the “LLC” box with a letter designation. That box is for multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships or for LLCs that have elected corporate treatment. If your LLC has made an S-corp or C-corp election, check the appropriate corporation box instead and use the LLC’s EIN in Part I.

Line 4: Exemptions

Most single-member LLC owners leave this line blank. The exempt payee codes cover entities like banks, tax-exempt organizations, and government agencies. The FATCA reporting code field covers foreign financial institutions and certain large domestic entities such as publicly traded corporations and registered investment companies.³ If none of that describes you, skip the line.

Part I: Your Taxpayer Identification Number

Enter your Social Security Number in the SSN box. Or, if you have a personal EIN, one issued to you as an individual sole proprietor, you can enter that in the EIN box instead.²

This is where people get tripped up. Your LLC probably has its own EIN, particularly if your state or bank required one. That EIN belongs to the LLC as an entity, not to you personally, and the IRS says it does not go on the W-9 for a disregarded entity.¹ Using the LLC’s EIN creates a name-TIN mismatch, IRS notices, and possible backup withholding.

If you’d rather not hand your SSN to every client, you can apply through the IRS website, at no cost, for an EIN as a sole proprietor. That number belongs to you individually, not to the LLC, and it’s the right kind of EIN to use here.

Part II: Certification and Signature

Sign and date the form. Your signature certifies three things under penalty of perjury: the TIN you provided is correct, you’re not subject to backup withholding (unless the IRS has told you otherwise), and you’re a U.S. person.²

Electronic signatures are fine. The IRS allows requesters to accept W-9 submissions electronically, including by fax, as long as the system authenticates the submission and includes the perjury language from the paper form.⁴ So if a client sends you a W-9 through an online portal, that’s a legitimate way to complete it.

What Goes Wrong When the Name and TIN Don’t Match

When the name on Line 1 and the TIN in Part I don’t match IRS records, the IRS sends the payer a CP2100 or CP2100A notice. The payer then sends you a “B notice” asking you to correct the information on a new W-9.⁵ If you don’t respond, or if the mismatch happens twice within three years, the payer must begin backup withholding at 24% on all future payments to you.⁶

The withheld amount is credited against your tax liability when you file, but it creates a real cash-flow problem in the meantime. Two mistakes cause the mismatch almost every time: putting the LLC’s name on Line 1 instead of the owner’s personal name, or entering the LLC’s EIN instead of the owner’s SSN or personal EIN.

If Your LLC Isn’t Owned by an Individual

Everything above assumes an individual owns the LLC. If the owner is a corporation or partnership, the form still points to the owner, but the owner is now that parent entity.

Line 1 gets the name of the parent entity. Line 2 still gets the LLC’s name.⁷ On Line 3, check the classification of the parent, not the LLC. A corporation-owned LLC checks the corporation box; a partnership-owned LLC checks the partnership box.² Part I gets the parent entity’s EIN.

If the direct owner is itself a disregarded entity, keep going up the chain until you reach the first owner the IRS recognizes as a separate taxpayer. That entity’s information is what goes on the form.

When to Submit a New W-9

A W-9 doesn’t expire on any set schedule, but you owe the payer an updated one before their next information return goes out if any of the following changes:

Your legal name changes.
Your TIN changes, including switching from your SSN to a personal EIN or the reverse.
Your tax classification changes, such as your LLC electing corporate treatment.
You previously claimed exempt payee status and no longer qualify.

The IRS requires a new W-9 whenever the name or TIN on the account changes.² There’s no calendar deadline, but the practical one is before your payer prepares their 1099 for the year. Otherwise the mismatch lands on you.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Refusing to provide a TIN means the payer must withhold 24% of every payment.⁶ The IRS can also assess a $50 penalty each time you fail to provide a TIN when required.⁸

Falsifying information on the form is a different category of problem. Because you sign under penalty of perjury, deliberate false statements are a felony, punishable by up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years in prison, or both.⁹ Honest mistakes don’t trigger prosecution, but they do trigger backup withholding and notices that take months to clear.

Where the Completed Form Goes

Hand the finished W-9 directly to whoever requested it. It stays in the payer’s files; you never send a W-9 to the IRS yourself. The payer uses the information to prepare Form 1099-NEC if they pay you $2,000 or more during the calendar year.¹⁰ That threshold rose from $600 for payments made after December 31, 2025. The 1099-NEC goes to both you and the IRS, which is how the income gets matched to your return.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
2
Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. January 2026)
5
Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding B Program
6
Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding
7
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9
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Internal Revenue Service. 20.1.7 Information Return Penalties
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7206 – Fraud and False Statements
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 1099 NEC and Independent Contractors