Sample W-9 Form Filled Out for Individuals and LLCs

A W-9 is the form a business asks you to complete so it can report what it pays you to the IRS. To fill out a W-9, enter your legal name on Line 1, any business or DBA name on Line 2, check your federal tax classification on Line 3a, add your address on Lines 5 and 6, enter your Social Security number or EIN in Part I, and sign and date Part II. The form itself never goes to the IRS. It stays with the payer, who uses it to prepare your 1099 and to confirm you aren’t subject to backup withholding.¹ The January 2026 revision reorganized some line numbers, so work from the current version.²

One thing to check before you start: a W-9 is for independent contractors, freelancers, vendors, and certain account holders. If you were hired as an employee with taxes withheld from a paycheck, you should be filling out a W-4 instead. Getting handed a W-9 when you expected a salaried position means the company considers you a contractor who will owe self-employment taxes.

Filling Out a W-9 as an Individual or Sole Proprietor

This is the most common scenario. The walkthrough below uses a sample freelance consultant, Jane A. Smith.

Line 1: Your Legal Name

Enter your name exactly as it appears on your federal income tax return. For Jane, this reads Jane A. Smith. Don’t put a business name here, even if you use one. A mismatch between Line 1 and the taxpayer identification number is the single most common reason a W-9 gets rejected.¹

Line 2: Business Name or DBA

If you operate under a different name, enter it here. If Jane registered a “doing business as” name of Smith Consulting, that goes on Line 2. Freelancing under your own name? Leave this line blank.

Line 3a: Federal Tax Classification

Jane checks the box for Individual/sole proprietor. The other boxes on that row (C corporation, S corporation, Partnership, Trust/estate) stay unchecked. This tells the payer to report her income on a standard 1099-NEC.³

Line 3b: Foreign Partners Checkbox

Line 3b is new on the 2026 form. It asks whether a partnership, trust, or estate has any foreign partners, owners, or beneficiaries. An individual sole proprietor skips it.³

Line 4: Exemption Codes

Two fields here: an exempt payee code and a FATCA exemption code. Most individuals leave both blank. These codes apply to entities like corporations, government agencies, tax-exempt organizations, and registered securities dealers that are exempt from certain reporting requirements.³ Freelancers and sole proprietors skip Line 4.

Lines 5 and 6: Address

Enter the mailing address where you want your 1099 sent. In the sample: 123 Main Street, Apt 4B on Line 5 and Austin, TX 78701 on Line 6. The payer will mail your 1099 to this address by January 31 of the following year.

Part I: Taxpayer Identification Number

Jane enters her Social Security number in the SSN field. As a sole proprietor, she can use either her SSN or an Employer Identification Number if she has one.⁴ Most sole proprietors without employees use their SSN because they haven’t applied for an EIN.

Part II: Signature and Date

Sign and date the form. The signature is a certification under penalties of perjury, which is worth understanding in detail before you sign. More on that below.

Filling Out a W-9 as an LLC

LLCs trip people up more than any other entity type. The correct entry depends on how the LLC is taxed, not how it’s organized under state law. The IRS doesn’t recognize “LLC” as a tax classification. It treats every LLC as either a disregarded entity, a partnership, a C corporation, or an S corporation.

Single-Member LLC (Disregarded Entity)

If Jane formed Smith Consulting LLC as a single-member LLC and never elected to be taxed as a corporation, the IRS treats it as a disregarded entity. On Line 3a, she checks Individual/sole proprietor, the same as if she had no LLC at all. On Line 1 she enters her own name (Jane A. Smith), and on Line 2 she enters Smith Consulting LLC. For the TIN, she provides her SSN or her own EIN, not the LLC’s separate EIN.⁴

Multi-Member LLC Taxed as a Partnership

Two people form Riverside Marketing LLC and don’t elect corporate treatment. The IRS taxes it as a partnership by default. Line 1 shows the LLC’s legal name (Riverside Marketing LLC), the LLC box on Line 3a gets checked, and the letter P goes in the classification field.³ The TIN is the LLC’s EIN. Line 3b matters here: if any member is a foreign person, check the box.

LLC Taxed as a Corporation

An LLC that elected C corporation treatment enters C in the classification field after checking the LLC box. An LLC that elected S corporation status enters S. Either way, Line 1 shows the LLC’s legal name, and the TIN is the LLC’s EIN.¹

Filling Out a W-9 as a Corporation or Partnership

Corporations and partnerships that aren’t structured as LLCs have a simpler path. A C corporation checks the C Corporation box on Line 3a, an S corporation checks the S Corporation box, and a partnership checks the Partnership box. Line 1 shows the entity’s legal name as registered with the IRS and used on its business return: Form 1120 for a C corporation, Form 1120-S for an S corporation, or Form 1065 for a partnership.¹

All of these entities use their EIN as the TIN. Partnerships and trusts check Line 3b if they have foreign partners, owners, or beneficiaries. Corporations are generally exempt from receiving a 1099 for most types of payments, which is why Line 4 matters for them. A corporation entering the appropriate exempt payee code tells the payer not to generate a 1099 for ordinary service payments.

Which Taxpayer Identification Number To Use

The TIN you enter in Part I depends on your entity type. Getting this wrong triggers the name/TIN mismatch that leads to IRS notices and backup withholding.

Individuals and sole proprietors use their Social Security number. If you have an EIN for your sole proprietorship, you can use either one.
Single-member LLCs treated as disregarded entities use the owner’s SSN or the owner’s EIN, not the LLC’s own EIN.⁴
Multi-member LLCs, corporations, and partnerships use the entity’s EIN.¹
Resident aliens without an SSN use their Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Your name must match exactly what you entered on your Form W-7 application.⁵

An ITIN that hasn’t appeared on a U.S. federal tax return in the last three consecutive tax years will expire. You can still enter an expired ITIN on a W-9, but you’ll need to renew it before filing your next return.⁵

What You’re Certifying When You Sign

Part II is not just a signature confirming your TIN. You’re making four statements under penalties of perjury.⁶

Your TIN is correct and matches the name on Line 1 in IRS and Social Security Administration records.
You’re not subject to backup withholding. The IRS has not notified you that you failed to report interest or dividends, or if it once did, it has since cleared you.⁷
You’re a U.S. person, meaning a U.S. citizen, resident alien, or domestic entity.
Any FATCA code you entered is correct. Most individuals leave the FATCA field blank, which makes this a formality.

If the IRS has told you that you’re subject to backup withholding because of underreported interest or dividends, you must cross out item 2 before signing. The form is not valid without a signature and date.

Electronic Signatures Are Accepted

You don’t need to print, sign with ink, and scan. The IRS permits electronic signatures on the W-9 as long as the collecting system authenticates and verifies the submission, and the perjury statement contains the same language as the paper form.³ In practice, most secure portals and e-signature platforms payers use satisfy these rules.

When To Submit a New W-9

A completed W-9 has no built-in expiration date. It stays valid until something changes that makes it inaccurate. Send a new one when:²

Your name changes through marriage, legal name change, or a switch in business structure.
Your TIN changes, such as when you get a new EIN after incorporating.
Your entity type changes, for example a C corporation electing S corporation status.
Your address changes and you want your 1099 sent to the new location.

If the IRS sends the payer a CP2100 or CP2100A notice saying your name and TIN don’t match, the payer must send you a “B notice” requesting a corrected W-9.⁸ Ignoring that notice triggers backup withholding on your future payments.

If You Are Not a U.S. Person

The W-9 is exclusively for U.S. persons. If you’re a nonresident alien or a foreign entity, you cannot provide a W-9. Use Form W-8BEN for foreign individuals receiving U.S.-source income, or Form W-8BEN-E for foreign entities.⁹ If a payer doesn’t receive a W-9 or the appropriate W-8, IRS rules require them to presume the payee is foreign and subject to withholding under chapters 3 and 4 of the Internal Revenue Code. That rate can be 30%, higher than the 24% backup withholding rate for U.S. persons.³

What Happens If You Get It Wrong

If you don’t provide a W-9 when asked, or if the information is wrong, consequences escalate in a predictable pattern.

Backup Withholding at 24%

The payer must withhold 24% of every payment and send it to the IRS if you fail to provide a TIN, if the TIN is obviously incorrect (wrong number of digits, or contains letters), or if the IRS notifies the payer of a mismatch.⁷ The money isn’t lost. It gets credited toward your tax liability when you file. But a quarter of every check disappears until you fix the problem.

The B-Notice Process

When the IRS flags a mismatch, the payer sends you a First B Notice with a blank W-9. Returning a correct form stops the withholding. If the same problem happens again within three years, you’ll get a Second B Notice, and a W-9 alone won’t fix it. You’ll need to provide a copy of your Social Security card or an IRS Letter 147C verifying your EIN.⁸

Civil and Criminal Penalties

The IRS can impose a $50 penalty each time you fail to furnish your TIN when required, up to $100,000 per calendar year.¹⁰ On the payer’s side, penalties for filing incorrect information returns range from $60 per return if corrected within 30 days up to $680 per return for intentional disregard.¹¹

Willfully falsifying a W-9 is a separate matter. Because you sign under penalties of perjury, knowingly providing a fake TIN or false certification can lead to criminal prosecution, including fines and imprisonment.²

Keep Your W-9 Secure

A completed W-9 contains your name, address, and SSN or EIN. That’s everything someone needs for identity theft. Submit it through the payer’s secure portal, encrypted email, or in person. Don’t send it as an unencrypted email attachment.

Scammers sometimes send fake W-9 requests to harvest personal data. Legitimate payers request a W-9 before or shortly after they start paying you, not out of the blue. The IRS itself will never email you asking for a W-9. Initial IRS contact comes only by mail, never through email, text, or social media.¹² If an unexpected request feels off, verify it by contacting the company through a phone number you find independently, not one provided in the suspicious message.

1
Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
2
Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. January 2026)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. January 2026)
4
Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
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Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
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Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding
8
Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding “B” Program
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-8 BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Individuals)
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6723 – Failure To Comply With Other Information Reporting Requirements
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Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
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Internal Revenue Service. Ways To Tell if the IRS Is Reaching Out or if It’s a Scammer