On a W-9, the “business name/disregarded entity name” field is Line 2, and it holds one of two things: a DBA or trade name you operate under, or the legal name of a single-member LLC that the IRS treats as a disregarded entity. Line 1 always carries the actual taxpayer — the person or entity whose name is tied to the TIN in Part I. Understanding the split between Line 1 (business name vs. disregarded entity name on the W-9) trips up most filers because the two lines look interchangeable and are not.
Why Line 1 and Line 2 Are Not Interchangeable
The IRS matches the name on Line 1 against the TIN you enter in Part I. If those two don’t line up in IRS records, the payer receives a CP2100 or CP2100A notice, sends you a B-Notice, and starts withholding 24% of your payments until the mismatch is resolved.1Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding “B” Program2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3406 – Backup Withholding
Line 2 is not matched against anything. It’s a courtesy field for the payer, so they can recognize you by the name they cut checks to. That is the whole reason the two lines exist separately: Line 1 satisfies the IRS, Line 2 satisfies the payer’s records. Whether Line 2 stays blank or gets filled in depends entirely on your entity classification on Line 3a.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
Sole Proprietors and Individuals With a DBA
If you’re an individual or a sole proprietor, your legal name goes on Line 1 exactly as it appears on your tax return, and your SSN goes in Part I.4Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
Line 2 only comes into play if you operate under a trade name. Suppose your legal name is Maria Torres and your freelance design practice is Torr Creative. “Maria Torres” goes on Line 1, “Torr Creative” goes on Line 2, and your SSN goes in Part I. No trade name? Leave Line 2 blank. Do not enter your business name on Line 1 just because that’s the name on your invoices; the IRS is matching the SSN to a person, not a brand.
Single-Member LLCs: The Disregarded Entity Case
This is where Line 2 earns its name, and where most W-9 mistakes happen. A single-member LLC that has not elected to be taxed as a corporation is a “disregarded entity” for federal income tax purposes. The IRS looks straight through the LLC to the owner and treats all income as belonging to that owner. The owner is the taxpayer, not the LLC.5Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
Owner Is an Individual
If you personally own a single-member LLC and haven’t elected corporate treatment, your name goes on Line 1. The LLC’s legal name goes on Line 2. Your SSN, or your personal EIN, goes in Part I. The LLC’s EIN does not belong in Part I.
Take John Park, sole owner of Park Consulting LLC. Line 1 reads “John Park.” Line 2 reads “Park Consulting LLC.” Part I contains John’s SSN. The 1099 the payer eventually issues will be in John’s name with his SSN. Putting the LLC on Line 1 with the LLC’s EIN in Part I is the single most common W-9 error, and it almost always produces a B-Notice.
Owner Is Another Entity
A single-member LLC can also be owned by a corporation or a partnership, and it is still disregarded. In that case, the parent entity’s name and EIN go on Line 1 and in Part I; the LLC’s name goes on Line 2. The W-9 instructions are explicit that the name on Line 1 should never be a disregarded entity, so if you have a chain of single-member LLCs, keep climbing until you reach an entity the IRS actually recognizes as a taxpayer.4Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
The Payroll EIN Trap
Since January 2009, a single-member LLC with employees uses the LLC’s own name and EIN for payroll tax filings. Owners who see that LLC EIN on their payroll paperwork often assume it belongs on the W-9. It does not. The LLC’s EIN is for employment tax reporting only. Income reporting on the W-9 still flows through the owner, with the owner’s name on Line 1 and the owner’s TIN in Part I.5Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
LLCs That Elected Corporate or Partnership Treatment
Once an LLC elects to be taxed as a C corporation, S corporation, or partnership, it is no longer disregarded. It is a taxpayer in its own right. For these LLCs, the entity’s legal name goes on Line 1, its EIN goes in Part I, and you check the LLC box on Line 3a with the appropriate letter (C, S, or P).6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
Line 2 stays blank unless the LLC also operates under a separate trade name. The contrast with the disregarded case is sharp: a single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship puts the owner on Line 1 and the LLC on Line 2, while a single-member LLC taxed as a corporation puts the LLC on Line 1 and typically leaves Line 2 empty.
Partnerships, Corporations, Trusts, and Estates
For partnerships (including multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships), C corporations, and S corporations, Line 1 is the entity’s legal name as filed with the state and used on its federal return, and Part I is the entity’s EIN.4Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024) Line 2 holds a trade name only if there is one; otherwise leave it blank. Never enter an owner’s personal name on Line 1 for these entities. The entity is the taxpayer.
Trusts and estates depend on the type. An irrevocable trust or a probate estate is its own taxpayer: the trust or estate name goes on Line 1, and its EIN goes in Part I. A revocable living trust (grantor trust) is treated somewhat like a disregarded entity during the grantor’s lifetime, so the grantor’s name and SSN are generally used.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9
Quick Reference by Entity Type
- Individual or sole proprietor: Line 1 = your legal name; Line 2 = trade name or DBA, if any; Part I = your SSN.
- Single-member LLC, disregarded, owned by an individual: Line 1 = owner’s name; Line 2 = LLC name; Part I = owner’s SSN or EIN.
- Single-member LLC, disregarded, owned by another entity: Line 1 = parent entity’s name; Line 2 = LLC name; Part I = parent entity’s EIN.
- LLC taxed as a corporation or partnership: Line 1 = LLC’s legal name; Line 2 = trade name, if different; Part I = LLC’s EIN.
- C or S corporation: Line 1 = corporate legal name; Line 2 = trade name, if different; Part I = corporate EIN.
- Partnership or multi-member LLC: Line 1 = entity’s legal name; Line 2 = trade name, if different; Part I = entity’s EIN.
- Irrevocable trust or estate: Line 1 = trust or estate name; Line 2 = usually blank; Part I = trust or estate EIN.
- Revocable living trust (grantor trust): generally the grantor’s name and SSN or EIN.
What Happens If You Put the Wrong Name on Line 1
The IRS’s name/TIN match is automated. When it fails, the payer receives a CP2100 or CP2100A notice and forwards a First B-Notice to you with a blank W-9 to redo.1Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding “B” Program While the mismatch is open, the payer must withhold 24% of reportable payments and remit it to the IRS.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3406 – Backup Withholding You’ll get credit for that withholding on your annual return, but in the meantime nearly a quarter of every payment goes to the IRS instead of your bank account. Once you send back a corrected, certified W-9, the payer has 30 calendar days to stop the withholding.8Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding for Missing and Incorrect Name/TINs
There are separate civil penalties on top of the withholding. Payers who file information returns with incorrect TINs face penalties from $60 to $340 per return depending on timing, with intentional disregard pushing the figure to $680 per return with no cap.9Internal Revenue Service. 20.1.7 Information Return Penalties Payees who fail to furnish a correct TIN face their own penalty under the tax code.10eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6723-1 – Failure to Comply With Other Information Reporting Requirements And the W-9 signature line is a perjury statement — sign it, and you’re certifying under penalties of perjury that the TIN you gave is correct.
None of this requires an audit. A database mismatch is enough, which is why the right answer on Line 1 and Line 2 the first time is worth the two minutes it takes to think through your entity type.