Updated October 16, 2026. Quick answer: Form W-9 is the “Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification”, and the form says to “Give form to the requester. Do not send to the IRS.” “Use Form W-9 only if you are a U.S. person (including a resident alien), to provide your correct TIN.” “If you don’t return Form W-9 to the requester with a TIN, you might be subject to backup withholding.”
More IRS forms for employers and business owners, read line by line: Form 940 instructions, Form 943 instructions and Form 944 instructions.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form SS-5 instructions and Form 8919 uncollected social security tax.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 1099-PATR boxes explained, Form 1099-PATR box 4 and Form 1099-PATR boxes 10 to 13.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form W-2G boxes explained, Form W-2G box 4 and Form W-2G boxes 9, 11 and 12.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form W-3 instructions and Form W-7 instructions.
Related reading on this site: Form 1099-NEC filing deadline.
What Form W-9 is for
The instructions begin with the reason a business asks for the form: “An individual or entity (Form W-9 requester) who is required to file an information return with the IRS is giving you this form because they” “must obtain your correct taxpayer identification number (TIN)”. The form names the numbers that count: “which may be your social security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN), or employer identification number (EIN)”.
Among the examples of information returns the form lists are “Form 1099-NEC (nonemployee compensation).” and “Form 1099-MISC (various types of income, prizes, awards, or gross proceeds).” Readers who are on the paying side can see the 1099 mechanics on the first-hire 1099 basics page and the Form 1099-MISC page.
A requester may use its own version. The form says “If you are a U.S. person and a requester gives you a form other than Form W-9 to request your TIN, you must use the requester’s form if it is substantially similar to this Form W-9.”
Key numbers at a glance
The rate, the penalty and the day count that matter most are collected here.
| Item | As printed |
|---|---|
| Backup withholding rate | “Persons making certain payments to you must under certain conditions withhold and pay to the IRS 24% of such payments.” |
| Penalty for no TIN | “If you fail to furnish your correct TIN to a requester, you are subject to a penalty of $50 for each such failure unless your failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.” |
| Time to get a TIN | “For interest and dividend payments, and certain payments made with respect to readily tradable instruments, you will generally have 60 days to get a TIN and give it to the requester before you are subject to backup withholding on payments” |
Who gives the form: U.S. persons
The definition is short: “For federal tax purposes, you are considered a U.S. person if you are:” “An individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien;” “A partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States;” “An estate (other than a foreign estate); or” “A domestic trust” as defined in the regulations.
A foreign person uses a different form. The instructions say “do not use Form W-9. Instead, use the appropriate Form W-8 or Form 8233”, and add “If you are a nonresident alien or a foreign entity, give the requester the appropriate completed Form W-8 or Form 8233.” The matching Form W-8BEN walk is a separate page.
For a single-owner entity the person on the form is the owner. The instructions say “A disregarded entity should check the appropriate box for the tax classification of its owner. Enter the owner’s name on line 1.” “Enter the disregarded entity’s name on line 2.”
The TIN in Part I
Part I states the matching rule: “The TIN provided must match the name given on line 1 to avoid backup withholding.” “For individuals, this is generally your social security number (SSN).” “For other entities, it is your employer identification number (EIN).”
Special cases in the line instructions: “If you are a sole proprietor and you have an EIN, you may enter either your SSN or EIN.” “If you are a single-member LLC that is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner, enter the owner’s SSN (or EIN, if the owner has one).” Getting an EIN is covered on the EIN page.
If no number exists yet, the form says “If you do not have a TIN, apply for one immediately.” “The 60-day rule does not apply to other types of payments.” That sentence follows the instruction for interest and dividend payments, where the form says “you will generally have 60 days to get a TIN and give it to the requester before you are subject to backup withholding on payments.”
Backup withholding
The form defines it: “Persons making certain payments to you must under certain conditions withhold and pay to the IRS 24% of such payments.” “Real estate transactions are not subject to backup withholding.” The way to avoid it: “You will not be subject to backup withholding on payments you receive if you give the requester your correct TIN, make the proper certifications, and report all your taxable interest and dividends on your tax return.”
Payments are subject to it in five situations:
| Item | Payments are subject to backup withholding if, as printed |
|---|---|
| 1 | “You do not furnish your TIN to the requester;” |
| 2 | “You do not certify your TIN when required” |
| 3 | “The IRS tells the requester that you furnished an incorrect TIN;” |
| 4 | “The IRS tells you that you are subject to backup withholding because you did not report all your interest and dividends on your tax return (for reportable interest and dividends only)” |
| 5 | “You do not certify to the requester that you are not subject to backup withholding, as described in item 4 under “By signing the filled-out form” above (for reportable interest and dividend accounts opened after 1983 only)” |
For scale, a 24% rate on a $1,000 payment is computed as $1,000 times 24%, which is $240 (illustration, not an IRS example). The requester’s instructions show the obligation on the paying side: “A payor must deduct, withhold, and deposit with IRS 24% of reportable payments made to that payee until the cause of the backup withholding is remedied.” Related withholding lines on 1099 forms are on the 1099-INT withholding page.
Exempt payee codes (line 4)
The instructions caution that exemption is the exception for individuals: “Generally, individuals (including sole proprietors) are not exempt from backup withholding.” For corporations the form says “Corporations are not exempt from backup withholding for payments made in settlement of payment card or third-party network transactions.”.
The form lists thirteen codes, of which three are shown here:
| Exempt payee code | Payee, as printed (selected codes) |
|---|---|
| 1 | “An organization exempt from tax under section 501(a), any IRA, or a custodial account under section 403(b)(7) if the account satisfies the requirements of section 401(f)(2).” |
| 2 | “The United States or any of its agencies or instrumentalities.” |
| 5 | “A corporation.” |
Line 4 also has a FATCA code, and the form says “if you are only submitting this form for an account you hold in the United States, you may leave this field blank.”
Part II: the certification and who signs
The certification opens “Under penalties of perjury, I certify that:” The first item is “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 the third is “I am a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person (defined below)”.
Item 2 is the backup withholding statement. “You must cross out item 2 above if you have been notified by the IRS that you are currently subject to backup withholding because you have failed to report all interest and dividends on your tax return.”
Whether a signature is needed depends on the payment:
| Type of payment | Signature requirement, as printed |
|---|---|
| Interest, dividend, broker and barter exchange accounts opened after 1983, and broker accounts considered inactive during 1983 | “You must sign the certification or backup withholding will apply.” |
| Real estate transactions | “You must sign the certification. You may cross out item 2 of the certification.” |
| Other payments | “You must give your correct TIN, but you do not have to sign the certification unless you have been notified that you have previously given an incorrect TIN.” |
| Mortgage interest paid by you, cancellation of debt, IRA contributions and similar | “You must give your correct TIN, but you do not have to sign the certification.” |
For a joint account, “only the person whose TIN is shown in Part I should sign (when required).”
Penalties, updates and the requester side
“If you fail to furnish your correct TIN to a requester, you are subject to a penalty of $50 for each such failure unless your failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.”
Keep the form current: “You must provide updated information to any person to whom you claimed to be an exempt payee if you are no longer an exempt payee and anticipate receiving reportable payments in the future from this person.” “you must furnish a new Form W-9 if the name or TIN changes for the account”.
A business that collects the form should check what it receives: “A valid Form W-9, or a substitute form, must contain the payee’s name and TIN and be signed and dated under penalties of perjury by the payee or a person authorized to sign for the payee.” A contractor-facing view of the paperwork is on the consulting contracts page. The edition read for this page is Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024) and the Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024), which are the revisions irs.gov served when they were read on 2026-10-16. Check the revision printed on the form you are signing, because a later revision can change the lines, the exempt payee codes and the certification wording.
Common mistakes
- Mailing the form to the IRS. The form states that it goes to the requester and not to the IRS, and the requester then uses the number on its own information returns.
- Entering a name and number that do not belong together. The instructions require that the TIN match the name on line 1, and a disregarded entity puts its owner’s name on line 1 and its own name on line 2.
- Assuming a corporation is always exempt. The instructions say corporations are not exempt for payment card or third-party network settlements, so an exempt payee code of 5 is not a blanket answer.
Related: first-hire 1099 basics, Form 1099-MISC, how to get an EIN, 1099-INT withholding boxes, and consulting contracts basics.
Sources
- Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024), Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
- Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw9.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 16, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.