Online W9 form Generator

When you use a contractor or freelancer and you pay them $600 or more within the tax year then you need to send them a form W-9. Form W-9 only requires the person to fill in a few small details such as name, address and tax identification number. Once all the appropriate information is filled out correctly, the contractor will send you back this form and you can then use this information to accurately fill out form 1099-NEC.

Form 1099-NEC is a very important form as it tells the IRS what independent contractor you paid and then a specific amount, which results in verifying your federal income tax levels. Form W-9 and 1099-NEC are two separate forms but they are used to achieve the same goal which is to make sure you are paying your taxes correctly.

Form W-9 is for independent contractors/freelancers whereas Form W-4 is for employees of a company.

If you’re receiving non-employee compensation such as a contractor or freelancer would then you aren’t technically employed by the company that you’re doing work for. If this is the case then you will need to use form W-9 and your earnings will be recorded on Form 1099-NEC.

If you happen to be an employee of a company then you will need to complete Form W-4, which will indicate the amount of money you require to have withheld from your pay check for federal income taxes.

A contractor/freelancer does not need to ask for Form-W9 to be completed. It is the responsibility of the business or the person who is paying the contractor/freelancer.

Before starting any work with a contractor/freelancer you should ask them to complete Form W-9. If you fail to do so then you could be required to perform backup withholding.

Form W-9 is a very easy and straightforward form to fill out and the form itself is not even an entire page. You will receive around 6 pages but most of it is the instructions as well as home guidance notes. The sections that you need to fill out are as follows:

Line 1 - Name: Fill in your full name.

Line 2 - Business name: You can leave this section blank if you do not have a business. If you do have a business name or some sort of trade name then you need to fill it in here.

Line 3 - Federal tax classification: Check the box that applies to you as this will how you as an independent contractor will be classified, when it comes to federal income tax.

Line 4 - Exemptions: This section does not apply to individuals but to certain entities only. If you meet the requirements to fill out this section then you will need to provide a number or letter code that indicates that reason.

Line 5 & 6 - Address, city, state and ZIP code: Fill in your full address so that the person paying you can mail your information returns.

Line 7 - Account number(s): Your employer may need additional account numbers. If so then fill it out as instructed, or else leave it blank if it does not apply to you.

Part I - Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN): Here you want to provide your social security number if you’re an individual or single-member LLC. If you’re a multi-member LLC classified as a partnership, C Corporation or S Corporation then you can also provide your EIN (employer identification number). Sole proprietors may include either of these numbers.

Part II - Certification: This section is where you sign and date the form which indicates that all the information that you have provided is true.

Form W-9 is a legal document therefore it should be filled out prudently. Below is an image of what Form W-9 looks like and the area where you fill in the information

Backup withholding is a method that is used to ensure tax is paid on certain types of income when the taxpayer has not reported it in the past. What ends up happening is that payers withhold a portion of their payments to the taxpayer. This usually happens when tax information does not add up or something is missing e.g. supplying the wrong TIN. This will flag up on the IRS’s system and they will use this tactic to ensure that the tax that is due to them is paid.