Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) is the IRS form you hand to anyone who will report payments made to you — a freelance client, a bank, a marketplace, a property manager. You don't file it with the IRS: the requester keeps it and uses your TIN to issue forms like 1099-NEC or 1099-INT at year-end.

A W-9 contains your full legal name and your Social Security Number or EIN — exactly the data identity thieves want. Filling it here means the completed form never touches our servers: the official IRS template loads into your browser, you type into it locally, and the finished PDF is generated on your device.

• Official IRS template (Rev. March 2024), hosted on this site
• Type directly into the form fields or use the sidebar — checkboxes and signature included
• Flattened on download: fields are locked, metadata is wiped
• Zero bytes uploaded — verify it yourself in the browser's Network tab

Sending other documents along with the W-9? If a bank statement or ID scan goes with it, remove what the requester doesn't need first with our PDF redaction tool — it also runs entirely in your browser.

1. Line 1 — Your legal name. Enter your name exactly as it appears on your tax return. If you operate as a single-member LLC (disregarded entity), line 1 is the owner's name — not the LLC's name.
2. Line 2 — Business name. Fill in your business, trade or DBA name only if it differs from line 1. Otherwise leave it blank.
3. Line 3a — Tax classification. Check exactly one box. Freelancers and sole proprietors check “Individual/sole proprietor”. A single-member LLC that hasn't elected corporate status also checks “Individual/sole proprietor”; multi-member LLCs check the LLC box and enter P, C or S.
4. Line 3b — Flow-through entities. New since the March 2024 revision: only partnerships, trusts and LLCs taxed as partnerships check this if they have foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries. Most individuals leave it empty.
5. Line 4 — Exemptions. Leave blank unless you have an exempt payee code (most individuals and freelancers don't). Corporations are exempt only for certain payment types.
6. Lines 5–6 — Address. Enter the address where the requester should mail your information returns (your 1099s). Use your current mailing address.
7. Part I — Taxpayer Identification Number. Individuals enter their SSN; entities enter their EIN. Sole proprietors may use either, but the number must match the name on line 1 — a mismatch triggers IRS notices and backup withholding.
8. Part II — Sign and date. Sign and date the certification. You confirm under penalty of perjury that the TIN is correct and that you are not subject to backup withholding. Use the built-in signature pad — most requesters accept an e-signed W-9.
9. Download and send securely. Download the flattened PDF and deliver it to the requester — preferably not as an unencrypted email attachment, since it contains your SSN.

1. Sending a W-9 to anyone who asks. W-9 phishing is a real scam: a fake “client” collects SSNs. Verify the requester through a channel you already trust before sending anything, and never send the form back to an unexpected email.
2. Wrong classification for an LLC. A single-member LLC is disregarded by default — line 1 gets the owner's name, and line 3a is “Individual/sole proprietor” (or C/S if the LLC elected corporate taxation). Checking “LLC” without an election is the most common W-9 error.
3. TIN that doesn't match the name. If the SSN/EIN doesn't match line 1 in IRS records, the requester gets a CP2100 notice and must start 24% backup withholding on your payments.
4. Unsigned or undated form. Without the Part II certification the form is invalid — requesters will reject it, and missing certification can also trigger backup withholding.
5. Not updating after life changes. Marriage, divorce, a new EIN, a changed address — send an updated W-9 to every active requester; stale data surfaces as 1099 mismatches at year-end.
6. Emailing the filled form unencrypted. The PDF holds your SSN. Prefer a secure upload link from the requester, or at minimum agree on the channel first. Filling it locally (as on this page) removes the server-storage risk — delivery is the remaining weak point.