Fillable W-9 Form: Fill It Out Online and Download the PDF
Someone asked you for a W-9? Fill in your details here and download the official IRS form, completed and ready to sign. There is no email to enter and no account to make, and the page never asks for your Social Security number.
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What is Form W-9?
Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is how a U.S. person gives their taxpayer identification number (TIN) to someone who must report a payment to the IRS. It is not a tax return and it does not go to the IRS. The business that asked for it keeps it on file.
You will usually meet one when a new client is about to pay you for freelance or contract work. Banks, brokers and real estate closers ask for them too. Your client uses the number and address to send you a Form 1099-NEC if you are paid $2,000 or more in a year.
How to fill out a W-9, line by line
The form looks busier than it is. Most people complete five of these and skip the rest:
| Where | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Line 1 | The name on your tax return. Never blank. A sole proprietor or single-member LLC puts the owner's name here, not the business name. |
| Line 2 | A trade name, DBA or the name of a disregarded LLC. Leave it empty if you have none. |
| Line 3a | One box only: your federal tax classification. An LLC taxed as a partnership or corporation also enters P, C or S. |
| Line 3b | Rare. Only for a partnership, trust or estate with foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries, giving the form to a partnership, trust or estate it owns part of. |
| Line 4 | Exemption codes. Individuals and most small businesses leave it empty. The FATCA code only matters for accounts held outside the United States. |
| Lines 5 and 6 | Your mailing address. Any 1099 comes here, so use one you will still get mail at in January. |
| Line 7 | Account numbers, only if the requester asks for them. |
| Part I | Your SSN, ITIN or EIN, in the matching boxes. Enter one, not both. |
| Part II | Your signature and the date, certifying that the number is right and you are a U.S. person. |
Which box do I check, and whose number do I use?
This is where W-9s go wrong, especially for LLCs. The IRS treats a single-member LLC as its owner unless it elected otherwise, so the LLC's own name and EIN are often not what belongs on the form:
| You are | Line 3a | Line 1 | Part I |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer or sole proprietor | Individual/sole proprietor | Your own name, with any DBA on line 2 | Your SSN, or your EIN if you have one |
| Single-member LLC, default tax treatment | The owner's box, usually Individual/sole proprietor | The owner's name, with the LLC's name on line 2 | The owner's SSN or EIN, not the LLC's |
| LLC taxed as a partnership | Limited liability company, code P | The LLC's name | The LLC's EIN |
| LLC that elected corporate tax treatment | Limited liability company, code C or S | The LLC's name | The LLC's EIN |
| C or S corporation | C corporation or S corporation | The corporation's name | The corporation's EIN |
| Partnership | Partnership | The partnership's name | The partnership's EIN |
| Trust or estate | Trust/estate | The name of the trust or estate | Usually its EIN. The form's name and number table covers grantor trusts |
Waiting on a number? Apply for it, then choose Applied for and the form prints "Applied For" in the number space, as its instructions direct. You can get an EIN from the IRS at no charge. Give the requester the number once it arrives.
Your Social Security number stays with you
Many online W-9 tools want your SSN and an email address, then store the form in an account. Here, an SSN has no input at all. The PDF is built in your browser from the IRS file, so even the details you do enter are not sent to us. See the privacy policy.
An EIN is treated differently because a business number is meant to be handed out, and it prints in full. If your number is an SSN, add it after downloading: by pen on the printout, or in the empty boxes using your own PDF reader.
Example: a two-owner LLC getting set up with a client
Riverbend Mobile Detailing LLC has two owners and is taxed as a partnership. Mesa Property Management wants to hire it to clean a fleet of vans, and asks for a W-9 before the first payment.
The LLC's name goes on line 1 and line 2 stays empty. On line 3a it checks Limited liability company and enters P. Line 3b stays clear because the client is not a partnership the LLC owns part of, and line 4 is empty. The EIN goes in Part I.
An owner signs and dates the printout and hands it to the client, who files it. If the client pays the LLC $2,000 or more in the year, a 1099-NEC follows, sent to the address on line 5.
Where do I send it?
To whoever asked for it, never the IRS. The form holds a number that can be misused, so a client's secure portal or a handed-over paper copy is better than plain email. If email is all they offer, ask for an encrypted option first. Keep a copy for yourself.
What happens if I do not return it?
The payer may have to take 24% out of your payments and send it to the IRS, which is called backup withholding. The form also lists a $50 penalty for failing to give a correct TIN, unless there is reasonable cause, and $500 for a false statement that avoids backup withholding.
If you are the business asking for one
Collect it before you pay, while the contractor still has a reason to answer quickly. The classification on line 3a tells you whether a 1099 is likely, and the name and number go straight onto the return. Our guide on filling out a 1099-NEC shows what happens when a W-9 never comes back.
Do not use it for employees. They fill out a Form W-4 and receive a Form W-2. If you build your own version of the form, the IRS requester instructions set out what a substitute must contain.
Is there a new W-9 for 2026?
Not yet. The IRS Form W-9 page still lists March 2024 as the current revision and no recent developments. An early-release draft labeled Rev. June 2026 is posted, marked do not file, and adds a Part II checkbox for digital asset brokers. This tool will move to the new form once the IRS finalizes it.
Sources and review
Reviewed by M. Humza against the official sources below, last checked November 5, 2026. The figures, dates and box captions on this page and in the generator are read from the same data file.
- IRS Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024), Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, with its General and Specific Instructions (pages 1 to 6); still the current revision on irs.gov
- IRS, About Form W-9: lists the March 2024 revision as current, with no recent developments
- IRS, Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (03/2024): electronic submission and substitute forms
- IRS early-release draft Form W-9 (Rev. June 2026), marked do not file; adds a Part II checkbox for digital asset brokers
This page is general information about Form W-9, not tax advice. For your own situation, check the form's instructions or ask a tax professional.