US financial institutions ask you to complete Form W9 in order to obtain your personal identifying information (name, address, tax ID) to report income paid to you to the IRS, such as interest, dividends, capital gains, cancellation of debt, royalties, rents, etc. or income paid by you to the institution, such as …

Who is required to provide a W9?

By law, you are only obligated to provide a W-9 to parties that intend to pay you interest, dividends, non-employee compensation, or any other type of reportable income. If someone unexpected asks for a W-9, ask them why they need it.

What do you need to know about the W-9 form?

Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification is a one-page IRS information form that individuals use to send their taxpayer identification number to other individuals, clients, banks and other financial institutions.

Do you need a W-9 if you are a freelancer?

If you work as a freelancer or independent contractor, most of your clients should ask you to complete IRS form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. This form helps businesses receive key information from their vendors in order to prepare information returns for the IRS.

Do you need a tin to file a W-9?

Use Form W-9 to provide your correct Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to the person who is required to file an information return with the IRS to report, for example: About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification | Internal Revenue Service Skip to main content

What’s the difference between a W9 and a W8 Ben?

Form W9 is intended for US persons, as explained in question 2. The equivalent form that applies to non-US persons is W8-BEN (for individuals) and W8-BEN-E (for entities). If you are requested to complete and sign the wrong form for your status, inform the form requester of correct status and provide the right form instead.