[2024 Full Guide] How to Fill Out a W-9 Form Correctly

The W-9 form is an agreement that you will handle your own income tax, and it is necessary for independent contractors and consultants. However, you may don't know how to fill out a W-9 form correctly. If you are one of such people, you can find the full guide to complete the task in this post. Now continue reading to find the solutions!

A W-9 form is an IRS (Internal Revenue Service) tax form, which is used to confirm a person's name, address, and taxpayer identification number for employment or other income-generating processes. If you are an independent contractor or self-employed service provider, you will always be asked to fill out the IRS W-9 Form. For those who have completed jobs for multiple businesses, you may have to fill out the W-9 forms at times in the year.

However, it is not easy to fill out this kind of form as there are many attention points during the filling process. Given that, this post comes in handy. Here we will show you the detailed steps to fill and modify your W-9 form. Wanna know how to finish the task? Keep reading!

• What is a W-9 Form Used for?
• Who Need to Fill Out a W-9 Form?
• How to Fill Out a W9 Form Correctly and Completely
• Tips for Filling Out a W-9 Form

Things You Need to Know About W9 Form Before Filling

Before filling out the W-9 form, you need to learn more about the W-9 form to do the task correctly and completely. So, in the following, you are going to know the below information:

What is a W-9 Form Used for?

A W-9 form is a tax form used by employers to identify their employees. It is used by independent contractors and other self-employed workers, indicating that the taxpayer is not subject to backup withholding and is responsible for paying his own taxes. Also, it can serve as a guide in completing a contractor's tax obligations for the calendar year.

Who Need to Fill Out a W-9 Form?

W-9 is the form used by the IRS to help gather information about these independent contractors or freelancers, consultants, etc. So these kinds of people need to fill out a W-9 form.

Generally speaking, freelancers, professional consultants, trade workers, and independent contractors are required to fill out this form.

Related post: How to fill out Form 720

How to Fill Out a W9 Form Correctly and Completely

Before filling out the W-9 form, you need to find an easy yet powerful PDF editor. Here we recommend EaseUS PDF Editor first, which makes your whole working process easier and easier. With this PDF form filler's help, you are able to fill in or out all your PDF forms without any hassle. It enables you to add or search some certain text, change fonts size and color, and add date and signature to your PDF forms quickly. Moreover, this software also provides many basic and advanced editing tools to enrich and manage your PDF documents as you like. Below are some of its highlights:

• Create and fill any PDF forms with ease
• Enable to print PDF forms as you want
• Email PDF documents directly
• Offer lots of editing and managing options for the PDFs

Now let's jump into how to fill the IRS W-9 form with this powerful Windows PDF editing software:

Step 1. Download the latest W-9 form from the IRS website, and check the date in the top left corner of the form because it is updated occasionally. Next, download and launch EaseUS PDF form filler to open the W-9 form.

Step 2. Type your full name in line 1, and it should match the name on your individual tax return.

Step 3. Write your business name in line 2 if it is different from the name you entered above. If you don't have a business name, you can leave this line blank.

Step 4. Confirm what type of business entity you are for federal tax classification: sole proprietorship, S Corporation, C Corporation, Limited Liability Company trust/estate, or "other". Just check the appropriate box.

Step 5. If you are an individual, you can leave this line blank. If you are exempt from backup withholding, enter the exemption code that applies to you.

Step 6. Type the address where the request of the W-9 form will mail your information returns to.

Step 7. Enter your city, state, and ZIP code. Then for the following line – Account number(s), it is an optional line where you can choose to fill in or not. Usually, most individuals leave it blank.

Step 8. In the Part I, enter your Social Security number (SSN) or your employer identification number (EIN) according to your situation.

Note: Check the information you entered because a wrong TIN will cause issues with your payments or tax return or lead to the backup withholding later.

Step 9. When you finish all the items above, sign and date your W-9 form in Part II – Certification.

Tips for Filling Out a W-9 Form

Filling out the W-9 is very important for your taxpayer. Thus, to help you avoid some common mistakes, we list some general instructions below:

• Make sure that the name, address, SSN, EIN are completely correct, or you may pay a high price for the mistake you made.
• Handle off the W-9 form in person. If not, add a password to your PDF document and email it securely to the requester. ( you can password protect PDF and email PDF with EaseUS PDF editing program)
• Save the filled W-9 form for further use

The Bottom Line

Here we have talked about almost every aspect of the W-9 form, from definition to its use. If you are the one who needs to fill out the W-9 form, you can really get help here. Don't forget to download the amazing PDF editor to assist you in doing your task!