BuildWellForm W-9
Form W-9 is the IRS form a business uses to collect a payee’s legal name, address, tax classification and taxpayer identification number.
A W-9 isn’t filed with the IRS. The business that pays you keeps it on file and uses the information to prepare a Form 1099 after the year ends.
If you hire subcontractors, get a completed W-9 before the first payment. It tells you whether the sub is a corporation (often no 1099 needed), an LLC or a sole proprietor, and gives you the taxpayer ID you need to file. Chasing a W-9 in January from a sub you paid in May is much harder.
If a payee doesn’t give you a correct taxpayer ID, you may be required to withhold federal income tax from their payments, which is called backup withholding, at 24%. Check the IRS guidance before you withhold.
Clients will ask you for a W-9 too, especially commercial clients and property managers. Keep a current signed copy ready to send, and use your business’s EIN rather than your Social Security number where you can, to keep your SSN out of other people’s files.
W-9s hold sensitive information. Store them securely and avoid sending them by unencrypted email.
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- AI estimates priced for your area
- Estimates, invoices, clients and projects
- Clients sign on any phone
- Card and bank payments, no extra BuildWell fee
- iPhone, Android and the web
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