{"title":"How to Fill Out a W-9, Line by Line","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/taxes/how-to-fill-out-a-w9","category":{"slug":"taxes","name":"Taxes"},"creator":{"name":"FormsPal","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkTUuymOwyBPMcXwqyJjBrg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOcr0Eiu9Nc"},"tldr":"Every line of Form W-9 explained in order, including the optional boxes. What to enter, what to leave blank, and where to send it.","totalDurationSeconds":255,"difficulty":"easy","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Line 1, Your Legal Name","text":"Line 1 is your full legal name, written exactly as it appears on your income tax return. Not a nickname, not the name of your business.This one is required for everyone, no exceptions. If the name here does not match what the IRS has on file, the 1099 that gets generated from this form will not match either, and that is how mismatch notices start."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Line 2, Business or Trade Name","text":"Line 2 is optional. It is for a business name, trade name or DBA that is different from the name you put on line 1.A freelancer operating as, say, Anna Baker Designs would put that here while still having their personal legal name on line 1. If you do not have a separate business name, leave it blank and move on."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Line 3a, Your Tax Classification","text":"Check exactly one box. Most freelancers and independent contractors want the first one, individual or sole proprietor.If you run an LLC, look at the LLC box and write C, S or P in the small space beside it to show how the LLC is taxed. Here is the exception that trips people up: a single-member LLC usually still checks the first box, not the LLC box, because the IRS disregards it as a separate entity."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Line 3b, Foreign Partners","text":"Line 3b is narrow. It only applies if you checked partnership, trust or estate, or an LLC taxed as a partnership, and you have foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries.For almost everyone filling out a W-9 as an individual or sole proprietor, this box stays empty."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Line 4, Exemption Codes","text":"Two small boxes: an exempt payee code and a FATCA exemption code. Both are optional and both are mostly for businesses and institutions.As an individual you will nearly always leave both blank, and that is completely fine. Blank is a valid answer here, not an oversight."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Line 5, Street Address","text":"Your street address, including any apartment or suite number.Use an address you will still be checking at tax time, because this is where the 1099 gets mailed. The box to the right is for the requester's name and address. That one is optional, but filling it in is genuinely useful if you send out several W-9s a year and want a record of who asked."},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Line 6 and Line 7","text":"Line 6 is your city, state and ZIP code. Straightforward.Line 7 is for account numbers, and only if the requester specifically asked you to list them. Most of the time you skip it."},{"number":8,"title":"Step 8: Part I, Your Taxpayer ID Number","text":"This is the part the whole form exists for, so slow down here.As an individual or sole proprietor, enter your nine-digit Social Security number, one digit per box. If you are filling this out for a business, use the employer identification number boxes underneath instead. The rule is one or the other, never both.A sole proprietor who has an EIN may use either one. A single-member LLC that is disregarded should generally use the owner's SSN."},{"number":9,"title":"Step 9: Part II, Certify and Sign","text":"Read the four certification statements and check that they are actually true for you. They cover your TIN being correct, not being subject to backup withholding, being a US person, and FATCA reporting.Then sign and date. Once it is signed, send the completed W-9 back to whoever requested it. It goes to them, not to the IRS. That catches a surprising number of people."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-08-29T20:24:28.975Z","published":"2026-08-29T20:24:24.411Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}