<prompt> Human: I am a student who won 500 in a research competition, and it will be my only income for 2017, unless I win again or something very unexpected occurs. The contest body wants me to fill out a W-9. How do I fill this out to retain as much of this money as possible, now?  <response>: W-9 is not W-4. They need your SSN to issue you a 1099 for the amount won. They may or may not withhold taxes. 