what if your business is new and doesn t have an ein you can still fill out a w 9 form the irs says you should apply for your number and write applied for in the space for the tin you ll want to get this number as quickly as possible because until you do you ll be subject to backup withholding 16 you can apply for an ein at the irs website see the instructions below for step 8 part ii for more on backup withholding 
in part ii you must attest to the truthfulness of all of your information before you can sign form w 9 intentionally lying on a tax form could mean you ll have to pay a fine or go to jail before signing form w 9 here are the statements you must certify are true under penalty of perjury 171 the number shown on this form is my correct taxpayer identification number or i am waiting for a number to be issued to me 2 i am not subject to backup withholding because a i am exempt from backup withholding or b i have not been notified by the internal revenue service irs that i am subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends or c the irs has notified me that i am no longer subject to backup withholding 3 i am a u s citizen or other u s person 4 the fatca code s entered on this form if any indicating that i am exempt from fatca reporting is correct who must complete a w 9 form a form w 9 must be completed by one party and furnished to a second party if the second party is going to furnish specific types of payments in the future most broadly form w 9 must be filled out by independent contractors that perform work for another party with which they are not employed this includes freelance workers or gig employees under non employment structures a w 9 is also required from people in specific circumstances a bank or lending institution may ask for a w 9 as part of the process of setting up a new account as interest and dividend payments are furnished through form 1099 int participants in a contest that may win prizes may also be required to fill out a w 9 as the prize value may be taxable income and require irs reporting forms 1098 and 1099 are also used to furnish mortgage interest payments student loan payments real estate transaction proceeds and discharge of certain types of debt for these forms the opposing party may request form w 9 to ensure they have appropriate information on file 22completing a form w 9 is required whether you are subject to withholding or not if you are exempt this form is your means of communicating that exception to the paying party 15special considerations when filing form w 9form w 9 tells you to cross out item 2 above if you have been notified by the irs that you are currently subject to backup withholding because you have failed to report all interest and dividends on your tax return you may cross out item 2 if you re filling out form w 9 in connection with a real estate transaction item 2 doesn t apply in this case so it doesn t matter if you re subject to backup withholding 1now if you read the fine print in the w 9 instructions carefully it seems to indicate that most people aren t required to sign this form at all you re generally only required to sign it if the irs has notified you that you previously provided an incorrect tin technicalities aside however the person who asked you to fill out form w 9 will probably consider it incomplete or invalid if you haven t signed it return your completed form w 9 to the business that asked you to fill it out ideally you ll deliver it in person to limit your exposure to identity theft but this method often isn t practical mail is considered relatively secure if you must email the form you should encrypt both the document and your email message and triple check that you have the recipient s correct email address before sending your message free services are available online to help you do this but check their reputations before trusting your documents to them typically the business that needs to submit a w 9 to the irs will give you one to fill out if someone asks for a completed form w 9 it s usually for a good cause be skeptical of requests where you re not sure why your information is needed or who is making the request it is expected that requests as part of normal business operating activities will be fulfilled there are some repercussions if you do not remit form w 9 first the payor is required to begin withholding taxes from future payments as of 2023 the current withholding rate is 24 18in addition there are the following penalties for non compliance investopedia s tax savings guide can help you maximize your tax credits deductions and savings order yours today form w 9 vs form w 4two commonly used forms for tax purposes are form w 9 and form w 4 though similar sounding they have very different purposes recipients and uses form w 9 serves the aim of requesting information from a taxpayer usually an independent contractor or freelancer in order to file taxes meanwhile employees utilize the w 4 form to supply information to their employers for the purpose of income tax withholding the entity paying the taxpayer the person or business rendering the services receives the w 9 form from the taxpayer when reporting the payments made to the taxpayer at the end of the year the organization uses the data on the w 9 form to create and issue form 1099 misc or other applicable tax forms this is quite different than form w 4 the employee gives their employer the w 4 the w 4 is used by the employer to determine how much federal income tax should be withheld from the employee s paycheck and reported to the irs as opposed to needing this from an external party a company seeks out a w 4 from its own internal team 2last many of the same items are collected across both forms each call for a tin name and related tax information however the nature of the recipient are very different a w 4 will request information such as the taxpayer filing status i e is the taxpayer married 24 alternatively a w 9 asks for legal company information 