W-9 Form

A W-9 Form is a document issued by a payor requesting a person's name, address, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and exemption claims. The payor uses the information obtained from the W-9 Form when issuing a 1099 Form. A "U.S. person" as it pertains to a W-9 Form is any non-foreign individual (i.e. US citizen or resident alien), a company, partnership, estate or trust organized in the United States or under US laws.

The W-9 Form is most commonly associated with a non-employment agreement between a business and a vendor. However, any payor that is required to file a Form 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-MISC, 1099-OID, or 1099-PATR must usually issue a W-9 Form to the payee.

The Internal Revenue Service states that a substitute W-9 Form may be issued to a payee as long as the content is similar to the official W-9 Form. The substitute W-9 Form must state for the payee that his signature certifies that:

1. the furnished TIN is correct,
2. the payee is not subject to backup withholding, and
3. the payee is a U.S person.