On a W-9, your personal name goes on Line 1 and your business or trade name goes on Line 2 if you’re an individual, a sole proprietor, or a single-member LLC that hasn’t elected corporate tax treatment. If you’re filing for a corporation, a partnership, or a multi-member LLC, the entity’s legal name goes on Line 1 instead, and any DBA or trade name goes on Line 2. Deciding whether to put your name or business name on a W-9 comes down to which return will report the income the requester pays you.
Line 1: The Name That Matches Your Tax Return
The rule the IRS applies to Line 1 is simple in principle: it must show the name that appears on whatever federal tax return will report the income.1Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024) From there, the answer depends on how your business is set up.
Sole Proprietors and Freelancers
If you work for yourself without a formal entity, your business income is reported on your personal Form 1040. Your individual name, exactly as it appears on your Social Security card, goes on Line 1. If you operate under a business name — say, Jane Smith doing business as Smith Creative Agency — Jane’s full legal name goes on Line 1 and Smith Creative Agency goes on Line 2.1Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
Single-Member LLCs
This is where most people get tripped up. Unless your LLC has filed Form 8832 to be taxed as a corporation, the IRS treats it as a “disregarded entity.” For income tax purposes, the LLC doesn’t exist as a separate taxpayer; its income flows through to your personal return.2Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
So even though your LLC has an official name on file with your state, your personal name still belongs on Line 1. The LLC name goes on Line 2. On Line 3a, check the “Individual/sole proprietor” box, not the LLC box. The LLC box is only for LLCs taxed as a corporation or partnership.3Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. January 2026)
Corporations, Partnerships, and Multi-Member LLCs
These are separate tax entities that file their own returns. The entity’s legal name — the one on your articles of incorporation, partnership agreement, or articles of organization — goes on Line 1. Any DBA or trade name the entity uses goes on Line 2.1Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
Line 2: When to Use It
Line 2 is optional. You use it whenever you operate under a name different from what you entered on Line 1. That includes:
- A sole proprietor’s DBA or trade name.
- A single-member LLC’s legal name (when the owner’s name is on Line 1).
- A corporation or partnership’s trade name or DBA (when the entity’s legal name is on Line 1).
Line 2 never replaces Line 1. A trade name is a marketing label; it isn’t a tax identity, and putting it on Line 1 by itself will create problems the moment the requester tries to match your form to IRS records.
Match Your TIN to the Name on Line 1
Whichever name you put on Line 1 dictates which Taxpayer Identification Number goes in Part I.
If Line 1 has your personal name, provide your Social Security Number. This is true even if your single-member LLC has its own EIN for payroll or excise taxes. For W-9 purposes tied to income reporting, a disregarded entity uses the owner’s SSN or the owner’s personal EIN, not the LLC’s separate EIN.2Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
If Line 1 has a corporate, partnership, or multi-member LLC name, provide the EIN assigned to that entity.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024) The form has separate boxes for SSNs and EINs. Fill in the one that corresponds to the name on Line 1, not both.
What Happens If the Name and TIN Don’t Match
When a W-9’s name-and-TIN combination doesn’t match IRS records, the agency sends the requester a CP2100 or CP2100A notice. The requester then has to send you a “B notice” asking for a corrected W-9. Responding to a first B notice with a properly completed W-9 resolves it. A second B notice within three years is more serious and requires you to supply a copy of your Social Security card or an IRS Letter 147C verifying your EIN.5Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding “B” Program
The bigger consequence is backup withholding. If your W-9 has a name/TIN mismatch, you fail to provide a TIN, or you fail to certify you’re not subject to backup withholding, the requester must withhold 24 percent of each payment and send it to the IRS instead of you.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (03/2024) The withheld amount counts toward your eventual tax liability, so it isn’t lost money. But losing nearly a quarter of your cash flow while you sort things out can hurt, especially if you rely on steady contractor payments.
The most common source of a mismatch is exactly the confusion this article addresses: a single-member LLC owner puts the LLC name on Line 1 and their personal SSN in Part I, or a sole proprietor puts a DBA on Line 1 without their legal name. Either combination will fail IRS matching.
A Quick Reference
- Freelancer or independent contractor with no entity: Your legal name on Line 1, SSN in Part I. Line 2 blank.
- Sole proprietor with a DBA: Your legal name on Line 1, DBA on Line 2, SSN (or personal EIN) in Part I.
- Single-member LLC (default tax treatment): Your legal name on Line 1, LLC name on Line 2, your SSN or personal EIN in Part I. Check “Individual/sole proprietor” on Line 3a.
- Single-member LLC taxed as a corporation: The LLC’s legal name on Line 1, the LLC’s EIN in Part I. Check the LLC box on Line 3a and enter the classification code.
- Multi-member LLC, partnership, or corporation: The entity’s legal name on Line 1, any trade name on Line 2, the entity’s EIN in Part I.
When to Send an Updated W-9
There’s no annual renewal. A W-9 stays valid until the information on it stops being accurate. Common triggers for submitting a new one include a legal name change, getting a new TIN (such as an EIN you didn’t have before), a change in your business entity structure, or a change in your tax classification.
If you wrote “Applied For” in the TIN box because you were waiting on a number, you have 60 days from the date the requester received the form to supply the actual number. After that window, the requester is required to begin backup withholding.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024)
One last thing worth knowing: a completed W-9 goes to the requester, not to the IRS.1Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024) The requester uses it to prepare the 1099 they’ll issue you at year-end, and those 1099s are what the IRS matches against your return. Getting the name on Line 1 right is what keeps that match clean.