How to Fill Out a W-9 as a Freelancer: TIN and Backup Withholding

A client asked for a Form W-9, and you want to fill it out correctly the first time. Here is how to fill out a W-9 as a freelancer: the form is one page, it collects your legal name, tax classification, address, and taxpayer identification number so the client can report your payments to the IRS, and most people can finish it in under ten minutes. The current version is dated March 2024.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Download the form directly from irs.gov, where it is a free fillable PDF.¹ Skip any third-party site that charges a fee or wants you to create an account.

Before you start typing in boxes, pull together:

Your legal name exactly as it appears on your federal tax return. The IRS matches the name on your W-9 against Social Security Administration records, and a small mismatch causes real problems.²
Your business name or DBA, if you have one separate from your legal name.
Your Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number. Sole proprietors can use either.
Your current mailing address, since your client will send year-end tax documents there.

If you operate through an LLC, know how it is classified for tax purposes: sole proprietorship (disregarded entity), partnership, C corporation, or S corporation. That classification decides what you check on Line 3.

One boundary worth naming: the W-9 is only for U.S. persons, meaning U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and entities organized under U.S. law.³ A nonresident alien freelancing for a U.S. client uses Form W-8BEN instead, and the client withholds 30% unless a tax treaty reduces that rate.

Filling Out the Form Line by Line

Line 1: Your Legal Name

Enter your full name as it appears on your federal income tax return. If you are a sole proprietor, that is your personal name, not your business name. If you run a single-member LLC that is treated as a disregarded entity, you still enter your personal name here, because the IRS looks through the LLC to you as the owner.³

Get this line wrong and the IRS eventually sends your client a mismatch notice, your client sends you a request to correct it, and backup withholding can start on your payments until the record is fixed. Line 1 is the single most common source of that trouble.

Line 2: Business Name or DBA

If you operate under a trade name, DBA, or entity name different from what you put on Line 1, enter it here.³ If your legal name is Maria Chen but you do business as Bright Pixel Design, Line 1 reads Maria Chen and Line 2 reads Bright Pixel Design. If you freelance under your own name with no separate business identity, leave Line 2 blank.

For a disregarded-entity LLC, put the LLC’s name on Line 2. The IRS wants the owner on Line 1 and the entity on Line 2 so it can link the two.

Line 3: Federal Tax Classification

Check one box for how you are classified federally. Most solo freelancers check “Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC.” Other boxes cover C corporations, S corporations, partnerships, trusts, and estates.¹

If you formed a multi-member LLC or elected different tax treatment by filing Form 8832 or Form 2553, check the LLC box on Line 3a and enter the letter code that matches:³ C for a C corporation, S for an S corporation, P for a partnership.

A single-member LLC that has not elected corporate treatment is a disregarded entity. In that case, check “Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC” rather than the LLC box.

Line 4: Exemption Codes

Line 4 collects exempt payee codes and FATCA exemption codes. Almost every individual freelancer leaves this blank. These codes apply to corporations, tax-exempt organizations, and government entities.⁴ If you are a sole proprietor, skip it.

Lines 5 and 6: Address

Enter the street address, city, state, and ZIP code where you want tax documents sent. Your client will use this address to mail your year-end earnings statement, so make sure it is current. Address errors are among the mistakes the IRS specifically flags as never inconsequential on information returns.⁵

Line 7: Account Number

Optional. Some clients use it for internal tracking. Leave it blank unless the client asks for something specific.

Part I: Your Taxpayer Identification Number

For individual freelancers and sole proprietors, this is typically your Social Security Number. Enter all nine digits in the boxes.¹

If you would rather not give your Social Security Number to every client, apply for an Employer Identification Number instead. The IRS issues EINs to sole proprietors online, for free, immediately.⁶ Using an EIN keeps your SSN off the dozens of W-9s you will hand out over a career. Any website charging a fee to get you an EIN is selling you what the IRS gives away.

If you have applied for a TIN but do not have it yet, write “Applied For” in the space. That triggers backup withholding by your client until you supply the actual number.³

Part II: Certification and Signature

Your signature certifies under penalty of perjury that the TIN is correct, that you are not subject to backup withholding (or that you are and have noted it), that you are a U.S. person, and that any FATCA code is correct.¹ Do not let the perjury language rattle you if your information is accurate. It is there because deliberately providing false information is a felony carrying fines up to $100,000 and up to three years in prison.⁷

Electronic signatures are accepted. If your client uses an online portal, the system has to include the same perjury statement that appears on the paper form and require your electronic signature as the final submission step.⁸ Faxed copies also count. Sign it, date it, done.

Sending It Back Safely

Your completed W-9 contains your SSN or EIN, legal name, and address. Treat it like a copy of your tax return. Do not send it as an unencrypted email attachment. A secure client portal or encrypted file-sharing tool is the best option. Encrypted email, a password-protected PDF, or physical mail all work.

If a company you have never heard of asks you out of the blue for a W-9, be cautious. Legitimate businesses request W-9s from people they are about to pay or have already paid. A cold request with no underlying relationship can be a phishing attempt to harvest your Social Security Number. Verify the requester before sending anything.

Backup Withholding Is Why This Matters

If you do not provide a valid W-9, or if the IRS notifies your client that your name and TIN do not match, the client is legally required to withhold 24% of every payment and send it to the IRS.⁹ That comes off the top before you see it. You get it back as a credit when you file your return, but the cash flow hit is real if you are living project to project.

Backup withholding also applies if the IRS has notified you that you previously underreported interest or dividend income, or if you fail to certify that you are not subject to it. The way to avoid all of this is straightforward: fill out the W-9 correctly, make sure the name and TIN match your Social Security card, and return it promptly.

What Happens After You Submit

Your client keeps the W-9 on file and uses it to prepare your year-end earnings statement. For most freelancers, that is a Form 1099-NEC reporting nonemployee compensation, due to you by January 31 following the year you earned the income.⁵

For 2026, a client only has to file a 1099-NEC if they paid you $2,000 or more during the calendar year. That is a recent increase from the longstanding $600 threshold, enacted in federal tax legislation effective in 2026 and scheduled to adjust for inflation starting in 2027. You still owe taxes on every dollar of income whether or not a 1099 arrives, but fewer clients will be generating the paperwork.

Send an updated W-9 whenever your legal name changes, your address changes, or you switch from an SSN to an EIN. Outdated information leads to mismatched filings, delayed 1099s, and possible backup withholding.

The Tax Bill That Follows

Filling out the W-9 is the easy part. Nobody is withholding income tax or payroll taxes from your freelance payments the way an employer would. When you file your return, you owe both income tax at your regular rate and self-employment tax of 15.3% on your net earnings. That 15.3% covers Social Security at 12.4% and Medicare at 2.9%, the halves an employer would normally split with you.¹⁰

The IRS expects payment throughout the year, not in April. Estimated taxes are due quarterly:¹¹

April 15, for income earned January through March
June 15, for income earned April through May
September 15, for income earned June through August
January 15 of the following year, for income earned September through December

Setting aside roughly 25% to 30% of each freelance payment for taxes is a reasonable starting point until you know your effective rate.

1
Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
2
Internal Revenue Service. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues
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Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024) Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9
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Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7206 – Fraud and False Statements
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3406 – Backup Withholding
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Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
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Internal Revenue Service. Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals Penalty