Linx Team · 10/14/2026
You’ve come across a good freelancer. The job is completed, the invoice has been received, and you’re all set to click “pay”. But then somebody asks, “Have you obtained their W-9?” and you feel a bit worried. So, what exactly is the W-9 tax form? It is a one-page form which a US contractor completes and submits to you so that you can have the information necessary to report the payments to the tax authorities. It only takes about five minutes and omitting it can lead to serious problems down the line. Alright, let’s explain it in simple terms.
The W-9 is an official form issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is the US tax agency, and its full name is “Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification”; however, people never say the full name out loud, so they just refer to it as a W-9. The form gathers some of the basic information about the person you are paying, such as their name, address, tax status, and taxpayer identification number; this number is the one that the government uses to monitor an individual’s taxes. In the case of individuals, it is generally their Social Security number, while for businesses it is an Employer Identification Number, or EIN. You shouldn’t submit the form to the IRS; instead you should keep it in your files, just as you would keep a receipt with a bit of politeness.
The form known as the W-9 is intended for independent contractors. By that we mean people who are freelancers or self-employed and who work for themselves rather than being employed on your payroll. This applies to someone such as a designer, a writer, a consultant, or an electrician. Employees don’t complete one; instead they fill in a different form known as a W-4, and we’ll come to that soon.
On the day you omit it nothing goes off. The problems appear when it’s time to pay taxes, since you then lack the details you need and have to track down a contractor who has moved to another city, changed his email address, or disappeared completely. There is also the matter of backup withholding. If a contractor fails to provide you with a valid tax number, you will have to withhold 24 per cent of the amount he or she earns and send it to the IRS. Since this situation is rather unpleasant for all concerned, it is much easier to get the form beforehand.
The contractor does the filling out, but it helps to know what you will see:
When your team is based in different parts of the world, the W-9 will only give a partial view of the situation. Instead, foreign contractors generally complete a W-8BEN, and each country has its own regulations concerning taxes, contracts, and worker status. That’s the kind of situation in which a global Employer of Record (EOR) can be of assistance. An EOR is a firm that legally employs your employee in that country on your behalf. It looks after the payroll, the local taxes, and compliance, which simply means adhering to the rules. You continue to be responsible for the employee’s day-to-day work, while the administrative tasks are dealt with. Partners like Linx provide this service in more than 160 countries and thus can help a small team avoid being overwhelmed by forms.
Then what exactly is the W-9 tax form? It’s a brief and straightforward form which will help you avoid the stress of tax season. It’s not very exciting, just as flossing isn’t, and yet both activities are worth doing. Get one from each US contractor before paying them, keep it safely stored, and your future self will be obliged to thank you.