Credit: Guard your Social Security number. Image: , Flickr.
Guard your Social Security number. Image: , Flickr.
Guard your Social Security number. Image: DonkeyHotey , Flickr.
More to know
Here are a few more things to know about the W9 form:
- It's generally required for freelancers, consultants, contractors, and other self-employed folks -- people who perform work for a company without being employees. In an employer/employee relationship, the new employee will generally be asked to submit a W-4 form, which provides their name, address, Social Security Number, and information to help the employer determine how much tax to withhold from paychecks. If a company hires you as en employee but asks you to submit a W9 form, you might want to confirm you're not classified as an independent contractor.
The tax code is roughly 4 million words long. You don't need to learn and understand it all, but knowing about the W9 form can serve you well.
- Certain financial institutions that pay you dividends, interest, or some other kind of income might require a W9 form, but that's often unnecessary, as they should have obtained your Social Security number and address when you opened your account. Be sure any request for a W9 form is legitimate, lest you share your SSN with an unscrupulous party interested in identity theft.
- Along the same lines, don't leave the form lying around or send it to the company in an unsecured way, such as in an unencrypted email attachment or in a fax that might sit for some time before being collected by the intended recipient. Remember that the information on the form is a gold mine for an identity thief.
- If you change your name, your business's name, your tax identification number, or your address, you should submit new W9 forms to the businesses that pay you.
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The article What Is a W9? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool specialistSelena Maranjian,whom you canfollow on Twitter , has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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