A W-9 is a form that you give to clients or vendors who request it, because they will be paying you $600 or more during the tax year. You must provide them your Social Security number or your business tax number. If you don’t, they will be required to withhold a portion of your payment for taxes.
You may want to get a EIN, employer identification number, from the IRS. This is free online and takes 15 minutes. That way, you don’t have to give your clients your personal Social Security number.
