Hi George, yes, I checked the box on line 3 indicating I'm a "single-member LLC."
Thank you for confirming I'm not crazy. And in digging around more, I think I figured this out.
The IRS effectively considers a "single-member LLC" the same as a "sole proprietorship." Meaning, they want to know YOUR name (as in, you, the person) and they couldn't care less about your single-member LLC's business name.
That means, when filling out 1099s, my clients should use MY name (ie, the business OWNER, John Smith) as the "recipient name" and NOT the business/LLC name.
Doing it this way, the "payee / recipient name" and EIN will match on the 1099 (again, assuming the EIN is also for the PERSON and NOT the business/LLC).
Does the IRS provide clear instructions about this for filling out the 1099? Of course not!
