I will be filing with a w9, I have 2 children and I am head of household, will I receive a refund?

[DoninGA]

A W-9 is not used when filing a tax return.  An employer or other entity requests that you complete a W-9 to verify your Social Security number or ITIN.  See this IRS website for a W-9 - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf</a>

Are you an employee that earns taxable income where the employer will issue you a W-2?  Or are you self-employed where you receive cash or a Form 1099-MISC for your income?
Whether or not you receive a tax refund is dependent on many variables.  Completing a tax return is the only way to know if you receive a refund or have taxes owed.

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

As others have said, you do not use a W-9 to file a tax return. But the fact that you were asked to fill out a form W-9 indicates (but is not 100% for sure) that you are working for some person,  company or organization as a contract employee or independent contractor. You will probably receive a form 1099-Misc, in January or early February to document your pay for 2016. You do file with that. Such payments are classified as earned income and qualifies you for the child based refundable earned income credits.

So, yes, you will receive a refund. The money you hear about people getting for just filing a tax return claiming kids requires you to  have some earned income (wages or self employment). With earned income, you are eligible for the "refundable" Earned Income Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit. Contract employment is self employment, whether you receive a 1099-misc or not. So, keep good records of your payments and any expenses associated with this income.

[TaxGuyBill]

It really depends on how much you earned.  Because it seems like you are self employed, you will be paying self employment tax.  Being self employed means that NO taxes are taken out of your pay, so it is quite possible that you could OWE money.  If your income is low, you will probably receive a refund.  If it is high, you could possibly owe A LOT.

[SweetieJean]

This is a W9:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-form-w9

Do you have a job for which you will be getting a W-2 or 1099-MISC at year end? Are you self employed?  If not, what is the source of your income?