How To Fill Out a W9 for an LLC? (Step by Step Guide)

Published by Jon Morgan | Co-Founder & Chief Editor

Last updated: March 6, 2026

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Filling out a W-9 for your LLC requires entering your legal business name, tax classification, and taxpayer identification number — a process that takes under 10 minutes once you know which boxes apply to your entity type.

Over 9 years of consulting with LLC owners on tax compliance, I've helped hundreds complete this form correctly the first time.

In this guide, I'll walk you through each line of the W-9, step by step, so you can avoid the errors that trigger IRS backup withholding.

Quick Summary

Filling Out a W-9 Form

Filling out a W-9 form will require individuals to provide their legal name, and official company name and determine which tax classification the entity falls into.

Line 1: Legal business name

When filling out Line 1 of the W-9, use your legal name exactly as it appears in IRS records.

Many W-9s have mistakes, often bad or missing taxpayer IDs. That can trigger a 24% IRS withholding, delaying payments and creating extra paperwork for everyone [2].

Line 2: Name of your company or disregarded entity name

Enter the full record name as mentioned in the Internal Revenue Service records.

Line 3: LLC tax classifications

Let's go through each LLC federal tax classification and how to fill out Form W-9 for each one.

C-Corporation tax status (C)

A C-Corp is a limited liability company that elects to be taxed as a corporation by the IRS.

Steps to fill out a W9 as a C-Corporation:

• If your LLC is taxed as a C corporation, check the box on line 3 of IRS Form W-9 and enter "C" to the right of the LLC box.
• On line 1 of the form, include the legal name of the LLC as it appears on IRS documentation.
• TIN- Enter the EIN and employer’s identification number.

Based on our experience, this is the option of being taxed as a C corporation. Whether there is only one member or many, this status can be assigned to the LLC.

"Double-check all information before submitting the W-9. Ensure your name, LLC name, and any EIN match exactly with how it appears on your tax return. Inaccuracies can lead to processing delays or even tax withholding issues."

- Jon Morgan, CEO, Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Venture Smarter

S corporation tax status (S)

An LLC that wants to be classed as an S corporation by the IRS must fill out Form 2553.

Steps to fill out a W9 as an S-Corporation:

• If your LLC is taxed as an S corporation, check the box on line 3 of IRS Form W-9 and enter "S" to the right of the LLC box.
• Name- Enter the legal name of the LLC, as it appears on IRS documentation on line 1 of the form.
• TIN- Enter the EIN, employer’s identification number.

This is a paperwork choice to be taxed as an S corporation. Whether there's a single member or many, this status may be granted.

Partnership tax status (P)

Drawing from our experience running multiple LLCs, all LLCs with more than one member that have not chosen to be treated as an S or C company for federal tax purposes will be treated as a partnership by default.

Steps to fill out a W9 as a Partnership:

• LLCs with two or more members should check the box on line 3 of the Form W-9 and enter "P" to the right of the box if they are operating as a pass-through entity.
• Name- Enter the legal name of the LLC, as it appears on IRS documentation on line 1 of the form.
• TIN- Enter the EIN, employer’s identification number.

The partnership itself is not subjected to tax, only the members.

Single-member LLC (disregarded entity)

The IRS does not consider a single-member LLC to be a separate entity from its owner. In this situation, single members must fill out their Form W-9.

Steps to fill out a W9 as a Single-Member LLC:

• Unless the single-member LLC has chosen to be classified as a C or S corporation, it should enter its owner's tax classification on line 3.
• Name- Enter the legal name of the LLC’s owner, as it appears on official documentation on line 1 of the form.
• TIN- Enter the owner’s SSN, social security number.

A disregarded entity is considered a Sole Proprietorship or single-member LLC by the IRS.

Any foreign business will be considered a disregarded entity and may have any of these LLC classifications:

• Foreign General Partnership (GP)
• Foreign Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
• Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC)

If you are a Foreign General Partnership (GP) or Foreign Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), we recommend checking the fourth box on the W-9. Fill out lines A – D as instructed.

Finally, if you are a Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC), we also recommend checking the fourth box on the W-9. Fill out lines A – D as instructed.

Line 4: Exemptions

Individuals or organizations that are not subject to backup withholding or FATCA reporting can indicate it on line 4. They may do so by entering any of the four correct codes on this line.

Line 5 & 6: Address

To register, you must first type in your complete address. Then, go through the three statements in Part 2 and sign them to verify that they are correct.

Part II: Certification

By electronically signing your Form W-9, you verify that the data is accurate.

What is Form W-9?

Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is a form that must be completed by people and businesses who receive money from you.

It is used to:

• Determine if they're eligible to work in the US
• Determine them as a US person or Foreign National Identity and what type of taxpayer they are (business, individual, etc.)

Anyone who receives income from you must provide you with their taxpayer identification number (TIN) and certify that it is correct.

This includes:

• Sole proprietorship
• Corporation
• S corporations
• Partnership
• Limited Liability Company (LLC)

You need to understand that filling out a W9 form with the taxpayer identification number is required by the IRS for people who receive $600 or more in compensation from your company in a year and are not employees (note: an LLC member counts as an employee).

What is Form 1099?

IRS Form 1099 is a type of information return that reflects a contractor's yearly earnings as reported by the employing business [3].

The W9 form is furnished by contractors or freelancers to provide information to the entity they work for.

Essentially, the information provided by the W9 will be used for filing a 1099 tax form.

W-9 Form Updates You Should Know (March 2024 Revision)

The IRS released an updated W-9 in March 2024, and LLC owners should use this version for all current filings [4].

The most significant change is the addition of Line 3b, which applies to LLCs taxed as partnerships that have foreign partners or owners. If your LLC checks "P" on Line 3a and provides the form to another flow-through entity, you must complete Line 3b to disclose any foreign ownership interest.

The IRS also clarified Line 3a for single-member LLCs: disregarded entities should check the box for the owner's tax classification — not the LLC box.

Using an outdated form version can create mismatches in IRS records. Download the current version directly from IRS.gov before filling out the form.

FAQs

References:

1. https://taxpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/statistics/pdf/table_14_22_24_0.pdf
2. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc307
3. https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-misc