Tax
Form W-9
Form W-9 is an IRS form used to collect a US person's name, address and taxpayer identification number, so the payer can report payments made to them. Businesses collect a Form W-9 from US contractors before paying them and use it to prepare Form 1099-NEC.
In plain terms: The form you collect from a US contractor so you can report what you paid them.
Why it matters
Collect it before the first payment, not at year end. Chasing tax details in January from someone you stopped working with in March is a predictable and entirely avoidable misery.
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