Form W-9 - Overview

Form W-9 is an IRS form used to collect a payee's Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and other required information for information return reporting and payment compliance.

This form applies only to U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and U.S. entities. If your recipients may include non-U.S. individuals or entities, use the WhCertificate endpoint instead, which allows recipients to select and complete the appropriate W-9 form based on their tax status.

Common use cases

• Businesses paying independent contractors - Collect W-9 forms from contractors before issuing Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-MISC.
• Accounting and tax firms - Request and manage W-9 forms for clients' vendors and service providers from a centralized platform.
• Marketplace and payout platforms - Collect W-9 forms from U.S.-based sellers, freelancers, creators, and service providers before issuing payments.
• Property management software - Gather W-9 forms from property owners, vendors, and maintenance contractors receiving reportable payments.
• Financial and payment platforms - Collect taxpayer information before issuing information returns such as Form 1099-K, Form 1099-INT, or Form 1099-DIV.

Explore more use cases

Form W-9 collection endpoints

Use the following endpoints to automate W-9 collection, manage submitted forms, and track completion status.

All endpoints require a Bearer token from the OAuth 2.0 authentication flow. Include this token in the Authorization header of every request. Learn more about OAuth 2.0

Collection

Choose the collection method that best fits your workflow.

Method	How it works	Best for	URL scope
RequestByEmail	TaxBandits sends an email containing a secure W-9 request link to the recipient	Direct outreach to known recipients	Unique per recipient
RequestByText	TaxBandits sends a secure W-9 request link via SMS	Mobile-first or SMS-preferred recipients	Unique per recipient
RequestByUrl	API returns a unique, secure URL that you deliver through your own application or communication channel	Embedded onboarding and custom workflows	Unique per recipient
Drop-In UI	A ready-made W-9 form embedded directly into your application	Fully integrated and branded user experiences	Not applicable - form rendered inline

Upload Existing Forms

• Create - If you already have the W-9 form on file, you can upload the form to the TaxBandits API without sending a collection request.

Status Retrieval

• Status - Retrieve the current status of form submission and TIN Matching result (If opted).
• Webhooks - As an alternate to the Status endpoint, you can configure webhooks for the event type 'WhCertificate Status Change' to receive automated notifications. Learn more

Other Actions

• Get - Retrieve the details and PDF download link for a submitted W-9 form.
• List - List all W-9 certificates associated with a specific payer.
• Delete - Delete a W-9 certificate for a specific recipient.

Automate TIN Matching with W-9 requests

TIN Matching validates the recipient's name and TIN against IRS records immediately after form submission. This helps reduce IRS notices, backup withholding issues, and reporting errors.

• To trigger TIN Matching automatically when the recipient submits their W-9 form, Set IsTINMatching to TRUE in your API request.
• TIN Matching results are returned in the Status endpoint response or webhooks (if configured).

Customization options

• Branding - Customize the form completion page and the email sent to recipients with your own logo, colors, and styling before deploying W-9 collection. See how
• Forms displayed - Control which W-9 forms are presented to recipients on the selection screen. If your platform only works with certain recipient types, you can limit the list to the relevant forms so recipients are never shown options that don't apply to them. See how
• Preferred language - Set the default display language for the form completion page. Supported languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. Recipients can change their language preference at any time.
• Interview mode - Present the W-9 as a guided step-by-step interview instead of the traditional form layout. Useful for recipients who are less familiar with tax forms.