What Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) 2022
Introduction
Application for Form W-9 – Key Features
Instructions for use
Application for Form W-9 – Key Features
What is a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
How do I know when to use a W-9 form?
Use Form W-9 to request a taxpayer identification number (TIN) for a US person (including a resident alien) and to request certifications and claim exemptions. (See Form Purpose of Form W-9.) Withholding agents may require signed W-9 forms from U.S. recipients to overcome the presumption of foreign status. For federal tax purposes, a US person includes but is not limited to:
A US citizen or US resident alien;
A partnership, corporation, corporation, or association formed or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States;
Any property (other than foreign property); or
Internal trust (as defined in Subsection 301.7701-7).
A partnership may require a signed Form W-9 from its U.S. partners to overcome the presumption of foreign status and to avoid withholding the partners’ allocated share of the partnership’s effectively connected income. For more information, see Regulations section 1.1446-1.
A participating foreign financial institution (PFFI) must request a Form W-9 from an account holder who is a US person. If the account is held jointly, the PFFI must request a Form W-9 from each holder who is a US person.
Advise aliens to use the appropriate Forms W-8 or Form 8233, Exemption Withholding Independent Compensation (and Dependents) for Nonresident Alien Personal Services. See Pub. 515, Tax Withholding of Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities, for more information and a list of W-8 forms.
Electronic Submission of Forms W-9
Applicants may establish a system
Applicants may establish a system for payers and payer agents to submit W-9 forms electronically, including by fax. Each applicant is required to file an information return. An issuer is anyone who is required to provide a taxpayer identification number (TIN) to an applicant.
Agent Payee. The paying agent can be an investment adviser (corporation, partnership, or individual) or an offering broker. An investment adviser must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The introducing broker is a dealer-dealer that is regulated by the SEC and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., and that it is not a provider. Except for a broker acting as a paying agent for a “ready-to-purchase instrument,” the adviser or broker must show in writing to the payer that the payer has authorized the adviser or broker to submit Form W-9 to the payer.
Electronic system. In general, an electronic system should:
Ensure that the information received is the information sent, and document all user access events as a result of the submission;
Be reasonably certain that the system entrant submitting the form is the person identified on the Form W-9, the investment adviser, or the presenting broker;
Provide the same information as the W-9 form;
Ability to provide a hard copy of an electronic W-9 form if requested by the Internal Revenue Service; and
Required for the final entry of the submission is the electronic signature of the payee whose name appears on the Form W-9 which confirms and verifies the submission. The electronic signature must be subject to the penalties of forgery and the forgery statement must contain the same language as the Form W-9.
For W-9 forms that do not require a signature, the electronic system does not require an electronic signature or false statement.
For more details, see below.
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
Form W-9 (or an acceptable alternative) is used by persons required to return information to the IRS to obtain the payer’s (or other person’s) correct name and TIN. For individuals, a TIN is generally a social security number (SSN).
However, in some cases, individuals who have become U.S. resident aliens for federal tax purposes are not eligible to receive an SSN. This includes certain resident aliens who should receive an information return but do not have an SSN.
These individuals must apply for an ITIN on Form W-7, Application for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number from the IRS, unless they have a pending application for an SSN. Individuals with an ITIN must pay on a W-9 form.
Know. ITINs that have not been included on a US federal tax return at least once in the last 3 tax years will expire. Expired ITINs must be renewed to avoid delays in processing the ITIN holder’s tax return. If the IRS revokes the ITIN because it has expired, the ITIN may still be used on Form W-9. However, an ITIN holder must apply to renew a discontinued ITIN if there is a need to file a tax return. For more information, see Instructions for Form W-7.
Change of Form W-9
You may develop and use your own Form W-9
You may develop and use your own Form W-9 (substitute W-9 form) if the content is similar to the IRS Form W-9 and meets certain certification requirements.
You can include the W-9 form as an alternative to other business forms you normally use, such as account signature cards. However, alternative W-9 form certifications must clearly state (as per the W-9 form) that under penalty of perjury:
The TIN is correct,
The taxpayer is not subject to withholding because of failure to report interest and dividend income
The payer is a US person, and
The FATCA code entered on this form (if any) indicating that the payer is exempt from FATCA reporting is correct.
You can provide supporting information on the alternative W-9 form in the same way as the official form. If you didn’t collect the FATCA exemption code by removing it from the Alternative W-9 form (see Payees and Accountants Exempt from FATCA Reporting, later), you can notify the payer that item 4 does not apply.
You may:
Use an alternative W-9 form that requires the payer, upon signature, to authorize items unrelated to the required certifications, or
This means that the payer is bound to hold the deposit until the payer agrees to the terms of the alternative form that are not related to the required certificates.
An alternative W-9 form that contains a separate signature line for certifications meets the requirement that certifications be clearly stated.
If a signature line is used for required certifications and other provisions, the certifications must be highlighted, boxed, printed in hard-face type, or otherwise presented in a manner that causes the language to stand out from all other information on the conversion form. ah. In addition, the following statement should be presented to appear in the same manner as described above and should appear immediately above the signature line:
The Internal Revenue Service does not require your approval of any documents other than the certifications required to avoid withholding.
If you use the alternative form, you are required to give instructions on Form W-9 to the payer only if he or she requests it. However, if the IRS has notified the payer that withholding applies, then you must instruct the payer to omit the certification language associated with the report below. This instruction can be given orally or in writing. See item 2 of the certificate on Form W-9. You can replace “specified below” with “specified in the instructions” in item 3 of the Certificate Form W-9 when the instructions will not be given to the payer except upon request. For more information, see Rev. Proc. 83-89, 1983-2 C.B. 613; strengthened by Rev. Proc. 96-26, which is on page 22 of the 1996-8 Internal Revenue Report