W-9 Best Practices

Author: Steven D. Mercatante

IRS Form W-9 requires organizations like yours to collect very specific information about your payees. Besides regulating withholding, payers must make sure that the forms are current, complete, and accurate. How can you ensure a proper form that will not subject your company to penalties, interest or tax?

In this course, industry expert and corporate tax attorney Steven D. Mercatante Esq. takes a look at some of the more common problems experienced by CPAs, accounts payable, and tax departments related to documenting and validating payee information using the IRS Form W-9. He not only identifies the issues, but offers solutions and best-practices for addressing them.

Publication Date: July 2023

Designed For
If you are validating 1099 reportable payments and payees, you supervise 1099 compliance and want to streamline your W-9 due diligence procedures prior to 1099 filing, or if you are a CPA and would benefit from assistance validating Forms W-9 prior to filing.

Topics Covered

• Filing Dates
• Increased Penalties
• WHO should receive a W-9
• WHO is responsible for the accuracy of W-9 information
• WHAT does "disregarded entity" mean
• WHAT is the importance of "tax classification"
• WHEN are W-9s due to Payees
• WHEN should W-9s be rejected & re-sent to Payees
• HOW can I avoid name & TIN mismatch problems that lead to backup withholding and B-Notices
• Verify TIN, EIN, SSN with IRS e-services
• Verify the correctness of W-9 information
• When to backup withhold and how
• Tips on avoiding IRS penalties and handling IRS B-Notices

Learning Objectives

• Identify processes for dealing with recent IRS changes to the Form W-9 and a discussion of the new Form 1099-NEC vs. the revamped 1099-MISC
• Recognize and apply policies for validating IRS Form W-9 and get record retention tips
• Identify strategies for dealing with Form W-9s when multiple names are provided, handling changes in payee information, validating exempt organization payees, and validating your W-9s using the IRS TIN Match Program
• Describe practices to capture key W-9 data points for use in subsequent 1099 reporting
• Recognize how to develop strategies for leveraging the W-9 in B-Notice situations
• Recognize how to pinpoint steps that should be taken to handle W-9s from problematic payees such as sole proprietors, single member LLCs, partnerships, LLCs owned by other entities, and corporations
• Identify backup withholding tips to make your job easier, including a detailed discussion of the Form 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC versus usage of Form 945

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None