Form W-9 for LLC - How Limited Liability Companies can Complete a W-9?

Single Member LLCs

If you are the sole owner of your LLC, your business will be classified as a Single-Member LLC, also known as a Disregarded Entity for federal tax purposes.

Multi-Member LLCs

If your LLC is comprised of two or more owners or shareholders, you can register your LLC to be treated as any of the following:

• Partnership: This business structure involves two or more members as owners or shareholders. Each partner pays individual taxes for their share of the profit.
• C Corporations: These are corporations with more than 100 shareholders, where the shareholders are liable for corporate income taxes as well as individual taxes on dividends they receive. This is known as double taxation.
• S-Corporation: These are corporations with fewer than 100 shareholders that have chosen to pass corporate income and losses through to their shareholders for tax purposes. S-Corporations don’t experience double taxation.

Name (Lines 1 and 2)

Based on your LLC’s federal tax classification, you’ll need to enter the applicable names in each of the first two fields.

• If your LLC is a Disregarded entity, you must enter your name on Line 1 and then enter the name of your LLC on Line 2.
• For example, if your name is John Doe, and you operate under the DBA (Doing Business As) name ‘John Doe LLC’, you must enter the former on Line 1 and the latter on Line 2.
• If your LLC is treated as a Partnership or Corporation, you can enter your business name on Line 1 and leave Line 2 blank (or) enter any other trade or DBA name if you have one.

Federal Tax Classification (Line 3a)

In this line, you can indicate how your LLC is classified for federal tax purposes.

• If your LLC is a Disregarded entity, you must check the box ‘Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC’.
• If your LLC is treated as a Partnership or Corporation, you must check the box ‘Limited liability company’ and enter the corresponding code to indicate the classification.
• C = C Corporation, S = S Corporation, P = Partnership

Line 3b

• You checked “Partnership” or “Trust/estate” on line 3a (and you are providing this form to a partnership, trust, or estate)
• Do you have any foreign partners, owners, or beneficiaries

Exemption Codes (Line 4)

Enter the exemption code, if applicable.

These exemption codes indicate that your LLC is exempt from Backup withholding or FATCA Reporting, if applicable.

Address (Lines 5 and 6)

Enter the complete address of your LLC, including Suite no./Apt no., street name, city, state, and ZIP code.

Account Number (Line 7)

If your LLC has any account numbers, list them here.

Part I - Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

Here, you’ll have two boxes for Social Security Number (SSN) and Employer Identification Number (EIN). You only need to fill out one of them.

• If your LLC is a disregarded entity, you can enter your SSN.
• If your LLC is treated as a Partnership or Corporation, you can enter your EIN.

Part II - Certification

Here, you can certify that your LLC is not subjected to backup withholding under the mentioned criteria.