How to complete a W-9 form

Contractors can fill out and submit W-9 forms directly in the platform.

Updated over a week ago

Plane enables contractors to complete and submit W-9 forms directly in the platform. All US citizens or other US persons (including resident alien individuals) performing services for US-based entities as independent contractors are required to complete a W-9 form. The form should be submitted to the payer and not to the IRS.

If you are not a US citizen or other US person, please complete a W8-BEN or W8-BEN-E form.

📝 Completing the form

To complete your W-9 form:

  1. Go to the Compliance tab and select ‘A recent W-8 or W-9 form confirming your U.S. tax status.’

  2. If you would like to upload a signed W-9 form, select ‘Upload a signed form instead’ in the upper right-hand corner. Select the W-9 form type, and then choose the file you’d like to upload. Please note that the file needs to be in PDF format. Then, click ‘Upload document.’

  3. To complete the form in the platform, enter your information in the ‘Your tax information’ section. Please see below for more detailed instructions. Sign the form with your full name, and click ‘Sign and submit.’

  4. After you submit your form, your company administrators and assigned manager will receive a notification by email that the form was submitted. If you would like to view your form, go to Your profile. In the Documents section, you can click your completed form to view it.

Note: The form is valid for three years (until the end of the year) after you submit it. However, we’ll be asking you to complete it once a year to make sure it has up-to-date information.

📄 W-9 — detailed instructions

Name

  • Enter your legal name

  • This is the same name you use on your individual tax return

Business name (optional)

  • Complete this field if you are using a business name that’s different from your legal name

Federal tax classification

  • If you are working as an individual contractor, you will likely want to select Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC

Address

  • Enter your residential address

  • PO boxes are not allowed

Social Security Number

  • If you’re an individual/sole proprietor, enter your Social Security Number

  • If you’re the only owner of an LLC, you’ll likely want to enter your Social Security Number

  • In all other cases, you'll likely want to select the 'Use U.S. EIN instead' option and enter an EIN (Employer Identification Number)

Your full name

  • Type in your full name. Your signature will appear to the right.

💡 Disclaimer

You can find the most up-to-date instructions about the W-9 form on the IRS website. We update this guide regularly, but if there are any are discrepancies between our guide and the IRS instructions, always follow the IRS website.

Please note that we can’t advise you on how or when you should file your taxes. You may want to contact a tax professional.

This article was written to help US contractors performing services for US entities and is based on the most common situations that we see for our users. Your case may be different and may require to complete the form differently. Please contact us at support@plane.com if you have questions. We're happy to guide you through the process.

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