Customer requesting W9 form from my LLC for product purchases - is this necessary?

This is actually a common situation. The W9 form is used to collect taxpayer information from vendors, regardless of whether you're providing products or services. Many businesses have policies requiring W9s from all vendors they pay more than $600 to in a year. While it's true that the 1099 reporting requirement (which is what the W9 information is typically used for) generally applies to services rather than product purchases, many companies collect W9s from all vendors as a standard practice. They do this to have your information on file in case they need to issue a 1099 for any reason, or simply as part of their accounting protocols. There's no harm in providing the W9 - you're just giving them your business information, which they probably already have from your invoices anyway. It's not an indication that they'll be issuing you a 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC, which would be incorrect for product sales.

I had a similar issue last year with my ecommerce business. I found https://taxr.ai really helpful - they have a document analyzer that let me upload the W9 request and my sales documentation, and they confirmed exactly what I needed to do. Saved me hours of research and worry. In my case, I learned that while the client technically didn't need to issue a 1099 for product purchases, providing the W9 was standard business practice. The tool explained that many companies have blanket policies requiring W9s from all vendors, regardless of what they're purchasing.

I just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after my skeptical comment. I decided to try the service with a similar W9 situation for my consulting business, and I have to admit it was really helpful. The document analyzer looked at both the W9 request and my sales contracts, then explained exactly how I should handle the situation and why. What surprised me was how it caught a detail in my operating agreement that would have caused issues with how I was planning to report the income. Saved me from a potential audit headache! Definitely more helpful than my generic Google searches had been.

If you're having issues getting clear answers about tax forms like W9s, you might want to try getting direct help from the IRS. I used https://claimyr.com to get through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I had a similar question. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was initially hesitant to provide a W9 for my product-based business, but the IRS agent explained that while the client doesn't need to issue a 1099 for product purchases, there's no prohibition against them collecting a W9 for their records. Getting that official clarification directly from the IRS gave me peace of mind.

Alright, I need to eat my words from my earlier comment. After waiting on hold with the IRS for nearly 2 hours yesterday, I got fed up and decided to try Claimyr as a last resort. I was extremely skeptical, but I was connected to an actual IRS agent in about 25 minutes. The agent confirmed that while the company technically doesn't need to issue a 1099 for product purchases, they're allowed to request W9s from any vendor as part of their records policy. Apparently this happens all the time and isn't something to worry about. I feel kind of silly for spending so much time stressing over this, but I'm glad I finally got a clear answer straight from the IRS.

Not sure if this helps, but my LLC sells both products and occasional services. I just provide W9s to all customers who request them - it's easier than explaining the distinction between products and services. As long as your accounting is correct on your end, it doesn't really matter if they have your W9 on file.

The whole W9/1099 system is so confusing for small businesses. I think I filled out like 30 W9s last year for various clients, and only got 1099s from about half of them. Nobody seems to follow consistent rules!

This thread has been really helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation where a corporate client is requesting a W9 for some equipment I sold them last month. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like I should just provide it and not worry too much about it. One thing I'm wondering though - should I include any kind of note or explanation when I send the W9 back to clarify that this was for product sales, not services? Or is it better to just send the form without any additional commentary? I don't want to create confusion, but I also want to make sure they understand the nature of our transaction for their own record-keeping purposes.

I went through this exact same situation with my manufacturing business last year. A large client requested W9s for all their vendors, including those who sold them physical products. After initially hesitating, I decided to provide it and it turned out to be no big deal. What I learned is that many larger companies have blanket policies requiring W9s from all vendors they pay over a certain threshold (often $600), regardless of whether it's products or services. It's easier for their accounting departments to collect the information upfront rather than trying to categorize each vendor relationship. I never received an incorrect 1099 from that client, and providing the W9 actually helped streamline future business with them since they had all my information on file. My advice would be to just provide it - there's really no downside, and it shows you're professional and willing to work with their processes.

I've been following this discussion and wanted to add my perspective as someone who handles vendor management for a mid-sized company. We absolutely do request W9s from all vendors we pay over $600 annually, regardless of whether they provide products or services. The reason is simple - it's much easier to collect the information upfront than to chase down vendors later if we need it. While we know that product purchases typically don't require 1099 reporting, having the W9 on file covers us for any edge cases or mixed transactions (like if we later purchase services from the same vendor). From your client's perspective, they're probably just following standard procurement policies. I'd recommend providing the W9 - it's a normal part of doing business with larger companies and shows you're easy to work with. In my experience, vendors who push back on routine paperwork requests often create unnecessary friction in the relationship.

This has been such a helpful discussion! I was in the exact same boat a few months ago when one of my biggest clients requested a W9 for some custom products I made for them. I was initially concerned because I'd only dealt with W9s for my freelance writing work, not my product-based business. After reading through IRS Publication 1099 and consulting with my accountant, I learned that while businesses aren't required to issue 1099s for product purchases, there's absolutely nothing wrong with them collecting W9s as part of their vendor management process. In fact, it's considered best practice for companies to gather this information from all vendors they work with regularly. I ended up providing the W9, and it actually strengthened our business relationship because it showed I was responsive and professional about their administrative requirements. They've since placed several more orders, and having all the paperwork handled upfront has made the invoicing process much smoother. My advice: just provide the W9 without overthinking it. It's standard business practice, and there's really no downside to complying with their vendor documentation requirements.

This discussion has been incredibly valuable for understanding W9 requests in product-based businesses. As someone who's been running a small manufacturing LLC for the past three years, I can confirm that W9 requests from clients are quite common, even for straightforward product sales. What I've found helpful is maintaining a standard operating procedure for these requests: I keep a completed W9 template ready to send, respond within 24 hours of receiving the request, and always include a brief professional note like "Please find the completed W9 form attached for your vendor records." This approach has helped build trust with larger corporate clients who appreciate prompt responses to their administrative requirements. One thing I'd add to this conversation is that providing W9s has actually opened doors for additional business opportunities. Several clients who initially requested W9s for product purchases later contracted us for custom design services, and having our tax information already on file made those transitions seamless. It's worth viewing these requests as relationship-building opportunities rather than administrative burdens.

As a newcomer to this community, I found this entire discussion incredibly helpful! I run a small retail business and just received my first W9 request from a corporate client who purchased inventory from us. I was initially confused because I thought W9s were only for contractors, but reading through everyone's experiences has really clarified things for me. What strikes me most is how this seems to be such standard business practice, yet it's not something you learn about until you actually encounter it. The advice about keeping a pre-filled W9 template ready to go is brilliant - I'm definitely going to set that up today. I also appreciate the perspective from Ryan who handles vendor management, as it really helps understand why companies have these blanket policies. One question I have after reading through everything: for those of you who've been doing this for a while, do you find that certain types of companies (size, industry, etc.) are more likely to request W9s than others? I'm trying to anticipate which of my other clients might make similar requests so I can be proactive about it.