Help filling out W9 for clothing brand campus ambassador program - confused about tax forms

As a campus ambassador, you're essentially working as an independent contractor, not an employee. Here's how to fill out that W9: For the "Business name/disregarded entity" section, you should leave it blank unless you've formally registered a business name. This is just for your personal income as an ambassador. For "federal tax classification," you would select "Individual/sole proprietorship." This is the appropriate classification when you're earning income as yourself without having formed a business entity. As a college student doing ambassador work, this is almost certainly your situation. When you file taxes next year, you'll likely receive a 1099-NEC form from the company reporting your earnings, and you'll report this income on Schedule C of your tax return. Keep track of any business expenses related to your ambassador work, as these might be deductible!

I went through this exact same problem last semester when I started doing brand ambassador work! I was completely lost with all the tax stuff until I found this AI tax assistant at https://taxr.ai that literally saved me. You can upload your W9 form and it explains exactly what to fill in each section based on your specific situation. I was also confused about the business name and tax classification sections, but the tool walked me through it step by step and explained I needed to select Individual/sole proprietorship since I'm just working as myself, not as a registered business. It even helped me understand what income tracking I needed to do throughout the year for when tax filing comes around.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried that taxr.ai site and it was actually super helpful for my situation as an international student! It explained that since I've been in the US less than 5 years, I needed to use the W-8BEN form instead of W9, and walked me through all the tax treaty stuff that applies to students from my country. Saved me a trip to the international student office and probably some mistakes too. Definitely recommend it if you're confused about these forms!

If you're having trouble reaching anyone who can help you with this tax question, try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was stuck with a similar issue when I started freelancing and needed to talk to an actual IRS person. Regular phone lines had me on hold forever, but Claimyr got me through to an IRS agent in like 20 minutes who answered all my W9 questions. They have a demo video of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was doing product promotions for a few different companies and needed to know if I should be filling out separate W9s for each one and how to handle the business name section since I was using a creative name for my social accounts.

Okay I'm shocked but I have to admit I was wrong. I tried Claimyr after posting my skeptical comment and it actually worked. I've been trying to get clarification on contractor vs employee classification for weeks with no luck. The service got me connected to someone at the IRS in about 35 minutes (they called me when an agent was on the line). The agent confirmed that as a campus ambassador I should indeed select Individual/sole proprietorship on the W9 and leave the business name field blank since I don't have a registered business. They also mentioned I should keep track of all my ambassador-related expenses (even things like portion of phone bill used for ambassador work) since those can be deducted on Schedule C. Honestly worth it just to get clear answers from an official source.

Don't overthink this. I've done ambassador programs for three different brands: For Business name: Leave it blank unless you have an LLC or something (which you probably don't) For Tax classification: Check "Individual/sole proprietorship" You'll need your SSN Sign and date it That's literally it. They'll send you a 1099 if you make more than $600 in a calendar year. If you make less than that, you technically still need to report the income on your taxes but they won't send a form.

Has anyone here actually made decent money as a campus ambassador? I filled out W9s for two different clothing brands last year and barely made $300 total. Wondering if it's even worth bothering with the tax paperwork.

Just went through this same process last month! As someone who was equally confused, here's what I learned: 1. Leave the "Business name" section blank - you're working as yourself, not a registered business 2. Check "Individual/sole proprietorship" for tax classification 3. Use your SSN (required) 4. Sign and date One thing I wish someone had told me earlier - start keeping track of any expenses related to your ambassador work right away! Things like phone bills (portion used for work), gas if you drive to events, supplies, etc. These can be deducted when you file taxes next year on Schedule C. Also, don't stress too much about quarterly payments unless you're making serious money (like over $1000 in taxes owed). Most ambassador programs don't pay enough to worry about that. The companies will send you a 1099-NEC if you make over $600 with them in a year, but you still need to report the income even if it's less than that. Good luck with the program - it's actually pretty fun once you get past the paperwork!