My business partners want me to issue a W-9 form under my name - any reason I shouldn't do this?

This is actually a situation you should approach with caution. When you submit a W-9 form, you're providing your Tax Identification Number (either SSN or EIN) to a client or customer who will likely be issuing you a 1099-NEC at the end of the year reporting that income to the IRS. By putting your name on the W-9, you're telling the IRS that YOU received this income, which means YOU will be responsible for paying taxes on it, even if the money is actually split between partners. This could potentially put you in a situation where you're paying taxes on income you didn't fully receive. If you're operating as a partnership, the proper approach would typically be to obtain an EIN for the partnership, issue the W-9 under the partnership name/EIN, and then distribute the income according to your partnership agreement with each partner reporting their share on their individual returns.

I had a similar issue with my design partners last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which really helped clarify things. They analyzed my partnership structure and documentation and explained that putting my name on a W-9 for partnership income is generally not recommended since I'd be responsible for taxes on the full amount. What made things clearer was uploading our informal partnership agreement, which their system analyzed to show how our arrangement should be properly structured for tax purposes. They explained that even for small amounts, it's better to set things up correctly from the beginning so you don't create problems when the business grows.

I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and wow, I'm really glad I did! I was about to make a similar mistake with some freelance work I'm doing with friends. The system analyzed our situation and recommended we form a proper partnership with an EIN instead of putting everything under my name. They even generated a simple partnership agreement template that we could customize and showed us exactly how to apply for an EIN online (took like 15 minutes). They explained how the taxes would work for each option and I realized I would have ended up with a much bigger tax bill if I had gone with my original plan. Definitely saved me from a headache down the road!

If you've tried contacting the IRS to get clarification on partnership reporting requirements, good luck getting through! I spent 3 hours on hold last month trying to ask questions about EINs and partnership returns. I finally discovered Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent explained that using your personal information on a W-9 for partnership income is a common mistake that can lead to tax mismatches that trigger notices. They walked me through the proper way to set up an EIN for our partnership and file the necessary paperwork. Saved me hours of frustration and probably an audit down the road!

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to get an answer about my EIN application that had been pending for months. The service actually got me connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes while I was just going about my day. The agent was able to look up my application and tell me exactly what was holding it up (I had transposed two digits in my address). For anyone dealing with partnership issues like the original poster - definitely get your partnership properly set up with its own EIN rather than using your personal SSN on W-9 forms. The IRS agent confirmed that's the correct approach and can save you major headaches later.

If your partners are pushing for you to put YOUR name on the W-9, I'd be suspicious tbh. Why aren't they willing to put THEIR names on it? Maybe they have tax liens or back taxes they're trying to avoid? Or maybe they're trying to keep income off their tax returns for some reason? Even if you trust them, this arrangement makes YOU the responsible party for all the taxes. You'd have to track down your partners later to get them to pay their share of the taxes, which could get messy if the friendship/partnership goes south.

Just wanted to add that if this business arrangement continues, you guys should really consider formalizing your partnership with an actual partnership agreement and getting an EIN. I made the mistake of having an informal partnership years ago and it was a NIGHTMARE come tax time. For now, each partner should issue their own W-9 for their portion of the income. It's cleaner that way and ensures everyone is properly reporting their share.