Small repair business owner - client asking me to fill out a W-9 form? Help!

I run a small electronics repair business from my home workshop. I have a website where I advertise my services and I charge fees based on the type of repair needed. Pretty much 100% of my business transactions (both money coming in and going out) are through Venmo, and I use their business tools to keep everything organized. I send detailed invoices for all the work I do, print shipping labels through Venmo when I need to ship items back, etc. Venmo sends me a 1099-K at the end of the year which makes tax time pretty straightforward. I can easily export all my financial records, mark business expenses, track costs, and so on. It's been working great for me. I've worked with many individual customers and businesses over the years, but yesterday a company I did several repairs for asked me to complete a W-9 form. This is the first time anyone has requested this. Is this normal practice? I don't mind filling it out, but I'm wondering if I should be proactively offering W-9 forms to all my business clients. I'm confused about when this is actually required. Do businesses like Etsy or eBay provide W-9s to every customer? I was under the impression W-9 forms were only for freelancers or independent contractors, but even after reading the IRS website, I'm still not clear on the definitions. For example, if a business calls a plumber to fix their bathroom, would they ask the plumber for a W-9? Is the W-9 mainly for the business's records to document their expenses? I know it's not submitted to the IRS, but I assume it's a good precautionary measure for them. Should I be completing W-9 forms for ALL my business customers? I've repaired electronics for dozens of companies, and none have ever mentioned needing a W-9 before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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19 comments

Amara Eze

•8M

What you're experiencing is completely normal. A W-9 is used by businesses to collect your tax information when they might need to report payments made to you to the IRS. Generally, businesses are required to issue 1099-NECs to contractors/vendors who they pay $600 or more during the tax year. The reason most of your business clients haven't asked for a W-9 is they might not be properly following tax requirements or they're not tracking vendor payments carefully. The company that asked you for the W-9 is actually doing things by the book! Since you're already getting a 1099-K from Venmo that reports your payment income, there could potentially be some double-reporting of income (once on the 1099-K from Venmo and again on 1099-NECs from clients). However, this isn't a major problem - you'd just need to explain the situation on your Schedule C.

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Liam McGuire

•8M

Thanks for clarifying! So should I be proactively providing W-9s to all my business customers who spend over $600 with me in a year? Or should I just respond when they ask for one? I'm trying to do everything correctly but also don't want to create extra paperwork for everyone if it's not necessary. Also, about the potential double reporting - how exactly would I explain that on my Schedule C? Would I list all income and then note which portions were already reported on the 1099-K?

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Amara Eze

•8M

You don't need to proactively provide W-9s - just respond when clients request them. The responsibility for requesting the W-9 and issuing 1099s falls on the business paying you, not on you as the service provider. However, having a completed W-9 ready can speed things up when clients do ask. For handling potential double-reported income, you would report all your gross receipts on Schedule C (including everything from both 1099-Ks and any 1099-NECs). You don't need to separate them or make special notations. The IRS is aware that some income may be reported on multiple forms. Just make sure your Schedule C total accurately reflects your actual business income without double-counting anything.

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Giovanni Ricci

•8M

I went through exactly the same confusion with my side business doing website design! Found that using https://taxr.ai really cleared things up for me. I uploaded my business docs and receipts, and it explained exactly which clients needed W-9s and why. The service analyzed my business structure and showed me that as a service provider, I'm considered an independent contractor to these companies. What was super helpful is it explained the difference between getting 1099-Ks from payment processors and 1099-NECs from clients - they serve different purposes. The tool flagged that I needed to properly track which income was reported where to avoid accidentally double-reporting it. Saved me a ton of research time!

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Giovanni Ricci

•8M

Yes, it specifically addresses W-9 requirements based on your business type and client relationships. It analyzes your payment methods and explains which trigger 1099-K reporting (like your Cash App payments) versus which client payments might generate 1099-NECs. Then it helps you track everything to avoid confusion at tax time. As for why not just Google it - I tried that first and kept finding conflicting information. Different sources say different things, and the IRS website is honestly hard to navigate. The service just made everything clear and personalized to my specific situation, which saved me hours of research and confusion.

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NeonNomad

•8M

Ok so I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was actually super helpful for my situation! I uploaded my client list and payment records, and it clearly showed which clients need W-9s (businesses that paid me over $600 directly, not through payment apps). What really helped was seeing the breakdown of which income would be reported on which forms. The tool explained that my Cash App payments already generate a 1099-K, while direct client payments over $600 might generate 1099-NECs if I provide a W-9. It also created a simple tracking system for me to avoid the double-counting issue someone mentioned above. Definitely worth checking out if you're confused about this stuff like I was!

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Dylan Mitchell

•8M

If you're still having issues understanding your tax obligations or getting conflicting information, you might want to consider speaking directly with the IRS. I know that sounds terrible, but I used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. Here's their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had a similar W-9 situation with my home repair business and was getting mixed advice. The IRS agent I spoke with clarified that yes, businesses should request W-9s from service providers like us when they expect to pay us over $600 in a year. They also explained how to handle the potential overlap with 1099-Ks from payment processors. It was actually a painless experience and gave me official information I could rely on.

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Dylan Mitchell

•8M

You still call the regular IRS number, but their system continuously redials and navigates the phone tree for you. Once they get a spot in line, they call you and connect you directly to the IRS agent. It saves you from having to listen to hold music for hours or getting disconnected after waiting. I was skeptical too, but it's not a scam. They don't talk to the IRS for you or collect any tax information. They just handle the frustrating waiting game part. I figure my time is worth more than sitting on hold for 3+ hours. They just found a clever way to work with the existing IRS phone system to reduce wait times.

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Dmitry Volkov

•8M

I have to follow up and say I was completely wrong about Claimyr! After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself when I needed clarification on some 1099 issues for my consulting business. It actually worked exactly as described - I got a call back within 20 minutes and was connected directly to an IRS representative. No more hold music! The agent answered all my W-9 questions clearly and helped me understand when I need to collect them vs. when I should be providing them to clients. For what it's worth, the agent confirmed what others have said here - businesses that pay you $600+ in a year should request a W-9 from you, and then they'll use that information to issue you a 1099-NEC. This is separate from the 1099-K you get from payment processors. I was confused about the same thing!

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Ava Thompson

•8M

Former tax preparer here! Just want to add some clarity: 1) W-9 forms are used by businesses to collect your tax info (name, address, SSN/EIN) so they can properly report payments to you. 2) Any business that pays you $600+ in a calendar year for services is required to issue you a 1099-NEC (not 1099-MISC anymore for services). 3) Payment apps like Venmo/PayPal issue 1099-Ks, which is different - that's reporting the gross amount processed through their platform. So yes, it's totally normal for your client to request a W-9. And yes, you might have some overlap between your 1099-K from the payment processor and 1099-NECs from clients. Just make sure you're reporting all your income on your Schedule C without double-counting.

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Ava Thompson

•8M

If you refuse to provide a W-9, the business is generally required to withhold 24% of your payments as "backup withholding" and send that money to the IRS. This is called backup withholding and it's meant to ensure tax compliance. The business might also decide it's too much hassle to work with you without proper documentation. Most businesses take their tax reporting obligations seriously because they can face penalties for failing to properly report payments to contractors. So while there's no direct penalty to you for refusing, it could cost you money through backup withholding and potentially future business relationships.

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