To fill out the 1099-MISC and submit it to the IRS, every business owner is obliged to make his independent contractors complete the W9 and provide such personal data as the name, address, and the tax ID number.
All vendors who are paid a bill over $600 per tax year are to edit, file and issue the document. It’s crucial not to mix employees and independent contractors. If the first is hired for fixed hours during the day and it’s the business owner who tells him what is to be done while he is on the clock, independent contractors are free to perform the disposable task when it’s convenient to them. The employer, in such cases, pays for the work to be done and not the hours. And it’s particularly these contractors who need the 1099-MISC forms.
When W-9 Form Should Be Requested
Every freelance worker should be requested to provide an accurately completed W9 the moment the employer side is expected to issue 1099. The information stated in this document will be used for the 1099 paper. Hence, every freelancer ought to be particularly cautious in not only how he fills it in, but also how he sends the document. The sensitive information with the worker’s Social Security number, in particular, should never fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, when sending the ready paper, one needs to make sure it is either sent by email in a password-protected file attachment or delivered by hand. This way, the employer will be able to open the file only after an authorization.
In fact, employers can ask a vendor to edit the blank W 9 form prior to making the payment. This way, he won’t be able to refuse to complete it and cause troubles. However, if the vendor is a reliable person, the blank can be sent to fill out as late as until January. It’s particularly January when business owners look over their accounting records and may detect they have no relative information to issue a 1099-MISC.
Updates
As a rule, IRS requires employers to update the document from time to time. For instance, there might be some exemptions added. A new blank form can be downloaded easily and free-of-charge from the official website of the Internal Revenue Service. And this rule applies to all citizens of the United States of America, no matter whether living in Arkansas, New York, California, Nevada, or any other state.