A W-9 is the form a contractor gives your business with their name and taxpayer ID, so you can report what you paid them on a 1099-NEC. A W-4 is the form an employee gives you so payroll knows how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck.
The two forms follow worker classification. A 1099 contractor fills out a W-9 and is paid with no tax withheld. A W-2 employee fills out a W-4 and has tax withheld from every paycheck.
W-9 vs. 1099: they are not alternatives. They are two ends of the same process. The W-9 comes in from the contractor. The 1099-NEC goes out from you after year end, built from the W-9's details.
A three-person startup pays a freelance developer $8,000 in 2026. In the same year, it hires its first W-2 employee.
The developer fills out a W-9 before the first payment. The company keeps it on file. It is not sent to the IRS.
After year end, the company sends the developer a 1099-NEC and files it with the IRS by January 31. For payments made in 2026, a 1099-NEC is generally required once you pay a contractor $2,000 or more. Before 2026 the line was $600.
The new employee fills out a W-4 on day one, so payroll knows how much federal income tax to withhold. In California, they also fill out the state DE 4.
No. You keep the W-9 on file. You use the name and taxpayer ID on it to fill out the 1099-NEC, and the 1099-NEC is what goes to the IRS.
You may have to start backup withholding: holding back 24% of each payment and sending it to the IRS. Ask for the W-9 before the first payment so this does not come up.
January 31 of the next year, both to the contractor and to the IRS. For 2026 payments, that is January 31, 2027.
W-9s, 1099s and payroll forms are part of the month-to-month work when we run your accounting back office. See if our accounting team is a fit →
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