TIN ComplianceA resource from TIN Comply
Guides

TIN compliance guides

Eleven long-form guides covering the whole loop: what the IRS checks, how TIN matching works, the W-9 solicitation schedule, the CP2100 and B-Notice procedure, backup withholding, Notice 972CG, sanctions screening, foreign payees, and a worked example.

Fundamentals

What TIN compliance actually means

The full loop from W-9 to penalty notice, and why TIN matching is one step, not the whole job.

Fundamentals

How IRS TIN matching works

What the IRS compares, what the nine result codes mean, and why a mismatch is not always the vendor's fault.

Solicitation

W-9 solicitation rules that protect you from penalties

Initial, first-annual and second-annual solicitations, and the records that prove you made them.

IRS notices

CP2100 and the B-Notice: what to do, step by step

The 15-day and 30-day clocks, when not to send a notice, and the second-notice rule that trips up most payers.

Withholding

Backup withholding at 24%: when it starts and when it stops

Triggers, deposits, Form 945, and how to stop withholding once a TIN is fixed.

Penalties

Notice 972CG: how the penalty is computed and how to get it waived

The 2026 per-return amounts, the 45-day response window, and what a reasonable-cause statement has to prove.

Screening

Sanctions screening for vendors and payees

OFAC, SAM and the other lists that matter for accounts payable, and how often to re-screen.

Checklist

The year-round TIN compliance checklist

Onboarding, quarterly, pre-filing and post-notice tasks on one page.

W-9 basics

Single-member LLC or sole proprietor: which name goes on the W-9?

The root cause of most TIN mismatches, explained for payees and for the AP team that has to fix it.

Worked example

A CP2100 with 47 names: what happened, day by day

One notice season at a mid-sized company, from logging the notice to the 972CG eighteen months later, with where the hours went.

Foreign payees

Foreign vendors: W-8 instead of W-9, and what Form 1042-S means

How to tell a foreign payee from a U.S. one, which W-8 to collect, 30% chapter 3 withholding and treaty claims, and why a foreign vendor on a CP2100 is a filing error.

Looking for a number or a date? See the 2026 figures and the compliance calendar. Not sure which notice you have? Try the notice decoder.