Annual solicitation letter, phone script and call log

Template from tincompliance.com. The annual TIN solicitation as the IRS penalty unit tests it. Treas. Reg. 301.6724-1(e)(2) and IRM 4.19.25.8.3 require annual solicitations to be made by mail or telephone; an annual solicitation made by email or portal is denied on sight. IRM 20.1.7.12.2.5 lists what a mailed one must contain: a letter stating the payee is subject to a $50 penalty under IRC 6723 for not furnishing a TIN, a Form W-9, and a return envelope. A telephone solicitation must be a completed call with an adult member of the household or an officer of the business, must request the TIN, and must give the same $50 warning. The filer must keep concurrent records. Not legal advice.

1. Mailed annual solicitation

[Company name]

[Address]

[Date]

[Payee name]

[Payee address]

Re: Taxpayer identification number required for [year] information reporting; account [account / vendor number]

Dear [payee name],

Federal law requires [Company] to report payments made to you to the Internal Revenue Service on Form [1099-NEC / 1099-MISC / 1099-INT / other] and to include your taxpayer identification number (TIN) on that return. Our records show no TIN for your account. We requested it on [date of initial solicitation] and have not received it.

Please complete, sign and return the enclosed Form W-9 in the enclosed envelope by [date, no later than December 31]. If you are providing a Social Security number, line 1 must be your own name; a business name goes on line 2. If you are providing an Employer Identification Number, line 1 must be the legal name the IRS assigned that number to.

You are required by law to provide us with your correct TIN. If you do not, you may be subject to a $50 penalty imposed by the Internal Revenue Service under section 6723 of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, we are required to withhold 24% federal backup withholding from payments to you until we receive it.

Withheld amounts are paid to the IRS and credited on your income tax return; they cannot be refunded by us once withheld.

Questions: [name / department], [phone], [email].

[Signature block]

Enclosures: Form W-9; return envelope

2. Telephone solicitation script

Use only when the call is completed with the payee (an adult member of the household for an individual, or an officer of the business). A voicemail, a text message or a conversation with a receptionist is not a solicitation. Complete the call log immediately afterward.

"This is [name] calling from [Company] about payments we make to [payee / business name], account [number]. We are required to report those payments to the IRS with your taxpayer identification number, and we do not have one on file. May I confirm I am speaking with [the account holder / an officer of the business]?"

"Under federal law you are required to provide us with your correct taxpayer identification number. If you do not, the IRS may impose a $50 penalty on you under Internal Revenue Code section 6723, and we are required to withhold 24% of your payments as backup withholding until we receive it."

"Can you provide the number now? [Record the TIN in the vendor system, not on this log.] For a Social Security number I also need the name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card; for an EIN, the legal name on your IRS notice."

"If you would rather send it in writing, I will mail you a Form W-9 with a return envelope today. Please return it by [date]."

"Thank you. I am noting that we spoke today, [date], at [time]."

3. Telephone solicitation call log

One row per completed call. Keep with the solicitation log; this is the concurrent record the IRS asks for when it requests proof of solicitations (IRM 4.19.25.8.3(6)).