Template from tincompliance.com. Three emails that make up the solicitation schedule in Treas. Reg. 301.6724-1: the initial request at onboarding, a 30-day reminder, and the annual solicitation due by December 31 (January 31 for accounts opened in December). Log the date and method of each one you send. Delete the notes in gray italics before you send it.
1. Initial request: send before the first payment
Subject: Form W-9 needed before [Company] can pay you
Hello [payee name],
Welcome aboard. Before [Company] can issue your first payment, federal tax rules require us to have a signed Form W-9 on file with your legal name and taxpayer identification number. We use it to report payments to the IRS at year end; it is not shared with anyone else.
Please complete and sign the form at [secure link], or return the attached PDF, by [date]. It takes about two minutes. Two things that prevent most problems:
- Line 1 must be the name that goes with the TIN. If you use your Social Security number, line 1 is your own name; your business name goes on line 2.
- If you have an EIN, line 1 is the legal name the IRS assigned it to, exactly as on your IRS notice (CP 575 or Letter 147C).
If we do not receive a W-9, we are required to withhold 24% of each payment for federal tax until we do. Questions: [contact].
Thank you,
[Name], [Title], [Company]
2. Reminder: 30 days after the initial request
Subject: Reminder from [Company]: Form W-9 still needed
Hello [payee name],
On [date] we asked for a signed Form W-9 so that we can pay you and report the payments correctly to the IRS. We have not received it yet.
Please complete it at [secure link] by [date]. Until it arrives, we are required to withhold 24% of any payment we make to you as federal backup withholding, and the withheld amounts can only be recovered when you file your tax return. A W-9 on file avoids that entirely.
If you already sent it, reply to this message and we will confirm receipt. Questions: [contact].
Thank you,
[Name], [Title], [Company]
3. Annual solicitation: send by December 31 to every active payee with no TIN on file
Subject: Action required by [Company]: taxpayer identification number for [year] tax reporting
Hello [payee name],
Our records show we do not have a taxpayer identification number on file for you. We are required to report [year] payments to the IRS in January and to request your number again before then.
Please complete a Form W-9 at [secure link] by December 31. You are required by law to provide us with an accurate taxpayer identification number; if you do not, the IRS may charge you a $50 penalty under section 6723 of the Internal Revenue Code. The information return we file will also show a missing TIN, and backup withholding of 24% will continue to apply to your payments.
If your circumstances have changed (for example, you now operate through an entity with its own EIN), the W-9 should reflect the current name and number. Questions: [contact].
Thank you,
[Name], [Title], [Company]
Record: date sent, method, recipient address, and any bounce or reply. This email, dated, is the evidence of the annual solicitation. Publication 1586 describes annual solicitations by mail (letter with the $50 penalty statement, Form W-9, return envelope) and by telephone, and electronic systems for initial solicitations; if the payee did not agree to electronic communications when the account was opened, send the mailed version (see the W-9 solicitation letters template) instead of relying on email alone.