The mailed versions of the three solicitations Reg. 301.6724-1 requires for a missing TIN, dated for the penalty-waiver record. Read it below, copy the text, print it, or download the .docx for your letterhead.
Template from tincompliance.com. The three mailed solicitations that Treas. Reg. 301.6724-1 requires for a missing TIN: the initial request at setup, the first annual solicitation by December 31 of the year the account was opened, and the second annual solicitation by December 31 of the following year. Use these where email is not practical or a paper record is preferred; the email versions are a separate template. Log the date and method of each one.
[Company name]
[Address]
[Date]
[Payee name]
[Payee address]
Re: Form W-9 required before payment
Dear [payee name],
Before [Company] can make a payment to you, federal law requires us to have your taxpayer identification number (TIN) certified on Form W-9. A blank Form W-9 is enclosed.
Please complete it, sign the certification, and return it to us by [date] at [return address / secure upload link / fax]. Two points prevent most problems:
If we do not receive a completed Form W-9, we are required to withhold 24% federal backup withholding from each payment until we do. Withheld amounts are paid to the IRS and credited on your tax return; we cannot refund them.
Questions: [name / department], [phone], [email].
[Signature block]
Enclosure: Form W-9
[Company name]
[Address]
[Date]
[Payee name]
[Payee address]
Re: Taxpayer identification number still needed for [year] tax reporting
Dear [payee name],
On [date of initial request] we asked you for a Form W-9. Our records still show no taxpayer identification number for your account [account / vendor number]. We are required to report payments made to you during [year] to the IRS on Form [1099-NEC / 1099-MISC / other], and to furnish you a copy, by [January 31 / statement date].
Please complete and return the enclosed Form W-9 by December 31, [year]. Until we receive it, we are required to apply 24% backup withholding to payments we make to you, and the information return we file will show a missing TIN, which can result in an IRS penalty notice to you as well as to us.
If your circumstances have changed since our first request (for example, you now operate through an entity with its own EIN), the Form W-9 should show the current name and number.
Questions: [name / department], [phone], [email].
[Signature block]
Enclosure: Form W-9
[Company name]
[Address]
[Date]
[Payee name]
[Payee address]
Re: Second request: taxpayer identification number for [year] tax reporting
Dear [payee name],
This is our second annual request for your taxpayer identification number. We wrote to you on [date of initial request] and again on [date of first annual solicitation]. Our records for account [account / vendor number] still show no TIN.
We are required to apply 24% backup withholding to every reportable payment we make to you until we have a certified Form W-9, and to report the payments to the IRS with a missing TIN. A blank Form W-9 is enclosed. Please return it by December 31, [year] at [return address / secure upload link / fax].
If you believe you already provided a Form W-9, please contact us so we can locate it; we may ask you to complete a new one so that the certification is current.
Questions: [name / department], [phone], [email].
[Signature block]
Enclosure: Form W-9
After the second annual solicitation the regulation requires no further requests for that account; keep withholding and file with the TIN blank. The two dated letters plus the initial request are what make the missing-TIN penalty waivable.
A general-purpose starting point, not legal advice. Your facts, and your counsel, control what you send.