# How CPA firms request a W-9 from clients

Source: https://dokutrak.com/requests/cpas/w-9
Author: Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak
Published: 2026-10-26
Language: en-US

> Ask the business owner to collect a signed Form W-9 from every contractor, freelancer, landlord and other vendor the business pays outside payroll, before year-end if possible. The W-9 gives you the legal name, taxpayer identification number and tax classification you need to prepare the business’s 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms on time.

## Why CPA firms need a W-9

You prepare the business’s 1099s, and the IRS matches the name and TIN on each one. A mismatched pair can bring an IRS notice telling the business to start backup withholding on that vendor. The W-9 also tells you who is exempt: payments to corporations are generally not reportable, with exceptions such as attorney fees and medical payments. Collecting W-9s in December, rather than in the last week before the January 31 deadline, leaves time to chase the vendors who do not answer.

## What exactly to ask for

The current revision of Form W-9, completed and signed by each vendor the business paid during the year, working from the vendor list in the books. Ask for the vendor’s own signed PDF, not a name and number typed into an email, and ask the owner to flag any vendor whose W-9 is several years old or whose name or structure has changed.

## What to check when it arrives

- The name on line 1 is the name the TIN belongs to; for a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, the business name goes on line 2.
- A tax classification box is checked, so you know whether the vendor is a corporation.
- Part II is signed and dated, and the TIN has nine digits in the format of an SSN or an EIN.

## Email to send your client

Subject: W-9s from the people the business paid

```text
Hi [Client name],

Before I prepare the business’s 1099 forms, I need a signed W-9 from each contractor, freelancer and landlord you paid last year outside payroll.

The simplest way: email each of them the blank form from irs.gov and ask them to send it back signed, as a PDF. Please do not copy their tax number into an email yourself; I need their own signed form.

Could you forward the W-9s you collect by [date]? The forms to contractors are due January 31, so anyone who has not answered by then is worth a nudge. If someone refuses, let me know and I will tell you what comes next.

Thank you,
[Your name]
```

## Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.

- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a W-9 or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.

14-day free trial, no card. Add one only to keep going.