Let’s talk about the W-9, shall we?
If you did work for a company as a freelancer or subcontractor (i.e., not an employee), you will be required to fill out an IRS Form W-9 if the total payments are equal to or greater than $600 in a calendar year.
If you are being asked to fill out a Form W–9, it means that a company who paid you for your services needs your tax identification number or Social Security number so it can notify the IRS of the amount paid to you. This allows companies to show the IRS that they do not owe payroll taxes on the money they paid you because you are not considered an employee, in which case a Form W-2 would be required.
A W-9 form is considered an “information reporting” federal income tax form. A company that is filing an income tax return, and claims to have paid for your services during the course of doing business, will need to provide your information to the IRS.
Freelancers, consultants, custodians, landscapers, repair people, etc… all are required to fill out W-9 income tax forms for work they do for other companies as non-employees.
You are not required to provide a W-9 if payment was made via PayPal or credit card.
This is true even if payments exceeded $600 in the calendar year. This is because, in the case of electronic payments, the credit card companies and payment companies such as PayPal will handle any required reporting.