W-9/W-8 — An Overview
Businesses that pay recipients above IRS-specified thresholds are required to file annual information returns such as Form 1099 or Form 1042-S. To ensure accurate and compliant filing, payers must first collect key recipient details, including the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), legal name, address, federal tax classification, and applicable exemption codes.
W-9/W-8 forms serve as the standard document for collecting this information from the recipients.
Which form should I collect?
The correct form depends on the recipient's citizenship and entity type. Use the table below to identify which form applies.
| Form | Applies to |
|---|---|
| W-9 | U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and entities |
| W-8BEN | Non-U.S. individuals |
| W-8BEN-E | Non-U.S. entities |
| W-8ECI | Non-U.S. individuals or entities claiming income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business |
| W-8IMY | Intermediaries, flow-through entities or certain U.S. branches |
| W-8EXP | Foreign governments, tax-exempt organizations, foreign central banks of issue, and other specific entities |
Collection methods
TaxBandits supports multiple ways to collect W-9 and W-8 forms based on your platform architecture and recipient experience. You can:
- Send secure links via email or SMS
- Embed forms directly in your application
- Provide a self-serve public collection URL
- Use a fully customizable embedded UI
Each method is designed to fit different onboarding and engagement patterns.
Learn more about collection options
Use cases
The API supports a wide range of platform and business scenarios, including:
- Vendor onboarding platforms
- Marketplace payouts and gig economy platforms
- Property management and rental payments
- Affiliate and partner payout systems
- Financial platforms handling U.S. and non-U.S. recipients
Validating recipient data (TIN Matching)
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To ensure the accuracy of your recipient data collected through W-9, you can perform TIN Matching.
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TIN Matching is a validation process that verifies the recipient’s Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and legal name against IRS records. It applies only to the US records.
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TIN validation can be handled as part of your collection workflow or as a separate step before filing.
Customization options
TaxBandits allows you to tailor the collection experience to match your product and workflow requirements.
You can customize:
- Form presentation (embedded, hosted, or drop-in UI)
- Branding (logo, colors, sender details)
- Language preferences for recipients
Linking recipients across payers
If a recipient works with multiple payers, you can avoid duplicate collection by reusing existing forms. Use the LinkWhCertificate endpoint to link the corresponding recipients to additional payers.