W-9 for an LLC: which box to check

A client asks for a W-9 and you run an LLC. Line 3a has seven boxes and one of them says LLC, so you stop. Which one do you check? The IRS answers this on the form itself, and the wording changed in the March 2024 revision.

This guide follows the form and the IRS's own instructions line by line. It does not tell you how your LLC is taxed. That is a fact about your business, and the form asks for it rather than choosing it for you. This is general information, not tax, legal or immigration advice.

You can fill in the IRS's own copy in your browser on our W-9 form page. Nothing you type is uploaded.

What does the W-9 say a single-member LLC should check?

The IRS says that in general a business with a single owner, including an LLC, that is not a corporation is disregarded as separate from its owner. A disregarded entity checks the box for the tax classification of its owner. For a single owner who is a person, that is the Individual/sole proprietor box. The LLC box is not the one to use for a disregarded entity.

The form's note on line 3a says the same thing: check LLC and enter a code 'unless it is a disregarded entity.' A disregarded entity should instead check the box for the tax classification of its owner.

What goes on lines 1 and 2 for an LLC?

• Disregarded entity: the owner's name goes on line 1, and the LLC's name goes on line 2. The IRS adds that the name on line 1 should never be a disregarded entity. If the owner is also a disregarded entity, enter the first owner that is not disregarded.
• LLC taxed as a partnership or a corporation: the entity's name as shown on its tax return goes on line 1, and any business or DBA name goes on line 2.

How do I fill in a W-9 for an LLC, step by step?

1. Find out how the LLC is classified for federal tax. Your tax return or your tax preparer will say. Form 8832 and Form 2553 are the forms an LLC files to elect corporation treatment.
2. Line 1: enter the owner's name if the LLC is disregarded. Otherwise enter the LLC's name as shown on its tax return.
3. Line 2: enter the LLC's name (disregarded) or any business or DBA name.
4. Line 3a: check one box only. A disregarded LLC checks its owner's box. Any other LLC checks 'Limited liability company' and enters the code the form lists: P for partnership, C for C corporation, S for S corporation.
5. Part I: enter the number that matches the name on line 1. See the next section.
6. Sign and date in Part II, then give the form to the person who asked. The form is printed 'Give form to the requester. Do not send to the IRS.'

Which taxpayer identification number goes with an LLC?

According to the form's instructions for Part I, a single-member LLC that is disregarded enters the owner's SSN, or the owner's EIN if the owner has one. If the LLC is classified as a corporation or a partnership, it enters the entity's EIN. The TIN must match the name on line 1.

In Part II, the IRS says that for a disregarded entity the person identified on line 1 must sign. If the owner is a foreign person, the IRS says the owner must complete a Form W-8 instead of a Form W-9, even if that person has a U.S. TIN.

What about a multi-member LLC?

The form's table says an LLC classified as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes checks 'Limited liability company' and enters P. An LLC that has filed Form 8832 or 2553 to be taxed as a corporation checks the same box and enters C or S. Which one applies is a tax fact about your LLC. Check how it files its return, or ask whoever prepares it. PDFinish does not choose for you.

What is line 3b, and does my LLC need it?

Line 3b is new in the March 2024 revision. The form says it applies if you checked Partnership or Trust/estate on line 3a, or checked LLC and entered P, and you are giving the form to a partnership, trust or estate in which you have an ownership interest. In that case, check the box if you have any foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries.

The IRS describes it as a flow-through entity telling another flow-through entity that it has direct or indirect foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries. If those conditions do not describe your situation, the form gives no reason to check it. Read the instructions for line 3b on the form if you are unsure.

A worked example

Pine Street Studio LLC is a made-up design business with one owner, Jordan Lee, and no election to be taxed as a corporation. A client asks for a W-9.

• Line 1: Jordan Lee (the owner, because the LLC is disregarded).
• Line 2: Pine Street Studio LLC.
• Line 3a: Individual/sole proprietor (the owner's box), not the LLC box.
• Line 3b: left blank, because the form's conditions do not apply.
• Part I: Jordan's SSN, or Jordan's EIN if Jordan has one.
• Part II: Jordan signs and dates.

Change one fact and the answer changes. If Pine Street Studio LLC had filed Form 2553 to be taxed as an S corporation, line 1 would show the LLC's own name, line 3a would show 'Limited liability company' with S, and Part I would hold the LLC's EIN.

Where to find the official pages

The IRS's instructions for the requester explain the same lines from the other side. Our W-9 form page holds the current copy (Rev. March 2024). If you need an EIN first, see the SS-4 form page. To see how an LLC elects its tax treatment, see the 8832 form page. More forms freelancers are asked for are on the freelancer page.

Sources

• IRS, Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024), lines 1, 2, 3a, 3b and Part I, read November 1, 2026.
• IRS, Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (03/2024), What's New, read November 1, 2026.
• IRS, About Form W-9, read November 1, 2026.

This is general information, not tax, legal or immigration advice. PDFinish is not affiliated with the IRS. Ask a tax professional how your LLC is classified. Last reviewed November 1, 2026.