W-9 Request Emails

Four templates for collecting Form W-9 before the 2026 1099s are due on February 1, 2027

Poof · written by a former controller

You need a W-9 from every contractor you pay, even under the new $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments. These four emails cover the first ask, a reminder, the final note, and the corporation that asks why. Replace everything in [brackets], and send each one from your own address.

Before you send

Use the current form, Rev. March 2024The IRS's draft June 2026 revision is not final yet. The current form is at irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf.
Ask at the first paymentFor new contractors, before the first check. For everyone you already pay without a W-9, this week.
Give them a secure way to send itA filled-in W-9 carries a full tax ID. Offer a secure upload or form link, not an unencrypted email attachment.
Keep each W-9 four years, encryptedLimit who can open them, and track who you've asked and who has answered.

1. The first ask

Send at the first payment, or now for contractors without a W-9 on file

Subject: W-9 needed for [Your Business] payments

Hi [first name],

Before [we send your first payment / the end of the year], we need a completed Form W-9 for our records. It's required for the 1099 we may file for payments made in 2026, which is due February 1, 2027.

Please fill it in here: [secure link]. If you'd rather use the IRS's form, it's at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf, and you can upload it at [secure upload link]. Please don't email it back as an attachment, since it carries your tax ID.

It takes about five minutes. Thanks,
[your name]
[Your Business] · [phone]

2. Reminder

About a week later

Subject: Reminder: W-9 for [Your Business]

Hi [first name],

A quick reminder that we still need your Form W-9. Here's the link again: [secure link].

Thanks,
[your name]

3. The final note

About a week after the reminder

Subject: W-9 needed before your next payment

Hi [first name],

We still don't have a Form W-9 from you. Without a taxpayer ID on file, the law requires us to withhold 24% of future payments as backup withholding and send it to the IRS. We'd rather pay you in full.

Please fill in your W-9 here before [date of next payment]: [secure link]. If something on the form is unclear, reply and I'll help.

Thanks,
[your name]

4. For a corporation that asks why

When a vendor replies that corporations don't get 1099s

Subject: Re: W-9 for [Your Business]

Hi [first name],

You're right that payments to corporations generally aren't reported on a 1099. We still need a W-9 from you, because it's how we document that you're exempt. Your tax classification and any exempt payee code on the W-9 are what our records rely on, and without it we can't treat you as a corporation.

Here's the link: [secure link]. Thanks for your help,
[your name]

How Poof does this: one click sends every contractor a W-9 link, by email or as a link you text, and a board shows who's in and who's been asked. Poof reminds the rest every 5 days, up to 3 times, with a fresh link. When the year ends, Poof files your 1099s with the IRS and sends every contractor their copy: the first 3 forms each year free, then $2.49 a form. File your 1099s with Poof