Year-end · 4 minute read

How to collect W-9s from your subs before January

Collect W-9s in November, not January. Pull a list of every sub you paid this year, send each one a short request with the blank form attached, follow up twice, and track who has answered. Going forward, make the W-9 a condition of the first payment.

January is the worst month to ask a sub for anything

Every contractor in the country is asking for W-9s in the same three weeks.

Your sub's inbox is full. Some of them have changed phone numbers. One moved to Idaho. And the 1099-NEC deadline for 2026 payments is February 1, 2027, so there's no slack if someone takes ten days to reply.

Start in November and the whole job takes about an hour of your time, spread across six weeks.

Step one: build the list before you send anything

Run a report of every vendor you paid this year. In QuickBooks Online, that's the Vendor Expenses or 1099 transaction detail report, set to January 1 through today.

For each name, write down four things:

• What you paid them so far this year
• Whether they're a person, an LLC or a corporation, if you know
• Whether a W-9 is already on file
• The best email or phone number you have

Anyone you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for services is a likely 1099-NEC. That threshold went up from $600 for payments made in 2026. The full rules are in our guide to 1099-NEC rules for contractors.

Ask for a W-9 from everyone on the list anyway, even the ones under $2,000. A sub at $1,400 in November can be at $3,000 by December 31.

Step two: send one short, friendly request

Attach the blank form straight from irs.gov (Form W-9, revised March 2024) so nobody has to hunt for it. Then keep the message short. Something like this works:

Two things make subs answer faster. A specific date, and a phone call or text for the people who don't do email. Plenty of great tile setters haven't opened an email since 2019.

Step three: follow up twice, then pick up the phone

Put two follow-ups on your calendar the day you send the first request: one at two weeks, one at four weeks.

The IRS expects a payer to make a real effort. Its guidance on missing taxpayer ID numbers describes an initial request and, in later years, annual follow-up requests. A record of when you asked is worth keeping, so save the emails or note the calls in your vendor list.

Step four: check each W-9 when it comes back

A W-9 that comes back half-filled is the same as no W-9. Check that it has:

• The legal name on line 1, which should match the name the tax ID belongs to
• The business name on line 2, if they use one
• A tax classification box checked
• A full nine-digit Social Security number or EIN
• A signature and date

The tax classification matters. Payments to a corporation are generally not reported on a 1099-NEC, with exceptions like attorneys. A single-member LLC usually is, under the owner's name or the LLC's EIN.

Then put the details in the vendor record in QuickBooks and check the box to track that vendor for 1099s. Save the form itself somewhere secure. Never in your email inbox.

If a sub won't give you a tax ID, you have to withhold

This is the part most contractors don't know.

When a payee doesn't provide a taxpayer ID, the IRS says the payer should start backup withholding: 24% of each payment, sent to the IRS and reported on Form 945. That applies even to one-time payments.

Nobody wants to tell a sub they're keeping a quarter of the check. Which is exactly why the W-9 has to come first.

Next year, get the W-9 before the first check

The fix is a rule, not a reminder. No W-9, no payment.

Ask for it when you agree on the work. Keep blank copies in the truck or a link on your phone. Our Job Profit and Back Office plans track W-9s all year as part of the monthly close, so the January list is already done.

What to do this week

Run the vendor report and count how many W-9s you're missing.

If the answer is more than a handful, or your books aren't current enough to trust the report, the Year-End Rescue chases the W-9s, closes the year and prepares your 1099-NECs. And if you miss the deadline anyway, here's what a late 1099 costs and how to fix it.