Form W-9 in 2026: what changed, and what did not
The form you sign is the same one you signed last year. What changed is the reporting that follows it: the general 1099 threshold jumped from $600 to $2,000, the 1099-K threshold went back to $20,000, and the IRS has posted a draft Rev. June 2026 form.
The two thresholds, and a draft you cannot use
- Form to use today
- Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024), unchanged
- Draft in circulation
- Form W-9 (Rev. June 2026), watermarked DO NOT FILE
- 1099-NEC / 1099-MISC threshold
- $2,000 for payments made after December 31, 2025 (was $600)
- Threshold indexing
- Inflation-adjusted from 2027 onward
- 1099-K threshold
- $20,000 and 200 transactions, restored retroactively, so it governs 2025 returns too
- Backup withholding rate
- 24%, unchanged
The general 1099 threshold went from $600 to $2,000
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21, signed on July 4, 2025, amended Internal Revenue Code section 6041 to raise the general information-reporting threshold. Section 70433 of the Act replaced $600 with $2,000 for payments made after December 31, 2025, the first increase since 1954. A figure set when $600 described a substantial payment had come to cover thoroughly routine ones, and the paperwork grew to match.
The change is recent enough that much of the published guidance has not caught up with it. In a sample of 40 W-9 guides drawn from search results, 43% of the pages that quote a reporting threshold still quote $600 with no mention of the new figure. How we checked.
| If you are... | What changes for you |
|---|---|
| A contractor paid under $2,000 by a client | That client may no longer be required to send you a Form 1099-NEC. The income is still taxable and you still have to report it. A missing 1099 is not a tax exemption, so keep your own records of every payment. |
| A contractor paid $2,000 or more | Nothing changes. You will get a 1099-NEC as before, so the W-9 still matters. |
| A business that pays contractors | Fewer 1099s to file. But you still need a W-9 from every vendor you might cross the threshold with, because you cannot know in January what you will pay by December. Collect first, decide later. |
| A landlord receiving rent through a business | Rent reported in box 1 of Form 1099-MISC is subject to the same raised threshold. |
| Anyone whose payer never got a valid W-9 | The threshold does not protect you. Backup withholding is a separate mechanism, keyed to the missing certification rather than to the size of the payment. |
Backup withholding under IRC section 3406 applies to reportable payments, and for ordinary business payments the section 6041 threshold governs reportability. The two therefore move together. Once payments to a payee reach $2,000 for the year the payment becomes reportable, and withholding can attach to payments from that point if no valid TIN is on file.
None of which is a reason to skip the W-9 for small vendors. A payer cannot know in March what it will have paid by December, and by the time the threshold is crossed the obligation is already live. Collect the form before the first payment and the question never arises. How backup withholding works
The 1099-K threshold went back to $20,000
Payment platforms (marketplaces, payment apps, ticketing sites) report on Form 1099-K. The threshold for that form had been scheduled to drop to $600 and had been phased in at $5,000 and then $2,500 under transition relief. The 2025 Act restored the original statutory test:
- more than $20,000 in gross payments, and
- more than 200 transactions.
Both tests must be met. The timing is the part most often reported wrongly. This was a retroactive repeal of the earlier change, treated as if it had never been enacted, so the $20,000 and 200-transaction test governs the 2025 tax year and the forms issued in early 2026 as well, rather than only payments made from 2026 onward. Sellers on Etsy, eBay, Poshmark, StubHub and similar platforms who were braced for a 1099-K at low volumes will mostly not receive one. Their paperwork got lighter and their tax bill did not. Profit on goods you sell is still reportable income, and a 1099-K that never arrives does nothing to that. The form itself, box by box, what it means for marketplace sellers, and what it means for gig and platform workers.
A June 2026 draft exists, and you cannot use it
The IRS publishes drafts so that software vendors, payroll providers and large accounts-payable operations can prepare. A draft Form W-9 dated June 2026 is posted on the IRS draft forms page, and every page of it carries the watermark DRAFT — DO NOT FILE. Set that draft beside the current Rev. March 2024 revision and the body of the form is structurally unchanged. It still has:
The instructions are where the work went. The draft adds a short Before you begin pointer on the face of the form and reorganizes the guidance across the following pages: Purpose of Form on page 2, Specific Instructions on page 3, and the exemption codes on page 4. The reorganization is editorial, aimed squarely at the errors people make on Lines 1 and 3a. The questions the form asks are the same ones it asked in March 2024. One practical consequence is worth noting now: if your software, your onboarding pack or your internal guidance cites instruction page numbers, those citations will need checking on the day the revision goes final.
Filing or accepting a watermarked draft is not permitted. If a vendor sends you a W-9 stamped DO NOT FILE, reject it and ask for the current Rev. March 2024 revision. Until the IRS marks the June 2026 version final and publishes it on the About Form W-9 page, the March 2024 revision is the only correct form. We check the IRS pages regularly and will update this page the day that changes.
A March 2024 change worth knowing about
This one is not a 2026 change at all, but it is the change most often reported incorrectly. The March 2024 revision relabeled the first Line 3a box.
| Revision | What box 1 actually says |
|---|---|
| Rev. October 2018 | Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC |
| Rev. March 2024 (current) | Individual/sole proprietor |
| Rev. June 2026 (draft) | Individual/sole proprietor, unchanged from March 2024 |
The words or single-member LLC were removed from the box and the point was moved into the Note beneath the LLC box, which tells a disregarded entity to check the box for its owner classification instead. The correct answer is identical either way: a disregarded single-member LLC checks box 1. Only the wording printed on the form changed, and a lot of published guidance still quotes the 2018 version. How to choose a Line 3a box
What did not change
- The form itself. Rev. March 2024 remains current, and a W-9 you already signed is still valid. W-9s do not expire.
- The backup withholding rate, still 24%.
- The $50 penalty under IRC 6723 for failing to furnish a correct TIN, and the $500 penalty under IRC 6682 for a false certification. Detail
- The list of people who have to give a W-9. Nobody was added and nobody was excused. The list
- Where the form goes. The requester keeps it and the IRS never sees it. Detail
- The Line 3b rule introduced in March 2024. Detail
What businesses should do this year
Keep collecting a W-9 from every new vendor
The higher threshold is a reporting test applied at year end, so it tells you nothing useful in March about what you will have paid a vendor by December. A W-9 requested after the money has gone out is also far harder to obtain: the vendor has been paid, has no incentive left, and may not answer at all. Collect it before the first payment, every time.
Update your 1099 threshold logic, not your W-9 process
Change the number in your accounts-payable system from $600 to $2,000 for payments dated 2026 and later. Leave the W-9 collection rule alone.
Flag vendors with no valid W-9, whatever the running total
Withholding attaches once payments become reportable, so a vendor sitting below $2,000 today may cross it later in the year. Flag every vendor without a valid W-9 at onboarding rather than waiting for the total to move. The triggers
Run TIN matching well before filing season
The IRS TIN Matching service will tell you whether a name and TIN pair agrees with its records. Errors found in the spring cost a phone call; errors found in January cost corrected returns. How to use it
Watch for the June 2026 revision going final
When it does, update your substitute form and any electronic W-9 system to match the new layout and instruction references.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a new W-9 form for 2026?
Not yet in effect. The current official revision is still Form W-9 (Rev. March 2024). A draft dated June 2026 exists on IRS.gov, but every page of it is watermarked DO NOT FILE and it cannot be used.
Do I need to send my clients a new W-9 because of the 2026 changes?
No. The changes hit the 1099 reporting thresholds; the form itself was left alone. A valid W-9 already on file stays valid until your own details change.
If my client pays me less than $2,000, do I still owe tax on it?
The threshold decides only whether your client has to file an information return. It has no effect at all on whether the income is taxable. All of your business income is reportable whether or not a 1099 arrives.
Should I stop collecting W-9s for small vendors?
Keep collecting them. You cannot predict a full year of payments in advance, and once a payee crosses $2,000 the payment is reportable and the withholding obligation is already live. Getting the form before the first payment is the only way to be sure you are covered.
When does the $2,000 threshold start?
It applies to payments made after December 31, 2025. Forms filed in early 2026 for the 2025 tax year still use the old $600 threshold.
General information, not tax advice. This page explains a federal tax form in plain English. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and W9Form.org is not affiliated with the IRS. Verify everything against the official Form W-9 page on IRS.gov and speak to a licensed professional about your own situation. How we source and review these pages.