New W-9 Form for 2026: What Changed in the Draft
The current W-9 is still the March 2024 revision. Here is what the June 2026 draft changes, what it doesn't, and what requesters should do until it is final.
There is no final "new W-9" for 2026 yet. As of our last check in September 2026, the current final Form W-9 is the March 2024 revision. The IRS has posted a June 2026 draft that adds a digital asset broker exemption, restates that sole proprietors may enter an SSN or an EIN, and updates the exemption chart from $600 to $2,000, but the IRS says not to file draft forms. If you request W-9s, we recommend you keep sending the current form and not re-collect W-9s just because a draft exists.
General information, not tax or legal advice.
The short answer
- Current form: the March 2024 revision is still the final W-9.
- Draft form: a June 2026 revision was posted as a draft on May 4, 2026, with draft requester instructions on May 15, 2026.
- What the draft covers: a new exempt payee code for U.S. digital asset brokers, the same SSN-or-EIN option for sole proprietors that the current form already gives, and $2,000 instead of $600 in the exemption chart.
- What to do: keep using the current form, watch the IRS About Form W-9 page, and ask for a new W-9 when a vendor's details change, not because a draft exists (our recommendation).
We will update this post
We will update this post when the IRS releases the final form. Until then, treat everything about the June 2026 revision below as draft text.
Why this matters in a real workflow
Draft forms create noise. Vendors may download the draft by mistake or ask whether your form is out of date, and some teams react by re-requesting every W-9 on file, putting more copies of SSNs and EINs in motion. For where the W-9 sits in the wider new-vendor file, see our vendor onboarding checklist.
What the IRS says
The current form is still the March 2024 revision
As of September 2026, the current final Form W-9 is the March 2024 revision, and the IRS About page lists no recent developments (About Form W-9; Form W-9, Rev. March 2024). You use Form W-9 to give your correct taxpayer identification number (TIN) to a person or business that has to file an information return with the IRS, for example to report income paid to you.
What the 2024 revision changed
The March 2024 W-9 added line 3b. A flow-through entity uses it to show it has foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries when it gives the W-9 to another flow-through entity it owns an interest in. Line 3b applies only to a partnership, trust or estate that has foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries and is giving the W-9 to another partnership, trust or estate it owns an interest in, so most vendors leave it blank.
The June 2026 draft, and what "draft" means
The IRS posted a draft June 2026 revision of Form W-9 on May 4, 2026, and draft requester instructions on May 15, 2026. They are drafts. The IRS says not to file draft forms or rely on draft instructions (IRS draft tax forms: W-9). The draft PDF carries a "DRAFT — DO NOT FILE" watermark (draft Form W-9, Rev. June 2026). With that caveat, three draft points matter most to requesters.
Draft point 1: digital asset brokers
The June 2026 draft W-9 adds an exempt payee category, code 14, and a certification checkbox for U.S. digital asset brokers. In our view, this is unlikely to come up for AP teams paying ordinary service vendors.
Draft point 2: sole proprietors, SSN or EIN (no change)
In the June 2026 draft W-9, a sole proprietor who has an EIN may enter either the SSN or the EIN. A disregarded single-member LLC enters the owner's SSN or EIN, never the LLC's own EIN.
The current form also lets a sole proprietor with an EIN enter either number. Separately, IRS information-return instructions say the IRS prefers the SSN, and a DBA name can't be used alone (IRS General Instructions for Certain Information Returns). That preference isn't a draft W-9 rule.
Draft point 3: $600 becomes $2,000 in the chart
The exemption chart on the current March 2024 W-9 still refers to payments over $600. The June 2026 draft updates it to $2,000. Don't quote the $600 line as current law. The draft requester instructions explain that OBBBA section 70433 raised the threshold to $2,000 for many reportable payments, and for backup withholding, for payments made after 2025, with inflation indexing after 2026 (draft Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9).
You don't need the draft to apply the new threshold. For payments made in 2026, the general 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC reporting threshold (and backup withholding threshold) is $2,000, up from $600, and it is indexed for inflation starting in 2027; the IRS hasn't published the 2027 amount yet (Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). See our 2026 1099 threshold guide.
What hasn't changed: when a vendor owes you a new W-9
A payee must give you a new W-9 if the name or TIN on the account changes. They must also update you if they are no longer an exempt payee, for example a C corporation that elects S status. Neither the W-9 nor the backup withholding certificate regulation sets an expiration date for a W-9. What triggers a new one is a change, such as a new name, a new TIN or a lost exemption (26 CFR 31.3406(h)-3).
The IRS materials we rely on don't say whether a final new revision means requesters must re-collect W-9s already on file, so our advice below on re-collection is a recommendation, not an IRS rule. You may also see commentary about an earlier draft; this post covers only the June 2026 draft posted on the IRS draft forms page.
Recommended workflow
Our recommended practice while the draft is pending, not an IRS procedure:
- Keep sending the current form (AP or whoever onboards vendors). Link to the IRS About Form W-9 page, not a saved PDF. See how to request a W-9 from a vendor for a request email.
- Don't launch a re-collection campaign (controller or firm owner). Ask for a new W-9 when a vendor's name, TIN or exemption status changes.
- Check what comes back (AP reviewer). If a form carries the draft watermark, ask for the current form.
- Watch for the final form (records owner). Check the About Form W-9 page monthly and note the date.
- When the final form lands (controller). Update templates, brief the team, and decide with your tax adviser whether any vendor group needs a new W-9.
Exception path: if a vendor is a digital asset broker, or tells you their exemption status has changed, route it to the controller and your tax adviser.
Example scenario
Example scenario: Harbor Row Bookkeeping, a made-up three-person firm, handles AP for a design studio. A freelance illustrator asks whether the W-9 she sent last year is "the old one." The AP lead checks the IRS About Form W-9 page, confirms the March 2024 revision is still current, and tells her nothing is needed unless her name, TIN or tax status has changed. A week later, a new copywriter returns a W-9 marked "DRAFT — DO NOT FILE," and AP sends him the link to the current form.
Common mistakes
- Saying the new W-9 requires sole proprietors to use an SSN. The June 2026 draft says a sole proprietor with an EIN may enter either number.
- Trusting every IRS page on thresholds. Several IRS pages still show the old $600 rule for contractor payments, including the IRS Charities information returns page; for 2026 payments, the current rule is in the December 2026 1099-MISC/NEC instructions.
- Re-requesting every W-9 on file. More requests mean more TINs in transit, with no rule in our sources that calls for it.
Checklist
- Request emails link to the IRS About Form W-9 page, not a saved PDF
- Draft-watermarked forms are sent back with a link to the current form
- New W-9s requested when a name, TIN or exemption changes
- 2026 threshold ($2,000) used in 1099 planning, not the $600 chart line
- Monthly check of the About Form W-9 page
For the full collection routine, see the W-9 collection checklist.
How W9Vault supports this workflow
Form revisions don't change how a W-9 should travel. With W9Vault, you send the vendor a secure upload link that expires after 7 days, and they upload the completed form as a PDF, JPG or PNG up to 20 MB. Files are encrypted in the vendor's browser before upload, so the server never receives the plaintext file. Your dashboard shows whether each request is sent or completed. Uploaded files are automatically deleted 30 days after upload for completed requests, so keep your retained copy in your own records.
W9Vault is designed to support a secure collection workflow; the customer remains responsible for their own tax, recordkeeping and security obligations. For the other forms vendors may send, see our vendor tax documents guide.
Collect the current W-9 without email attachments
Send vendors a secure, expiring upload link for their completed W-9 and see when each request is completed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not a final one yet. As of September 2026 the current final Form W-9 is the March 2024 revision. The IRS posted a June 2026 draft in May 2026, and it says not to file draft forms.
Not because a draft exists. The W-9 and the backup withholding certificate regulation set no expiration date. A vendor must give you a new W-9 if their name or TIN changes, and must update you if they are no longer an exempt payee. Whether to re-collect after a final revision is a decision to make with your tax adviser.
No. In the June 2026 draft, a sole proprietor with an EIN may enter either the SSN or the EIN. IRS information-return instructions separately say the IRS prefers the SSN.
