Submitting a W-9 – Patreon Help Center

Note: This article includes tips from our team. Visit the IRS instructions for Form W9 for complete instructions and the latest information on filing your W-9.

Below you’ll find information and tips for submitting your W-9 form on Patreon – feel free to click the links or start scrolling to learn more:

What is the W-9 form?
Do I need to submit a W-9?
What name is required on Patreon's W-9 form?
Fixing errors when completing a W-9
What is a US tax ID number?
Is my personal tax information secure on Patreon?

What is the W-9 Form?

The W-9 form is used in a wide range of payment situations, but most commonly, taxpayers fill them out when they are working as a freelancer or independent contractor rather than an employee. The purpose of collecting the W-9 form is to record your tax identification number, along with your name and address so Patreon can notify the IRS of the amount earned in a calendar year.

Patreon requires creators to complete the W-9 form once they meet certain earnings thresholds to receive form 1099-K in a calendar year.

Learn more about earning thresholds that require you to submit a W-9 with Patreon, below.

Do I need to submit a W-9?

Creators who are US citizens, and reach one of the thresholds listed below will need to submit a W-9 form with Patreon through your creator payout and taxes settings page:

US State	Earnings
All US States	$20k+ USD in a calendar year
Illinois	$1000+ USD in a calendar year
Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia	$600+ USD in a calendar year

A US person is any US citizen or US person as defined by the IRS.

Note: We’re unable to offer tax advice. We recommend reaching out to a local tax advisor for additional assistance and clarification. Everything below is taken from the IRS website

U.S. law treats U.S. persons and foreign persons differently for tax purposes. Therefore, it is important to be able to distinguish between these two types of taxpayers.

United States Persons	Foreign Persons
You can review the IRS definition of the term ''United States person'' below: A citizen or resident of the United States A domestic partnership A domestic corporation Any estate other than a foreign estate Any trust if: A court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust, and One or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust Any other person that is not a foreign person.	A foreign person includes: Nonresident alien individual Foreign corporation Foreign partnership Foreign trust A foreign estate Any other person that is not a U.S. person Generally, the U.S. branch of a foreign corporation or partnership is treated as a foreign person. Refer to Internal Revenue Code section 7701(a)(31) for the definition of a foreign estate and a foreign trust.
You’ll want to complete a W-9 form.	You’ll want to complete a W-8BEN.

Want to learn more? This information was take directly from the IRS website – follow the links below to read more:

I am a US citizen living outside of the US which tax form should I fill out?

Based on the instruction on the W-8BEN if you are a US citizen you should fill out a W-9. Your income from Patreon may be subject to 1099 reporting. Please review the chart in the section above that details earnings thresholds that require 1099 reporting.

Consult with a tax professional to determine your tax responsibilities.

How do I submit my W-9?

To complete a W-9 form for your Patreon, follow the directions below:

Log in to your Patreon account.
Click the gear icon in the left menu to open your Settings.
Click into the Payouts and Taxes settings from the menu bar.
Scroll to the “Tax settings” section at the bottom of the page.
Click on the “Fill out W-9 form” button to access an electronic W-9 form.

For detailed instructions on how to complete your W-9 form, we recommend reviewing the IRS instructions for completing your W-9.

We’ve listed tips for creators submitting their W-9 in a section below.

What name is required on Patreon's W-9 form?

Line 1 “Full name”

You must enter one of the following on this line; do not leave this line blank. The name should match the name on your tax return.

Individual

Generally, enter the name shown on your tax return. If you have changed your last name without informing the Social Security Administration (SSA) of the name change, enter your first name, the last name as shown on your social security card, and your new last name.

Sole proprietor or single-member LLC

Enter your individual name as shown on your 1040/1040A/1040EZ on line 1. You may enter your business, trade, or “doing business as” (DBA) name on line 2.

Partnership, LLC that is not a single-member LLC, C Corporation, or S Corporation

Enter the entity's name as shown on the entity's tax return on line 1 and any business, trade, or DBA name on line 2.

Other entities

Enter your name as shown on required U.S. federal tax documents on line 1. This name should match the name shown on the charter or other legal document creating the entity. You may enter any business, trade, or DBA name on line 2.

Line 2

If you have a business name, trade name, DBA name, or disregarded entity name, you may enter it on line 2.

Common errors when completing your W-9

The IRS limits three submissions in 24 hours. It is essential that you review the information provided on your W-9 to ensure you are accurately spelling your name, address, and tax identification number.

Name and Taxpayer ID Do Not Match

If you are a business and your business name is not your personal name, do not include your personal name on your W-9 form. Instead, put your business name on Line 1 “Full name” of the form, and leave Line 2 “Business name (if different from above)” blank.

If you are using your personal Social Security Number (SSN) and are not a registered business/company, be sure to put your personal name on Line 1 “Full name” and leave Line 1 “Business name (if different from above)” blank.

Review the section above for more information on how to fill out Line 1 and Line 2 of your W-9.

Wrong Name or Incomplete Name

This may happen if the name you entered doesn't match what the IRS has on record for your SSN, or if there is a small typo in the name entered. Please ensure that the name you submit is your full, legal name, and matches what is shown on your tax return.

Wrong Taxpayer ID or Social Security Number

When typing a TIN or SSN, do not include the dashes between the number strings. Make sure the number you enter is correct, and has exactly nine digits.

- A business taxpayer ID (TIN) come up like XX-XXXXXXX
- A social security number (SSN) come up like XXX-XX-XXXX.

Single Member LLCs

If you have created a business type called a "Single Member Limited Liability Corporation ("SMLLC"), the IRS requires different information depending on how you set up your business. In some cases you will be required to input your personal name and SSN. In other cases, you will be required to enter the business name and TIN. Check how your business is set up, so that you know which information will be required on your W-9.

Character limit

If you run out of characters on our W-9 form, shortening your name may result in success.

What is a USA tax identification number?

For USA creators who are individuals/persons: the tax ID is your Social Security Number "SSN"
Employer Identification Number "EIN"
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number "ITIN"
Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions "ATIN"
Preparer Taxpayer Identification Number "PTIN”

Is my personal tax information secure on Patreon?

When submitting your W-9, Patreon will run Real-Time TIN Verification.

Real-Time TIN Verification makes it possible to proactively validate your information and check individual data against the IRS TIN matching database, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list and Death Master File (DMF) as you submit your form.

All information provided is secure. We encrypt your forms with 2048bit RSA encryption.

Each time you want to update your W-9, you will have to submit an entirely new form.

If you have additional tax questions, please feel free to read through our US Creator Frequently Asked Questions guide or reach out to a local tax professional to further assistance.

Creator Tax Information