I've been doing freelance work for over 3 years for company's and never in these three days has any of these company's asked for my personal info, such as my S.S or my drivers license.

Recently I've been asked to send a copy of those two things for a company I've been doing freelance work for... my thing is, I don't know much of this company beside the work I've done for them.

They aren't a big corp. or anything, so I don't feel comfortable spending a copy of my S.S. and my driver license to them, because with all the scams going around these days, who knows what can happen!

Another thing is, I did three projects for them in which they've told me I won't get any payments for until I spend them my personal info to them.

Which to me makes no sense, since I've done over 10 projects for them in the post, which they've paid me for without telling needing that from me.

My question is.... do I have to give this info to a company whom I'm not a full employer?!

And is it right of them to not pay me for three projects I've done for them due to not giving them my personal info to?!

Maybe they have a new accountant that wants to be sure you're sent a 1099 and that you are a legal citizen. There could be any number of reasons they'd ask for this information.

Do you have a WRITTEN agreement with them with payment terms ? If you have a written agreement, it is unlikely they can get away with not paying you on terms that were NOT established in your original agreement.

I would ask them for a guarantee that your information will be held in the strictest confidence, protected from unauthorized people, and get a signature from someone agreeing to it. I would also let them know that you are concerned with giving out that kind of information given the rampant identity theft going on world-wide.

They want it for tax reasons, but my brother works for a big tech company in S.C. and he said that the only way they could ask for that personal info is if I'm a full employer to them, meaning they're going to pay for my S.S. and health benefit.

But if they want it for tax reasons they have to send me a W10, not just ask me for my personal info like that without me having a say in the matter.

Also I never signed a payment agreement... but still doesn't give anyone the right to not pay me just because I don't want to give out my own personal info due to the reasons you've already stated!

Anyway, I've asked them to send me a W10.

But deep down I think the only reason they want my info is so they can write me as a bigger employer then I really am so they can get a bigger tax write-off.

Because no other company I've worked for has ever asked for my personal info... even me making over 5000 dollars with them.

First, do you pay taxes on your income from your freelance business?

Your brother couldn't be more wrong. Most consultants in fact live in a gray area between being employees and being, well, more like a store a company might buy its office supplies for. If you've done work from their offices, using their systems, or 30+ hours per week devoted to one client, the courts could well decide later, that you were in fact an employee and the company is wrong to classify you as something else. This has happened many times in the past, and and it sounds like they're trying to protect themselves.

Speaking of, if you're not a legal resident with the right to work, that could be very bad news for them. Asking for your SSN allows them to verify that they have the right to pay you.

A lot of 1099 consultants have to furnish this information to their benefactors.

Of course you're right to have concern, and not want to hand this out to just anyone. But if you've worked for/with this company over 10 years, it sounds like you have a good enough relationship with them to trust them with your personal info, for strict purposes.

Whether they have the right to withhold payment or not really depends on the nature of your relationship to them, how it's structured, and what's in your contract.

They want it for tax reasons, but my brother works for a big tech company in S.C. and he said that the only way they could ask for that personal info is if I'm a full employer to them, meaning they're going to pay for my S.S. and health benefit.

Your brother is wrong.

Any person or business that pays more than $600 in any calendar year to anyone is required to mail that person a 1099 form at the end of the year. The contractor is required to furnish a Taxpayer Identification Number form (TIN) to the Company upon request.

I am much too lazy to look up up the actual reference but I assure you it is correct.

NO TIN. NO pay. It is the law.

I've only worked with one person from this "company" for two years off and on.

I've always been getting paid through a person, through paypal not by a company this contract is entitled to which is the one that asking for my personal info.

I've done websites for this company in name, since the websites were for this company, but never been paid by this company but this person I've been doing work for off and on for the past two years.

I've been working through one person and one person only, not once was any of the payments done through this company's name.

So I was never an employer to this company, there was never any contract before this one that started I worked for that company that's asking for my personal info for tax reasons.

I've spoken to many people about this and they've all told me if I didn't sign any contract before with them or the fact they aren't going to pay my S.S. or heath care or the fact I'm not even a full employer to this company, I don't have to give them my personal info.

The only way I should give them my personal info is if they send me a W9.

I wasn't even sent a 1099 form... I was just asked for my persona info and told I won't get paid if I don't give it.

They have to spend me a 1099 and a W10, right?

Originally Posted by Filmgirl

So I was never an employer to this company, there was never any contract before this one that started I worked for that company that's asking for my personal info for tax reasons.

This is true, you were never an employer to the company, but in some way you acted like an employee, by doing work for them for pay. Now of course you're a freelancer, an outside consultant, which is different from an employee, but very much like one.

Originally Posted by Filmgirl

I've spoken to many people about this and they've all told me if I didn't sign any contract before with them or the fact they aren't going to pay my S.S. or heath care or the fact I'm not even a full employer to this company, I don't have to give them my personal info.

That's correct, if they aren't paying social security then you're responsible for paying that. And that helps establish that your relationship is not that of an employer/employee. But that doesn't help answer your question.

Originally Posted by Filmgirl

I wasn't even sent a 1099 form... I was just asked for my persona info and told I won't get paid if I don't give it.

They need your social to be able to send you a 1099, and they need to send you a 1099 if they pay you.

But don't they have to send me a W9/w10 first?

Because at least that way I have a copy of the company's ID for myself. That I'm not just blindly giving out my info to a company that I've done work for through a second party.

They only send you a W9 if you're an employee. And we've established that you're not. Although it sounds like they might be scared the courts could change their minds on that, and come back and hit them with back taxes and penalties.

Which is a good thing for you. It means they probably aren't asking for your personal info to sell on Craigslist.

Who were you actually working for? If you were hired by an individual to improve a company they have a stake in, it sounds like you should be payed by that individual, sort of like how a temp service like Manpower pays its people - they don't get paid by wherever they're sent to work. But again, if you had some type of agreement when you started the work, I could be wrong here.

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

They only send you a W9 if you're an employee. And we've established that you're not. Although it sounds like they might be scared the courts could change their minds on that, and come back and hit them with back taxes and penalties. Which is a good thing for you. It means they probably aren't asking for your personal info to sell on Craigslist.

Seems to be a double standard. Can't ask to fill out a W9 because I'm not an employee, but they can ask for my personal info because I kind of am... so confusing!

Who were you actually working for? If you were hired by an individual to improve a company they have a stake in, it sounds like you should be payed by that individual, sort of like how a temp service like Manpower pays its people - they don't get paid by wherever they're sent to work. But again, if you had some type of agreement when you started the work, I could be wrong here.

I don't have an agreement at all with this company, I was spent a contract the same time I was asked for my personal info.

Originally Posted by Filmgirl

Seems to be a double standards. Can't ask to fill out a W9 because I'm not an employee, but they can ask for my personal info because I kind of am... so confusing!

They're asking for your personal info because they have to report payments they make to the IRS. You do pay taxes on your business income, don't you? You said you've been in the freelance web business for years - it's surprising this is the first time anything like this has come up?

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

They're asking for your personal info because they have to report payments they make to the IRS. You do pay taxes on your business income, don't you? You said you've been in the freelance web business for years - it's surprising this is the first time anything like this has come up?

I do freelance work off and on for people, it's not my main income. I started doing it so I can build myself a portfolio so I can get myself work for an actual firm.

And no, with all the work I've done, I never been asked for my personal info, hence why I'm taken aback, more so that I'm not directly employed my this company and always been paid by a person.

None of my payments for the work I've done has this company's name on it.

1099's unfortunately, are a fact of life if your a freelancer or sub-contractor.

I knew an old man once that said it best.

"Taxes are like a sewer, all crap flows down hill" meaning, someone has to pay tax on the money. You surely don't expect the company your freelancing from to pay taxes on money they payed you do you?

Think of it this way, if you were the company paying a freelancer to do work for you. Wouldn't you want the right to claim that freelancer as a business expense? Thats technically what they're doing, claiming you as a expense to lower the amount of taxes they have to pay. It's just the way it works.

Get used to 1099's and paying taxes from any one employer that pays you $600.00 or more.

I get them every year and have for 20 years.

I found this info:

A Form W-9 is a document required by the IRS for certain taxation purposes. Those who freelance may fill out a W-9 for companies who pay for their services but do not consider freelancers employees. The 1099 form then provides a record of earnings for the freelancer at the end of the year. As well, those employing freelancers report payment information use the W-9 to obtain a freelancer's social security number so this can be reported in their end of the year earnings and profits statements to the IRS. The W-9 may also be used by those who make large amounts of money through investments or savings, to account for any payments of these investments or income earned.

Unlike the W-4 form, which allows employers to reduce directly from an income, the W-9 does not withhold taxes, or social security payments. Thus, those who freelance must be certain to withhold a portion of their income to avoid large and unwelcome taxes due at the end of a fiscal year. One filing a W-9 with one or more employers should make particularly sure to withhold monies for social security payments on their own.

Usually, the W-9 form requires a person’s Tax Identification Number, which is most often one’s social security number. It does not require additional identification, as the W-4 does.

Those who are not citizens may be required to file a W-8 form, instead of a W-9. This is not always the case. Investors, or freelancers living in other countries may simply file the W-9, which will provide the employers or financial institution with a way to keep record of payments.

The W-9 also usually requires a signature, though unlike the W-4, the signature does not have to be witnessed by an employer. In most cases, freelancers merely send in a W-9, which can be a copy of the original. Alternately, the W-9 can be scanned and emailed.

Most employers must only have record of a W-9 form if the money they will pay to a freelancer exceeds 600 US dollars (USD) yearly. For lesser amounts the form may not be required. One can download the W-9 and other forms, as well as instructions on the IRS main site.

So why is it wrong of me to quest to be allowed to fill out a W9? Rather than just randomly give out a copy my S.S. and drivers license?

Thanks.

I'd be willing to bet that this person who's been paying you thru paypal has been getting reimbursed by the company thru expenses. Not exactly the most ethical way to pay for services. Sounds like that has changed, for whatever reason, and this company is now in CYA mode. They've been going a rather 'shady' route, now they're trying to do what they should have been doing all along.