Do you recognize a W-9 from a 1099? Here are the forms you’ll require when you file taxes in 2025.

responsibility Day is approaching, and soon it will be period to commence assembling forms. If you haven’t looked at them yet, all those numbers and letters – W-2, W-9, 1099 – can easily overwhelm.

Some forms are pre-populated and designed for you to pass on to the IRS. They may be headed to your mailbox, or sitting in a “responsibility documents” portal on a website, awaiting download. In hypothesis, there may be nothing you require to do, apart from delivering them to your responsibility preparer, if you have one, or documenting appropriate sums on your responsibility profitability. Other forms will require action on your part. 

Here is a rundown.

What is a W-9 used for?

A W-9 is typically used by businesses to collect a person’s identifying information, including name, address and Social safety number or responsibility identification number, for profits purposes.

A typical rationale for filling out a W-9 is that you’re an independent contractor, freelancer or gig worker. You may also be asked to fill out a W-9 when you open an profit-bearing financial institution account or another monetary account that delivers extra profits.

This form doesn’t leave to the Internal turnover Service. But the information you provide on a W-9 will be used to prepare and populate other forms: Read on.

Is a W-9 the same as a 1099?

The main difference between a W-9 and a 1099 is that you fill out a W-9, while the business or entity that is paying you fills out the 1099. In most cases, you should receive any 1099 form by the complete of January.

A 1099 form is used to update profits that isn’t directly earned through an employer. Because there are many different ways to make money outside of a traditional job, there are several types of 1099 forms.

ordinary 1099s you might view: 1099-G, 1099-K, 1099-R, 1099-Div

Some of the most ordinary 1099s you may receive:

• 1099-G: Details unemployment compensation, as well as any state or local responsibility refund that’s considered profits.
• 1099-K: Summarizes any profits you earned if you made at least $5,000 on a third-event settlement network like Etsy, eBay or Venmo.
• 1099-R: Reports distributions of $10 or more from various types of retirement fund plans, annuities, pensions, insurance contracts, and similar accounts.
• 1099-Div: Used by banks and other monetary institutions to update dividends and other distributions to taxpayers and to the IRS.

What is a W-4, and what is it for?

A W-4 is a form you’re required to fill out when you work directly for an employer. 

It tells your employer how much federal profits responsibility should be withheld from your paycheck, based on factors like whether you’re married and filing a joint profitability, whether you have dependents to claim, and whether you work multiple jobs.

Typically, you’ll be asked to fill one out when you commence a job. But it’s a excellent concept to revisit the form regularly, especially if you notice that the amount withheld from your paycheck is much different than what you complete up owing in taxes at year’s complete.

You should also revisit it if your marital position changes, you have or adopt a kid, or your employment circumstance changes.

The IRS has a responsibility withholding estimator tool that can assist you decide how to tweak your W-4 entries.

What does a W-2 form inform you?

A W-2 is the form your employer is required to send to you by the complete of January, documenting how much money you earned working for them in the prior year, and how much responsibility was withheld from your paychecks. The form will also display how much money you earned from tips, and any benefits you received during the year.

If you worked multiple jobs last year, you should expect to receive divide W-2s from each employer.

You’ll require to include each W-2 form in your responsibility profitability.

What’s a 1040 responsibility form? 

The 1040 is the umbrella form you use to fill out your person profits responsibility profitability. In the two-page document, you’ll record the various kinds of profits you earned last year, state whether you’ll be taking the standard deduction or itemizing, and update which responsibility credits you qualify to receive. 

After crunching the numbers according to the instructions on the form, you’ll recognize how much you owe in taxes, or how large a refund you’re due.

Who fills out form 5695? 

Form 5695 is used to declare any residential vigor credits you may qualify for. If, for instance, you installed solar vigor-producing roof tiles in 2024, you can claim the Residential tidy vigor capital with the form. 

Importantly, the form does not apply to businesses. 

Daniel de Visé covers expense management for USA TODAY.