The American Client Asked for a Form W-9? The Non-Resident B2B Invoicing Masterclass
The American Client Asked for a Form W-9? The Non-Resident B2B Invoicing Masterclass You run a B2B marketing agency, a software development shop, or a SaaS company registered as a US LLC in Wyoming or Delaware. You just closed your dream American corporate client on a $10,000/month contract. You deliver the work, generate your invoice from Mercury or QuickBooks, and hit send. Two days later, an automated reply arrives from their Accounts Payable (AP) department: "Hi, please send over your signed IRS Form W-9 so we can process this invoice for payout." Instantly, you freeze. You look up Form W-9. Right at the bottom, under penalty of perjury, it forces you to sign a statement declaring: "I am a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person." You are sitting in India, Europe, or Latin America. You are NOT a US person. But if you tell the client you don't have a W-9, their accounting software might automatically deduct 30% in Backup Withholding tax . Here is the defin...