W9 Question

I am a single owner LLC with an EIN… I need to fill out a W9 form for a company that I am going to be doing work for. Do I put my companys EIN or my SSN?? It says on the instructions you can put your EIN but the IRS prefers your SSN… Why is this?

If you use your EIN you would just fill out a seperate tax return for just your company right?

Or do I just need to use my SSN and put all my personal and business into 1 return?

The point of doing an LLC is to seperate yourself from your business So I really don’t want to use my SSN on anything I thought… Sorry for all the ramblings I’m just kind of confused!!

Thanks in advance!!
Shaun

How is your LLC treated for tax purposes. A single member LLC can be either a disregarded entity, or, a corporation. If your LLC is a corporation then you need an EIN.

If your LLC is a disregarded entity, then you don’t need an EIN unless you have employees. A disregarded entity does not file its own tax return, thus no reason to have the EIN.

If you want a separation between personal and business matters, the single member LLC is one of the worst structure. Many times, it is treated like a sole proprietorship. You can get a DBA with an EIN for much less hassle and keep a separation.

I’m pretty sure I am structured as a sole prop. Can I restructure my business to seperate it from me?

P.S. let me tell you what I am trying to do also.

I lost my job a few months back so I am now collecting unemployment. I have had this business set up for rental properties etc… I found this bird dogging job that an investor is paying you to find vacant houses… You take pics and give him the info on any vacant house in your surrounding area and he pays you for it no matter if he buys it or not…

So he is paying as a sub contractor. I would like to do it under my business name so I can keep my unemployment until I know for sure that this is going to work then my business can just pay me… I don’t know if this is possible or legal so that is why I need some advice…

What is the best way to go about this?

while you may not need an EIN, it does let you avoid giving everyone your SSN. Personally, having had a family member whose identity was stolen, I don’t like giving out my SSN.

What is the best way to go about this?

get paid in cash.

Ask the unemployment office what the penalties are for not declaring a source of income when you are receiving unemployment.

So if I do put my EIN number down I could just run it through the business and file a seperate return for the business and keep my unemployment?