W9 form requested by Forum vendor, what to do?

[the stig]

well, I have a small forum (1 forum) that I run on the side. We have quite a few vendors that pay to sell their products. One of my vendors asked me about W9 forms today. How do I provide this info? I was simply going to add any income from the forum to my individual tax file. IS there any other forum owners that had to provide their vendors with W9 info? if so, what's the best/cheap way I should do this?

I know this is a "vb" modification forum but I know I'll get a good response here therefore I posted here.

thanks.

[Smitty]

Just provide your name and Social Security Number. You can get the form from the IRS off of the internet. I would upload one here but this site doesn't allow .pdf attachments for whatever reason.

[the stig]

wow...so that's it? I don't have to go to any legal offices etc? Thanks a lot man. I appreciate it

[SMXKidd]

W9 is so they don't get taxed on the money they paid you. Most sites will require you to fill one out after making 500, 1,000, or some other high pre-determined amount.

[the stig]

Tax season is here. I'm bumping my old thread for any (new) forum owner who is asked to provide their vendor with a W-9.

I have a quick question,
Are any of you forum owners created LLC? Can someone guide me how to do it (or who they have used to get it done?) Also, any benefit for LLC vs. being an individual?

**small background**
Launched an automotive forum back in 2008 "for fun" or thought I'd have a small group of friends browsing the forum. Forum blows up times 1000! Almost 40,000 members and millions of posts/threads later, I am debating if I should do a LLC."

thanks guys

[squidsk]

Originally Posted by the stig

Tax season is here. I'm bumping my old thread for any (new) forum owner who is asked to provide their vendor with a W-9.

I have a quick question,
Are any of you forum owners created LLC? Can someone guide me how to do it (or who they have used to get it done?) Also, any benefit for LLC vs. being an individual?

**small background**
Launched an automotive forum back in 2008 "for fun" or thought I'd have a small group of friends browsing the forum. Forum blows up times 1000! Almost 40,000 members and millions of posts/threads later, I am debating if I should do a LLC."

thanks guys

One of the advantages to an LLC is that it protects you personally from any lawsuits or other legal/financial issues. If someone sues you and the forum is in your name they can go after your personal assets, which they can't do if the forum is owned by an LLC.

http://www.bizfilings.com/learn/creating-llc.aspx

The above is an article outlining some of the advantages/disadvantages of establishing an LLC.