How to Fill Out the City of New York Substitute Form W-9

If you want to get paid by a New York City agency, you need to complete the NYC Substitute Form W-9, submit it through the Payee Information Portal, and make sure the name and Taxpayer Identification Number on it match what the IRS has on file. The city uses its own version of the form, not the standard IRS W-9, because it contains fields that feed directly into the city’s Financial Management System.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. NYC Comptroller’s Office Vendor Forms W-9 and W-8

Where to Download the Right Form

The official PDF lives on the Comptroller’s vendor forms page.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. NYC Comptroller’s Office Vendor Forms W-9 and W-8 A few individual agencies also host copies; the Department of Cultural Affairs, for example, keeps one on its own site.2The City of New York. The City of New York Substitute Form W-9

Do not substitute the IRS Form W-9. City agencies are required to attach the city’s version to their FMS documents, so submitting the federal form will send you back to the start.

What the Form Asks For

Your Legal Name and TIN

Line 1 is your legal name, written exactly as it appears on your federal tax return. If you operate under a DBA or trade name, put that in the secondary name field, not on line 1. A mismatch between the line 1 name and IRS records is the single most common reason a W-9 gets rejected.

Your Taxpayer Identification Number goes in the next field. Individuals use their Social Security Number; corporations, partnerships, and other non-individual entities use an Employer Identification Number.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6109 – Identifying Numbers Single-member LLCs that are disregarded for tax purposes generally use the owner’s SSN or EIN rather than a separate number for the LLC.

Entity Type

The city form expands the standard IRS list of classifications. Check the one box that matches your current federal tax classification:2The City of New York. The City of New York Substitute Form W-9

  • Individual/Sole Proprietor
  • Corporation/LLC
  • Partnership/LLC
  • Single Member LLC (Individual)
  • Personal Service Corporation
  • Non-Profit Corporation
  • Church or Church-Controlled Organization
  • Joint Venture
  • City of New York Employee
  • Resident/Non-Resident Alien
  • Non-United States Business Entity
  • Government

For LLCs, the choice between Corporation/LLC, Partnership/LLC, and Single Member LLC drives how the city reports your payments on 1099 forms, so pick carefully.

Three Address Fields

The city form asks for three addresses rather than one:2The City of New York. The City of New York Substitute Form W-9

  • 1099 address, where the city mails your year-end tax reporting forms
  • Account administrator address, for the person managing the vendor relationship
  • Billing, ordering, and payment address, where invoices and purchase orders go

All three can be the same address, but each field has to be filled in. Pay particular attention to the 1099 address; a wrong entry here means a missing 1099 at tax time.

The Agency-Use Block

The block at the top labeled “For Submitting Agency Use Only” is for the contracting agency, not you. Leave the agency code, vendor/payee code, contact person, phone, and email fields blank.2The City of New York. The City of New York Substitute Form W-9

Signing the Certification

The signature at the bottom is a certification under penalties of perjury that your TIN is correct, that you’re not subject to backup withholding for previous underreporting of interest and dividends, and that you’re a U.S. person.4Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding The Comptroller’s Office accepts electronic signatures on W-9s submitted through PIP, so there’s no need to print, sign in ink, and scan.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. NYC Comptroller’s Office Vendor Forms W-9 and W-8

Submitting Through PIP

The city runs two vendor systems, and they do different jobs. The Payee Information Portal (PIP) is where your W-9, banking details, and address information live. You cannot receive a payment from the city without a completed W-9 on file in PIP.5Mayor’s Office of Contract Services. Payee Information Portal (PIP)

PASSPort, the Procurement and Sourcing Solutions Portal, is the city’s end-to-end contracting platform for enrollment, solicitations, bids, awards, invoicing, and payments.6Mayor’s Office of Contract Services. About PASSPort After you submit your W-9 through PIP, you complete a Vendor Enrollment Package in PASSPort. When that package is fully signed and submitted, its status changes to “Filed,” and you’re cleared to do business.7Mayor’s Office of Contract Services. Complete the PASSPort Vendor Enrollment

Create the PIP account first. The city recommends this order because it lets data transfer cleanly between the two systems once you’re awarded a contract.5Mayor’s Office of Contract Services. Payee Information Portal (PIP)

How the City Validates Your TIN

Once the contracting agency receives your W-9, it runs your name and TIN through the IRS Interactive TIN Matching program before forwarding the form to the Comptroller’s Bureau of Accountancy for final approval. A mismatch stops the process cold; the agency will come back to you for corrected information before anything moves forward.8Office of the New York City Comptroller. Directive 29 – Vendor Maintenance and Tax Reporting Requirements

The usual culprits: a DBA entered on line 1 instead of the legal name, a transposed digit in the SSN or EIN, or a recently changed business name that the IRS hasn’t finished processing. Check those before signing.

If you don’t provide a valid TIN, or provide one that can’t be verified, the city is required to apply backup withholding at 24% on your payments.9Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 15 The withheld amount is credited against your tax liability, but you don’t see it again until you file your return.

Setting Up Direct Deposit at the Same Time

Enroll in Electronic Funds Transfer through PIP while you’re in the system. Vendors with city contracts valued over $25,000 are required to enroll. Everyone else is encouraged to, because the city charges $3.50 for every paper check it issues.10NYC 311. City Contracts for Existing Vendors

PIP handles a single bank account for all payments from the Financial Management System. If you need multiple accounts, need to delete an existing EFT account, or are a foreign entity, contact the Department of Finance at EFT@Finance.nyc.gov instead of using PIP.11The City of New York. The Payee Information Portal (PIP) of the City of New York For technical help with enrollment, call (212) 857-1777.12NYC.gov. New York City’s Direct Deposit Program

When to Update Your W-9

Your W-9 stays valid until something material changes. Submit a new one when your legal name changes, your entity type changes (a partnership converting to a corporation, for example), or you get a new TIN. Stale data produces incorrect 1099s at year-end and IRS notices that follow.

Legal name changes and banking updates are handled through PIP, not PASSPort. Once PIP processes the change, the updated legal name shows up in PASSPort within eight to ten business days.13Mayor’s Office of Contract Services. Vendor Admin Checklist

To update an address in PIP, deactivate the old one by entering an “Active To” end date, then add the new address. If open orders or payments are still tied to the address you’re deactivating, PIP generates a warning; don’t ignore it, or payments can be misdirected. After the change goes through, notify each agency you work with so they can update their own records.11The City of New York. The Payee Information Portal (PIP) of the City of New York For account maintenance help, email the PIP Helpdesk at PIP@fisa-opa.nyc.gov with your business name, phone number, and vendor code.

Foreign Vendors File a W-8 Instead

If you’re not a U.S. person or entity, you don’t use the Substitute Form W-9 at all. Foreign vendors submit a Foreign Vendor Questionnaire together with the appropriate IRS W-8 form (W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, W-8ECI, W-8EXP, or W-8IMY) by email to 1042vendor@comptroller.nyc.gov, and should not use PIP.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. NYC Comptroller’s Office Vendor Forms W-9 and W-8 The IRS International Services line at (267) 941-1000 can help identify the right W-8 for your situation.

Penalties for a False Certification

The signature block matters. Willfully filing a fraudulent information return, or causing one to be filed, exposes you to a civil suit by the affected taxpayer for damages of at least $5,000, plus actual damages, court costs, and potentially attorney’s fees.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7434 – Civil Damages for Fraudulent Filing of Information Returns A false declaration under penalties of perjury on a tax document is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 for individuals or $500,000 for corporations.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7206 – Fraud and False Statements

The more routine consequence is 24% backup withholding on every payment you receive from the city, applied whenever your TIN can’t be verified or hasn’t been properly certified.9Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 15 You get the money back at tax time, but you lose the use of it in the meantime.