Posted by LisaWI on 8/27/05 10:50am
Msg #62204

Title Comps and W-9's

Would it be kosher to send a W-9 with your invoice(if you havent been asked to) to the Title Comp if this is the first signing you did for them?

Reply by BLE on 8/27/05 11:04am
Msg #62205

I never send out unsolicited W-9s.

Reply by PAW_Fl on 8/27/05 4:17pm
Msg #62236

I always do if they haven't asked for one. Every title company that I have worked for, whether it be local or remote, have required a completed W-9. So, when I do the first assignment with them, if one hasn't been previously provided (which I typically do), I will send one with the invoice.

Reply by taxpro on 8/27/05 5:40pm
Msg #62243

Good idea to send one with your invoice, if they haven't already asked for one. Once, when I first started doing signings, I had been going round and round with a signing service for several weeks, trying to get paid. They kept saying the check was in the mail, and I'd wait a few days and call again, and get the same story. The woman kept saying, "Your check was written and went out on such and such date." I thought they were lying and stalling, the usual tactics. Finally, I got ahold of the bookkeeper, the person who actually writes the checks. She said, "Oh, I wrote your check a month ago, but I haven't mailed it yet." I said, "What are you waiting for?" She said, "I can't pay you until I have your W-9." I said, "Why didn't you just ask me for it?" She said she thought she had asked me, but deals with so many notaries, maybe she forgot, blah, blah, blah. So I will never give them that excuse again. Live and learn. In fact, I usually fax it after getting the first assignment from them.

Reply by TitleGalCA on 8/27/05 11:51pm
Msg #62282

Re: Title Comps and W-9's - Taxpro

Isn't it true that vendors/employers don't have to issue a 1099 unless they've paid you $600 or more in a tax year?

Reply by CrystalT_FL on 8/28/05 10:05am
Msg #62304

Re: Title Comps and W-9's - Taxpro

Not TaxPro, but I do taxes for small businesses. While they dont have to issue a 1099 unless they have paid $600, the other purpose of the 1099 is to certify that you are exempt from backup withholding. In theory, if you dont submit the W9, the company is supposed to withhold backup taxes from *all* payments to you, regardless of the $600 threshhold.

Reply by Lisa Bittner on 8/27/05 11:52pm
Msg #62283

No Title Company has ever asked me for a W-9. The only ones who have asked are SS.
I can see Signing Companies asking because it is a write off for them, I can see if the Title Company actually pays you for your service needing one. But with most big Title companies you get paid out of the loan proceeds so it is actually paid by the borrower not the title co.

In my humble opinion this is how it has worked for me for 4 years... I would not send it if they do not ask.