Freelance businesses vary, and some projects require a signed independent contractor’s agreement and a completed W-9 for tax purposes. This being said, I made a huge mistake during my first year as a freelance writer. I have always wanted to be a writer, and after months of applying for different writing gigs, I was thrilled to receive my first paying job. Without hesitation, I quickly signed the writer’s agreement and faxed a W-9.

Now, I’ve always been conscious about protecting my personal identity. I have a paper shredder and religiously shred credit card offers, bank statements, and other documents that contained personal information. I even signed up with a credit monitoring service. If anyone opened a new account in my name or tried to swipe my identity, the monitoring service would send an immediate alert. I took all these measures to ensure my protection, and yet, I willingly gave my Social Security number to companies and individuals who I didn’t even know.

It wasn’t until a client misplaced a faxed W-9 that I started to question my judgment.

The whole “self-employment thing” was new to me. I didn’t take small business management courses in school, nor did I research how to run a small business. Thus, I didn’t know about tax ID numbers. Besides, I gave previous employers my Social Security number and nothing ever happened - so it must okay, right?

Wrong!

The majority of my freelance business comes from online job boards. All communication is via e-mail, and I have never met a client face-to-face. For all I know, this person could be a savvy thief who uses a job ad to gather personal information. It’s a stretch, but it can happen.

Well, I learned my lesson. I quickly applied for a tax ID number, and I give this number to freelance employers. Getting a business tax ID is easy. Simply visit the IRS’s official website and download a form, or apply online.

work at home, freelance, writing, telecommute

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